This engaging, story-filled history of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by musicologist Mark Clague explores the meanings and traditions of the national anthem across more than two centuries of American history.
- American Dreams
Francis Scott Key and the Writing of The Star-Spangled Banner - Origins of a Melody
The Music of The Star-Spangled Banner - Banner Ballads
The Many Lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner - The Banner at War
A Song Sanctified - Play Ball!
The Banner in Sports - Singing Citizenship
A Tradition of Dissent - Nation in Translation
Language and the Politics of Belonging - The Anthem and Black Lives
An American History - Performing Patriotism
Musical Style as Social Symbol
The book is available from your local bookseller, as well as online retailers such as Barnes and Noble & Amazon. Audio recordings that illustrate the book are available on our recording Poets & Patriots and can be heard here for free. Musical scores to perform many of these songs and anthem variants are available in our Star Spangled Songbook.
See the recent reviews of O Say Can You Hear? below:
Interviews