Happy Birthday America, Why We Should All Drink To That

The National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, The song they play before football games and car races, that's the song I want you to think about. How much do you know about it?

You probably knew Francis Scott Key wrote the words in a poem called the "Defense of Fort McHenry" after witnessing the battle that took place during the war of 1812. Did you know the melody of our National Anthem has a more seedy and sordid past? It turns out the melody for the Star Spangled Banner is actually an old English drinking song. Here is the Georgia Tech Glee club singing the melody with the original words.