Fun Facts and Trivia about America’s Patriotic Music

Let’s celebrate this month’s theme of Independence and Liberty and Freedom with fun facts and trivia about America’s patriotic music.

Can You Name the Patriotic Song that Matches These Lyrics?

01. “Where the grapes of wrath are stored”
02.“Thru the night with a light”
03.“There’s pride in every American heart”
04.“We fight our country’s battles”
05.“The banner of the western land”
06.“broad stripes and bright stars”
07.“Mind the music and the steps”
08.”A thoroughfare for freedom beat”
09.”Land where my fathers died”
10.“That ribbon of highway”
11.“See what freedom costs in each marble cross”
12.“Silver wings upon their chest”
13.“All is well, Safely rest. God is nigh.”
14.“You’re the emblem of the land I love”
15.“A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam”
16.“When you hear mother freedom start ringin her bell”
17.”Where we dream as big as we want to”
18.”some stood through for the red, white and blue”
19.”I’m out here on the front lines, sleep in peace tonight”
20.”We’ll rally round the flag, boys”
(Answers at the bottom of this post.)

The Star Spangled Banner

• by Francis Scott Key
•  Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key was originally a poem based on his observations of the British attack on Baltimore’s Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.
• It was later put to music.
• The tune of the National Anthem was originally used by an English drinking song called To Anacreon in Heaven.
• It was named the official National Anthem in 1931.

Dixie

• by Daniel D. Emmett
• It was the national anthem of the Confederacy during the Civil War.
•  It was one of Abraham Lincoln’s favorite songs.

The Marine Hymn

• author unknown
• The melody may actually came from a French opera.
• The line “From the halls of Montezuma (1847) to the shores of Tripoli(1805)” is aesthetically pleasing, but chronologically inaccurate.

Wild Blue Yonder (U.S. Air Force Song)

• by Robert Howard
• Robert Howard unanimously won the U.S. Air Force’s song writing competition.
• In 1939 the English Oxford Dictionary added an extra definition to the word “yonder” meaning “the far and trackless distance.”

Anchors Away (U.S. Navy Song)

• by Charles A. Zimmerman
• Originally written as an inspiring football march in 1906.
• Lieut. Zimmerman is said to have sat at the Naval Academy Chapel organ while he composed the song

God Of Our Fathers

• by George William Warren
• Protestant hymn was written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence

You’re a Grand Old Flag

• by George M. Cohan
• Written in 1906 inspired by a Civil War vet pride in a tattered old flag.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

• Originally sung prior to the revolution by British troops making fun of unorganized and buckskin-wearing “Yankees” who were allied with the British in the French and Indian War (1754-1763).
• It is most associated with the American Revolutionary War.

Battle Hymn Of the Republic

• lyrics by Julia Ward Howe
• American Civil War song of the Union.
• Uses the tune of “John Brown’s Body”.
• The song was a favorite of the great United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
• It was performed at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. and at St Paul’s Cathedral in London to honor the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

This Is My Country

• by Al Jacobs and Don Raye
• Written during the great depression

The Stars And Stripes Forever

• by John Phillip Sousa
• Penned just before the outbreak of The Spanish-American War
• It’s now our national march.

“America”

• a.k.a My Country Tis of Thee lyrics by Samuel Francis Smith
• It has the same melody as the United Kingdom song God Save The Queen/King.

God Bless America

• by Irving Berlin
• Irving Berlin was a Jewish/Russian immigrant.

Answers to the Patriotic Song Lyrics Matching Game above.

01. Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe / 02. God Bless America by Irving Berlin / 03. God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood / 04. The Marine’s Hymn (From the Halls of Montezuma) – Author Unknown / 05.Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa / 06. The Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key / 07.Yankee Doodle by Richard Shuckburgh / 08. America, The Beautiful by Katharine Lee Bates / 09. America orMy Country, ‘Tis of Thee by Samuel F. Smith / 10. This Land Is Your Land by Woody Guthrie / 11. What the Flag Means by Mark Heffron / 12. The Ballad of the Green Beret by Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler and Robin Moore / 13. Taps by Daniel Adams Butterfield / 14. You’re A Grand ‘Ole Flag by George M. Cohan / 15. I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy by George M. Cohan / 16. Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue by Toby Keith / 17. Only in America by Brooks and Dunn / 18. Some Gave All by Billy Ray Cyrus / 19. American Soldier by Toby Keith / 20. Battle Cry of Freedom by George F. Root

So how did you do? Did you know the trivia? Did you match the lyrics to the correct song title?

Thanks to Diva Girl Parties and Stuff for the patriotic song game.
And thanks to Powell Music for the patriotic music fun facts.