O Say Can You Hear: A Cultural Biography of "The Star-Spangled Banner"

O Say Can You Hear: A Cultural Biography of Author: Mark Clague
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393651398
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
A New York Times Editors' Choice The fascinating story of America’s national anthem and an examination of its powerful meaning today. Most Americans learn the tale in elementary school: During the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key witnessed the daylong bombardment of Baltimore’s Fort McHenry by British navy ships; seeing the Stars and Stripes still flying proudly at first light, he was inspired to pen his famous lyric. What Americans don’t know is the story of how this everyday “broadside ballad,” one of thousands of such topical songs that captured the events and emotions of early American life, rose to become the nation’s one and only anthem and today’s magnet for controversy. In O Say Can You Hear? Mark Clague brilliantly weaves together the stories of the song and the nation it represents. Examining the origins of both text and music, alternate lyrics and translations, and the song’s use in sports, at times of war, and for political protest, he argues that the anthem’s meaning reflects—and is reflected by—the nation’s quest to become a more perfect union. From victory song to hymn of sacrifice and vehicle for protest, the story of Key’s song is the story of America itself. Each chapter in the book explores a different facet of the anthem’s story. In one, we learn the real history behind the singing of the anthem at sporting events; in another, Clague explores Key’s complicated relationship with slavery and its repercussions today. An entire is chapter devoted to some of the most famous performances of the anthem, from Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock to Roseanne Barr at a baseball game to the iconic Whitney Houston version from the 1991 Super Bowl. At every turn, the book goes beyond the events to explore the song’s resonance and meaning. From its first lines Key’s lyric poses questions: “O say can you see?” “Does that banner yet wave?” Likewise, Clague’s O Say Can You Hear? raises important questions about the banner; what it meant in 1814, what it means to us today, and why it matters.

O Say Can You Hear: A Cultural Biography of "The Star-Spangled Banner"

O Say Can You Hear: A Cultural Biography of Author: Mark Clague
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393651398
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Get Book

Book Description
A New York Times Editors' Choice The fascinating story of America’s national anthem and an examination of its powerful meaning today. Most Americans learn the tale in elementary school: During the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key witnessed the daylong bombardment of Baltimore’s Fort McHenry by British navy ships; seeing the Stars and Stripes still flying proudly at first light, he was inspired to pen his famous lyric. What Americans don’t know is the story of how this everyday “broadside ballad,” one of thousands of such topical songs that captured the events and emotions of early American life, rose to become the nation’s one and only anthem and today’s magnet for controversy. In O Say Can You Hear? Mark Clague brilliantly weaves together the stories of the song and the nation it represents. Examining the origins of both text and music, alternate lyrics and translations, and the song’s use in sports, at times of war, and for political protest, he argues that the anthem’s meaning reflects—and is reflected by—the nation’s quest to become a more perfect union. From victory song to hymn of sacrifice and vehicle for protest, the story of Key’s song is the story of America itself. Each chapter in the book explores a different facet of the anthem’s story. In one, we learn the real history behind the singing of the anthem at sporting events; in another, Clague explores Key’s complicated relationship with slavery and its repercussions today. An entire is chapter devoted to some of the most famous performances of the anthem, from Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock to Roseanne Barr at a baseball game to the iconic Whitney Houston version from the 1991 Super Bowl. At every turn, the book goes beyond the events to explore the song’s resonance and meaning. From its first lines Key’s lyric poses questions: “O say can you see?” “Does that banner yet wave?” Likewise, Clague’s O Say Can You Hear? raises important questions about the banner; what it meant in 1814, what it means to us today, and why it matters.

O Say Can You Hear?

O Say Can You Hear? PDF Author: Mark Clague
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 039365138X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A New York Times Editors' Choice The fascinating story of America’s national anthem and an examination of its powerful meaning today. Most Americans learn the tale in elementary school: During the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key witnessed the daylong bombardment of Baltimore’s Fort McHenry by British navy ships; seeing the Stars and Stripes still flying proudly at first light, he was inspired to pen his famous lyric. What Americans don’t know is the story of how this everyday “broadside ballad,” one of thousands of such topical songs that captured the events and emotions of early American life, rose to become the nation’s one and only anthem and today’s magnet for controversy. In O Say Can You Hear? Mark Clague brilliantly weaves together the stories of the song and the nation it represents. Examining the origins of both text and music, alternate lyrics and translations, and the song’s use in sports, at times of war, and for political protest, he argues that the anthem’s meaning reflects—and is reflected by—the nation’s quest to become a more perfect union. From victory song to hymn of sacrifice and vehicle for protest, the story of Key’s song is the story of America itself. Each chapter in the book explores a different facet of the anthem’s story. In one, we learn the real history behind the singing of the anthem at sporting events; in another, Clague explores Key’s complicated relationship with slavery and its repercussions today. An entire is chapter devoted to some of the most famous performances of the anthem, from Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock to Roseanne Barr at a baseball game to the iconic Whitney Houston version from the 1991 Super Bowl. At every turn, the book goes beyond the events to explore the song’s resonance and meaning. From its first lines Key’s lyric poses questions: “O say can you see?” “Does that banner yet wave?” Likewise, Clague’s O Say Can You Hear? raises important questions about the banner; what it meant in 1814, what it means to us today, and why it matters.

O Say Can You See...

O Say Can You See... PDF Author: Francis Scott Key
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780972676205
Category : Flags
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A collection of 8 patriotic photos -- most of them include pre-school age children and the flag -- accompany the text of the Star Spangle Banner.

