BARRY LEVINE: Patriotic songs help celebrate independence

On Wednesday, July 4, this glorious country will celebrate its 242nd birthday. Enjoy the day’s festivities — carefully.

One of the interesting aspects of this country’s history is the number of patriotic songs that have evolved and the background of the tunes.

Here are just 10 of them:

“Battle Hymn of the Republic” — Using the music from the song “John Brown’s Body,” Julia Howe Ward wrote the lyrics to “The “Battle Hymn of the Republic” in November 1861, and they were initially published in “The Atlantic Monthly” in February 1862. Since that point, it has become an extremely popular and well-known American patriotic song.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” — The national anthem’s lyrics come from the poem “Defence of Fort M’Henry” written by Francis Scott Key, a 35-year-old lawyer, on Sept. 14, 1814, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large U.S. flag flying above the fort during the U.S. victory. The poem was set to a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith and renamed “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The U.S. Navy recognized the song for official use in 1889, and it was made the national anthem by a Congressional resolution on March 3, 1931.

“God Bless America” — Irving Berlin wrote the song in 1918 while serving in the U.S. Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, N.Y. With the rise of Adolf Hitler in 1938, Berlin, who moved from Russia to the U.S. at the age of 5 with his family, felt it was time to revive “God Bless America” as a “peace song.” Kate Smith introduced it on her 1938 Armistice Day broadcast radio show.

“She Wore a Yellow Ribbon” — This traditional song is the official anthem of the U.S. Cavalry and is still used by the U.S. military to maintain marching cadence. The poem has appeared in various forms for at least four centuries and is based on the tradition of a yellow ribbon being associated with those waiting for the return of military troops who are temporarily unable to come home. Russ Morgan recorded an altered version of the song for the 1949 John Wayne movie of the same name that was set in the western United States just after the Civil War. The yellow ribbon symbol became widely known in civilian life during the 1970s after becoming the central theme of the popular song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree” by Tony Orlando & Dawn.

“You’re a Grand Old Flag” – George M. Cohan wrote the spirited march in 1906 as a tribute to the American flag. The original lyric reportedly came from an encounter Cohan had with a Civil War veteran. The two men found themselves next to each other, and Cohan noticed the vet held a carefully folded but ragged old flag.

The man reportedly turned to Cohan and said, “She’s a grand old rag.” Cohan thought it was a great line and originally named his tune “You’re a Grand Old Rag.” He later changed it to “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”

“Over There” — Another George M. Cohan song, this was penned in 1917 and was extremely popular with U.S. soldiers in World War I and World War II. It was designed to entice young Americans to enlist in the military to fight the Germans.

Cohan said that the words and music to the song came to him while traveling by train from New Rochelle, N.Y., to New York City shortly after the U.S. had declared war on Germany in 1917. President Franklin D. Roosevelt awarded Cohan the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal for his patriotic songs on June 29, 1936.

“America the Beautiful” — Katharine Lee Bates wrote the lyrics to the song and the music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, N.J. The two, ironically, never met. Bates originally wrote the words as a poem, “Pikes Peak,” first published in the July 4th edition of the church periodical “The Congregationalist” in 1895. Ward’s music combined with the Bates poem was first published in 1910 and titled “America the Beautiful.” The song is one of the most popular of the many U.S. patriotic songs

“Yankee Doodle Dandy” – British Army surgeon Dr. Richard Shuckburg wrote the song while campaigning in upper New York in 1755. The British troops sang it to make fun of the American soldier as a simpleton who thought that he was stylish if he simply stuck a feather in his cap. It became popular among the Americans as a song of defiance. According to the American Library of Congress, the Americans added additional verses to the song to mock the British troops and also hailing the Commander of the Continental Army, George Washington. By 1781, “Yankee Doodle Dandy” had turned from being an insult to being a song of national pride. Edward Bangs, a Harvard sophomore, wrote the current version in 1776.

“Marines’ Hymn” – This is the official hymn of the U.S. Marine Corps. It is the oldest official song in the Armed Forces. The “Marines’ Hymn” is typically sung at the position of attention as a gesture of respect.

The lyrics are contained in the book “Rhymes of the Rookies” written by W.E. Christian and published in 1917. The book consists of a series of poems regarding military life before World War I.

The “Marines’ Hymn” is a reminder of the sacrifice and courage that Marines have shown on the battlefield. It is an integral part of Marine Corps culture.

“The Stars and Stripes Forever” is considered the most famous song by composer John Philip Sousa. By a 1987 act of Congress, it is the official National March of the United States. Sousa wrote in his autobiography, “Marching Along,” that he composed the march on Christmas Day 1896.

He was on an ocean liner en route home from a European vacation when he learned of the death of David Blakely, the manager of Sousa’s Band. He composed the march in his head and committed the notes to paper upon arrival in the United States. It was initially performed at Willow Grove Park, near Philadelphia, on May 14, 1897, and immediately received a positive response.

This week in rock history: Elvis Presley appeared on “The Steve Allen Show” on July 1, 1956, where he wore a tuxedo and sang “Hound Dog” to a basset hound. Elvis’ fans thought it was a deliberate attempt to humiliate him and to ridicule rock ‘n’ roll. Steve Allen insisted for years that he meant no disrespect. … Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in The Night” displaced The Beatles’ “Paperback Writer” at the top of the Hot 100 on July 2, 1966. Sinatra’s recording won Grammy Awards for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Record of the Year. … “I Get Around” became the first No. 1 single for The Beach Boys on July 4, 1964. … On July 5, 1965, Marty Balin and Paul Kantner formed a folk-rock group that would evolve into Jefferson Airplane, the premier San Francisco psychedelic band of the late ’60s. The Airplane made its debut the following month. … The film “A Hard Day’s Night” premiered in The Beatles’ hometown of Liverpool, England, on July 6, 1964. The black-and-white film with a $500,000 budget took seven weeks to complete. … Ricky Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool” entered the charts on July 7, 1958, where it eventually reached No. 1. The record holds the distinction of being the first No. 1 song on Billboard’s newly created Hot 100 chart.

Barry “The Old Rocker” Levine is an entertainment writer for The Albany Herald. He can be reached at [email protected].