O Say Can You Hear

Starred review from April 25, 2022
Musicologist Clague debuts with a sparkling study of America’s national anthem. He recounts how the successful defense of Baltimore’s Fort McHenry against the British navy’s bombardment during the War of 1812 inspired lawyer Francis Scott Key—who witnessed the battle from an unarmed “truce ship” in the city’s harbor—to describe the event in lyrics set to the tune of an 18th-century song composed by Englishman John Stafford Smith. Such “newspaper ballads,” Clague explains, were “the viral meme, tweets, and TikToks of early America.” Noting that “no other song of the era became so broadly popular so fast,” Clague analyzes the lyrics’ “volatile emotional journey, from fear and uncertainty through relief and pride, to anger and determination, to pious gratitude and prayer, and finally to patriotic devotion,” and examines alternative versions penned to support abolition, unionization, and other progressive causes. He also vividly recreates noteworthy performances, including Jimi Hendrix’s psychedelic reinterpretation at Woodstock, Roseanne Barr’s profane recital in front of an MLB crowd, and Whitney Houston’s stirring rendition at the 1991 Super Bowl. Stuffed with colorful character sketches, intriguing historical arcana, and memorable musical insights, this pitch-perfect history hits all the right notes.

May 15, 2022
A fresh look at Francis Scott Key's iconic verses. A music historian and professor of musicology, Clague finds in America's national anthem "a surprisingly rich archive offering insight into the conflicts and complexities that forged the United States." Written by Key in 1814 after he witnessed America's triumph over the British in Baltimore's harbor, the lyrics appeared under the title "Defence of Fort McHenry" and were quickly reprinted in at least 37 newspapers, "riding and reinforcing a wave of patriotic optimism." Contrary to the myth that Key penned his verses quickly on scrap paper, Clague finds that he composed them over "at least sixty hours," shaping the words to fit a familiar melody that had been composed by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century London social club. Acclaimed from the start, the anthem became increasingly popular in the North during the Civil War as an expression of "strength, resolve, and unity." In the South, many wrote parodies of the song. Since 1851, more than 100 translations (including by First Nations) have been published in more than 40 languages. Although Congress ratified the piece as the nation's official anthem only in 1931, its status by then had been "long enjoyed in civil ritual." Because the complete version extols freedom and refers to both freemen and enslaved people, the anthem has elicited "conflicted feelings in the Black community" and provoked controversy about whether it offers "an inclusive vision of American identity." Clague provides an informative elucidation of the anthem's language for 19th-century listeners while conceding that Key--and his listeners--shared an assumption of White supremacy. Though Key represented Blacks who sued for their freedom, he also owned slaves, and although he believed slavery was morally wrong, "nothing he said or wrote that survives in the historical record suggests that he believed Blacks could ever be equal to whites." An engaging cultural history.

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June 1, 2022

Clague (musicology and American culture, Univ. of Michigan) writes a historical and cultural account of the United States national anthem, which through wars and peace, civil and cultural unrest, and on battlefields and ballfields, has played an (ahem) key role in the national consciousness since Francis Scott Key penned his four (yes, four) verses after experiencing the Siege of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. As Clague recounts, the anthem has famously been sung by Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin--and infamously by Rosanne Barr; been orchestrated by Stravinsky; and been performed as an electric guitar solo at Woodstock by Jimi Hendrix. Clague reveals that (thought Key deserves credit for the anthem's lyric imagery) rarely is it acknowledged that the melody was composed by Englishman John Stafford Smith, who composed the tune as the club anthem for a music fraternity in London and published it under the title "The Anacreontic Song." Clague does an excellent job tracing the tune back to its origin while detailing the way it entered the nation's consciousness and has been used as a societal bellwether ever since, having both united people and created divisions. It's a fascinating and enlightening story, well told here. VERDICT An excellent and comprehensive history of the music and lyrics of the United States' national anthem, Clague's book should be in every library.--Bill Baars

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2022
Americans take their national anthem for granted. Sung at sporting events and patriotic commemorations, it is also often parodied, and invoked both to defend conventional patriotic sentiments as well as to criticize and protest. University of Michigan musicology professor Clague traces the history of this remarkable song from its roots in the Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812, as young lawyer and poet Francis Scott Key witnessed a several-day battle against a superior British fleet. Published in newspapers of the time, his verses stirred hearts and minds in the young republic. A tune by British composer John Stafford Smith was soon appropriated despite its notoriously difficult range for singers. After the Civil War, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. proposed an additional verse. Clague's careful historical interpretation of the third stanza's reference to "the hireling and slave" deems it an anti-British protest. The temperance -movement offered its own revisions to condemn demon rum. Recent American immigrants find deep emotional connection to their adopted national song. Most recently, the playing of the anthem has been a platform for protest of historical injustices. In contemporary culture wars, where everything gets reduced to partisan politics, Clague's thoughtful and comprehensive history will resonate.

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