The mystery was thus put to rest forever.Ī typical Wednesday night with the Anacreontic Society. Stevens also noted in his papers that it wasn’t Ralph Tomlinson but fellow Society member John Stafford Smith who’d written the words. It wasn’t until around 1950 that someone discovered among the papers of Richard John Samuel Stevens, also a member of the Society, a claim that he’d written the music. The words were long ascribed to the president of the Anacreontic Society, Ralph Tomlinson no one knew who wrote the music. The peculiar use of capital letters (much in the fashion of modern German) appear in the original lyric sheet. “The Myrtle of VENUS and BACCHUS’s Vine.” “And besides I’ll instruct you, like me, to intwine, “I’ll lend you my Name and inspire you to boot, When this Answer arrived from the JOLLY OLD GRECIAN That he their Inspirer and Patron would be To ANACREON in Heav’n, where he sat in full Glee, It was a devilishly difficult tune to sing to, but they managed to come up with words that fit the melody. “To Anacreon in Heaven” (alternatively called “The Anacreontic Song”) was their theme song. The Anacreontic Society gathered every Wednesday evening to drink and sing. Gentlemen’s clubs of the day were places for well-placed men in society to gather together, enjoy each others’ company, and presumably network. Maybe not the weightiest of literature, but even the most serious poets and thinkers need to take a break now and again.Īnacreon was honored by the Anacreontic Society, which was a gentlemen’s club founded in London around 1766. Anacreon was celebrated for his songs about drinking and love and having a good time. Anacreon was a Greek poet who lived from circa 582 BCE to 485 BCE, which is a remarkably advanced age for the times.

Whether Anacreon actually is in heaven, I’ll take no position on, but he most certainly is dead.

The song asserts that Anacreon is in heaven, right from the first line. Of course, it has another name that you probably know better: “The Star-Spangled Banner”.īut the song’s first name was “To Anacreon in Heaven”. It’s a stirring melody, and can often sound very proud, and if someone asked you to hum a few bars, you probably could do a creditable job of it, even if you have no musical ability at all. If you’re an American (and quite possibly even if you’re not), you’ve certainly heard the tune called “To Anacreon in Heaven” numerous times. The flag that Francis Scott Key looked at while writing 'The Star-Spangled Banner'.

Lyrics for star spangled banner song