Don't Stick to Sports

Don't Stick to Sports PDF Author: Derek Charles Catsam
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538144727
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
A significant examination of how athletes have fought for inclusion and equality on and off the playing field, despite calls for them to “stick to sports.” The claim that sports are—or ought to be—apolitical has itself never been an apolitical position. Rather, it is a veiled attempt to control which politics are acceptable in the athletic realm, a designation intricately linked to issues of race, gender, ethnicity, and more. In Don't Stick to Sports: The American Athlete’s Fight against Injustice, Derek Charles Catsam carefully explores this disparity. He looks at how, throughout recent sports history in the United States, minority athletes have had to fight every step of the way for their right to compete, and how they continue to fight for equity today. From African Americans and women to LGBTQ+ and religious minorities, Catsam shows how these athletes have taken a stand to address the underlying injustices in sports and society despite being told it’s not their place to do so. While it’s impossible for a single book to tell the entire history of exclusion in the sporting world, Don’t Stick to Sports looks at key moments from the World War I era to the present to shatter the myth of sports as a meritocracy, of sports-as-equalizer, highlighting the reality as something far more complicated—of sports as a malleable world where exclusion and inclusion are rarely straight-forward.

Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today?

Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today? PDF Author: Tish Rabe
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0593126688
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
The Cat and company travel by hot air balloon up and into various weather phenomena including rain, snow, thunder, tornadoes, and (yikes!) even hurricanes! Along the way they learn about thermometers, anemometers, wind vanes, cloud formations, humidity, fog, smog, weather folklore, and how to stay safe in lightning. Written and illustrated in Seussian style, this a great addition to the Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library!

Star Spangled Banner

Star Spangled Banner PDF Author: Francis Scott Key
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : National songs
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description


What So Proudly We Hailed

What So Proudly We Hailed PDF Author: Marc Leepson
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 1137464313
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
What So Proudly We Hailed is the first full-length biography of Francis Scott Key in more than 75 years. In this fascinating look at early America, historian Marc Leepson explores the life and legacy of Francis Scott Key. Standing alongside Betsy Ross, Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, Paul Revere, and John Hancock in history, Key made his mark as an American icon by one single and unforgettable act, writing "The Star-Spangled Banner." Among other things, Leepson reveals: • How the young Washington lawyer found himself in Baltimore Harbor on the night of September 13-14, 2014 • The mysterious circumstances surrounding how the poem he wrote, first titled "The Defense of Ft. M'Henry," morphed into the National Anthem • Key's role in forming the American Colonization Society, and his decades-long fervent support for that controversial endeavor that sent free blacks to Africa • His adamant opposition to slave trafficking and his willingness to represent slaves and freed men and women for free in Washington's courts • Key's role as a confidant of President Andrew Jackson and his work in Jackson's "kitchen cabinet" • Key's controversial actions as U.S. Attorney during the first race riot in Washington, D.C., in 1835. Publishing to coincide with the 200th anniversary of "The Star Spangled Banner" in 2014, What So Proudly We Hailed reveals unexplored details of the life of an American patriot whose legacy has been largely unknown until now.

You Think You Hear

You Think You Hear PDF Author: Matt O'Keefe
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1429979011
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
Lou Farren loves two things in life: rock and roll and his friend Cree, a beautiful drummer in a pop band who has no idea how he feels. Adrift in a post-college world of boring computer jobs, Lou agrees to be the roadie for the Day Action Band, a brilliant but unknown ensemble made up of Cree, bassist Joey, and Lou's best friend, Tim, on guitar. Opening for the Radicals, a British group with a single climbing the charts, the band travels coast to coast, moving closer and closer to fame. As Lou drives the Day Action Band's van, sells their T-shirts, and mediates their arguments, he learns what it's like to stand just outside the spotlight. He watches Tim charm women from the stage, sees Joey achieve the coolness he's always wanted, and tries unsuccessfully to look away when Cree falls into a tour romance with the lead singer of the Radicals. Every night Lou sits at a table in the back of the club, envying his friends and facing the idea that his life might be significant only for its relationship to theirs. When the band comes close to breaking up, Lou is forced to confront what he really wants for them, and for himself. Reminiscent of Nick Hornby's High Fidelity, Matt O'Keefe's hilarious and poignant debut is the story of a young man coming to grips with the distance between his dreams and his reality. You Think You Hear is about unrequited love, a romance with pop music, and the search for moments in life as satisfying as a perfect song.

Bird and Arbor Day Manual

Bird and Arbor Day Manual PDF Author: Nebraska. Department of Public Instruction
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Arbor Day
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description


Rudolph Ganz, Patriotism, and Standardization of The Star-Spangled Banner, 1907-1958

Rudolph Ganz, Patriotism, and Standardization of The Star-Spangled Banner, 1907-1958 PDF Author: Iain Quinn
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 100381736X
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 107

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Book Description
This book examines the succession of events toward the potential standardization of the music for “The Star-Spangled Banner” from an initial letter to President Roosevelt in 1907 to the 1958 congressional hearings on the National Anthem, and the later work of the Swiss-Born American pianist, Rudolph Ganz. These events took place across five decades when a culture of public patriotism was especially pronounced for immigrant musicians. This book contextualizes the complementary experiences of a leading immigrant musician, Ganz, who successfully navigated the world of public patriotism while pursuing the realization of a standardized version. The materials are discussed through the lens of the performance practice. The legacy of standardization has not previously been examined. The response and actions of an immigrant, Ganz, in a culture of necessary patriotism for foreign-born artists shed important new light on this topic. It demonstrates the challenges, fears, and cultural expectations regarding the standardization of an important patriotic work.