Often it was sung by a professional actor, someone equivalent to a Broadway singer today. The melody comes from a song sung at a musician’s club in England and was intended to be a rousing, challenging tune that really highlighted the skills of club members. It’s entirely the range required: The distance between the lowest and highest notes is unusually wide. For me, calling the country to account and calling Americans to live up to our ideals is really a function of the song, and it doesn’t disrespect it to call attention to where the country falls short. In a way, the anthem started as a protest song because it created a vision of a united future that didn’t exist in 1814. What do you make of protesters who take a knee during sporting events? An upbeat song of victory has become a solemn hymn of national devotion. We have made the ritual last longer: We sing the anthem at a slower tempo today than would have been the case in Key’s day.
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