Which, is, of course, itself "lifted" from "To Anacreon in Heaven,"
True, but not in the spirit of a lift. Key wrote his lyrics specifically to be sung to that tune. Keep in mind that few people of the day read musical notation. The clever Key picked a drinking tune everyone knew and would remember thanks to its baudy lyrics. Its enshrinement as the American national anthem (with slightly altered melody) came much later, after it had been largely forgotten as the 18th century equivalent of "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall."
This too is a familiar pattern in musical history. Handel borrowed a number of popular melodies to adapt as arias in Messiah and other sacred oratorios.
|