star spangled banner drinking song lyrics

'He composed a bit, but not a tremendous lot I don't think,' Bury said, explaining that Smith sang in the cathedral's choir as a boy while his father was organist there from 1740 to 1782.

The flag, a gift from the Rotary Club of New York, hangs near a memorial to Smith on the north wall of the nave, according to cathedral Dean, Nick Bury. 'The only thing that John Stafford Smith has is an American flag flying at the Gloucester Cathedral in England - nothing in the United States.' 'You can check around and you find out that Francis Scott Key's got malls named after him, high schools, highways, all kinds of things referring to him,' Freeman said. 'I guess I have sympathy for the underdog and nobody's ever done anything for him, so I figured it was about time somebody did,' said Freeman, who so far, is the only member of his organization.Ī retired artist, Freeman says he plans to get the word out to newspapers and magazines in hopes that they will tell Smith's story and 'give him the fame he deserves.' 'They said they were very interested and amused that I'd played the 'Star Spangled Banner,' ' Wilkinson said.īack in the United States on Sunday, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Keith Freeman, 83, has formed the Society for the Recognition of John Stafford Smith because he 'got a dirty deal out of the whole thing.' Wilkinson, who's been pulling out all the stops as organist at the church for four years, said some members of the congregation recognized the tune. He titled his work, 'Anacreon in Heaven,' a drinking song in praise of wine.įrancis Scott Key - known to many Americans - put his lyrics to the tune, which he wrote after witnessing Maryland's Fort McHenry defend itself from British attack during the War of 1812. Smith wrote the melody for a London social club he belonged to around 1780, called the Anacreontic Society. 'I played it through before the service and afterwards as well,' said church organist Richard Wilkinson. Independence Day, while not knowing that the 'Star Spangled Banner's' music was composed by an Englishman, John Stafford Smith.

Andrew's Church in Aysgarth, England, played the American national anthem on Sunday to mark the U.S.

Star spangled banner drinking song lyrics