Thanks for attending my book event! Click below to hear recordings of the songs discussed in the book O Say Can You Hear? A Cultural Biography of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The page numbers listed point you to the part of the text where each example is discussed.
I truly hope the book is inspiring to you. Please recommend it to friends and share your enthusiastic review online. I deeply appreciate your support. —Mark Clague
CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN
- “The Anacreontic Song” (1773, see ch. 2)
The original source of the now famous melody - “When the Warrior Returns” (1805, pp 57-63))
Francis Scott Key’s first song to the Anacreontic tune - “The Star-Spangled Banner” (1814)
The original musical arrangement (4 verses with chorus echo) - “Oh Say, Do You Hear?” (1844, pp. 154-56)
Abolitionist lyric for the song by A.E. Atlee - “Das Star-Spangled Banner” (1851, pp. 95-96, 168)
First translation (German) of Key’s lyric - “When Our Land Is Illumined” (1861, pp. 97-98)
Additional Civil War verse by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. - “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (1900, pp. 234-39)
The Black American national hymn - “The Star-Spangled Banner” (Service Version, 1917)
U.S. military arrangement of the song, pp. 109-14
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THESE EXAMPLES (8 MP3 FILES, FREE)
The complete recording with 37 tracks is available through popular streaming services (Spotify) and online retailers (Amazon).