Show ahe e centennial gentet anicat F cima ary A I 1 my i tens oong on W my 1 I P inn za cyr 4 yn ci 6 mayr d ath 35 rn j W 7 T 0 fo by ELMO SCOTT WATSON chis HIS year marks mark S the centennial of one of our most f famous patriotic songs and since it was first suns sung in public on july 4 1832 special attention was paid during our fourth of july celebrations this year to honoring rev samuel francis smith the man who wrote america although francis scott keys the star spangled banner has been officially adopted as the national anthem america Is the unofficial national anthem in that it is more often sung by more americans because it Is easier for untrained dined olcan to sing eang than la Is the wide rang ing melody of the star spangled banner written originally tor for childrens choirs it was waa aay easy for the singing of america to become a tra traditional ditto 11 al observance in our public schools and that I 1 Is one reason why this unofficial national anther j to ig more often heard throughout the land than the 0 official clai one in fact it was the desire for a patriotic song which could be used in the schools which brought america into existence in 1831 1931 william 0 wo woodbridge 0 abridge db ridge a noted educator of new york visited germanys germanas Germ anys public schools particularly tor for the purpose of bringing back any idea which night might be adapted for use in the schools of the united states ile he learned what every good german knows that music had an important place in the life of the people and th fa school life as well consequently some of the school music books brought back by mr woodbridge were passed along to lowell mason mabon a talented musician and pioneer in the introduction of music in the boston public schools but mr mason was not a student of german so he sent the books to samuel francis smith a twenty tour four year old theological student at andover a young man who had an extraordinary facility in languages he was asked to make translations from the german orto or to write new verses which could be set to the german music on a dismal day in february 1832 looking over one of these books my attention was drawn to a tune which attracted me by its simple and natural movement and its fitness for childrens choirs wrote doctor smith many years later glancing at the german words at the foot of the page I 1 saw that they were patriotic and I 1 was instantly inspired to write a patriotic hymn of my own seizing a scrap of waste paper I 1 began to write and in halt half an hour I 1 think the words stood upon it substantially as they are sung today I 1 did not share the regret of those who deem it an evil that the national tune of britain and america Is the same on the contrary I 1 deem it a new and beautiful tle tie of union between the mother and the daughter one furnishing the music it if indeed it Is really E english and the other the words 1 I did not propose to write a national hymn I 1 did not cot think that I 1 had done so I 1 laid the song aside and nearly forgot that I 1 had made it some weeks later I 1 sent it to mr mason and on the following fourth of july much to my surprise he brought it out at a childrens celebration where it was first sung in public when it was composed I 1 was profoundly impressed with the necessary relation bi between love of f god and love of country and I 1 rejoice if the expression of my own sentiments and convictions still finds an answering chord in the hearts of my countrymen the fourth of july celebration to which he refers was held in park street church in boston on july 4 1832 where america was first sung in public by a childrens choir under the direction of lowell mason history says that edward everett hale was one of the children in that young choir and a smith family legend has it that one of the passersby who heard with profound admiration the song pouring out of the park street church was the girl who afterward became mrs samuel francis smith she was miss mary white of 0 haverhill Haver hlll mass a schoolmate of whittier whom smith married on september 10 1834 america was first published in th thi juvenile lyre a childrens song book which later and in the face of much opposition to the introduction of music into the schools was adopted by them the original manuscript Is now treasured by the harvard university library to which it was bequeathed by doctor smiths son dr D A W smith on november 14 1014 1914 in accepting the gift W 0 lane the harvard librarian wrote this Is one of the most precious bits of original manuscript which any american library could desire to own the whole life of the author of america centered around boston ile he was born on sheafe street in the north end of that city on october 21 1808 As a boy lie he attended successively a dame school the forerunner of the modern kindergarten the ellot school and the boston latin school in all of which he showed unusual iash ay hv lami smiths j H home oane in n me n cent centre mass I 1 G K 6 smith 9 ow centam Cen centen ac jc 24 f f alli 3 c VZ V f 6 rf e t caf wi jy arsi rS i 4 LJ 4 ai fe talent and won many medals for scholarship at the age of seventeen years he entered harvard hartard college with oliver wendell holmes james freeman clarke and samuel may among his classmates 0 W holmes wrote poems for their class clasa reunions in one ot of them entitled the boys was a quatrain about doctor smith and theres a nice youngster of excellent pith fate tried to conceal him by naming him smith but he shouted a song for the brave and the free just read on his bis medal my country of thee while in college young smith added to his income by tutoring reporting and translating the last eventually bringing him the chance t to see those german songs after he was graduated from harvard in 1829 1820 he spent some time as a reporter but the call to the ministry proved stronger than the call of journalism and he pursued his studies in the seminary of andover there he wrote other hymns religious in character the best known of these Is the morning light Is breaking and blessed be the tie that binds in his lifetime he wrote a total of hymns smith was graduated from the seminary in 1832 and a short time later became pastor of the baptist church in Wat waterville erville maine blaine ile he was also professor of modern languages in wit wa ter vilIe later colby college ten years later he was called to the church nt at newton centre mass where he was pastor for 12 years he was for six years editor of the christian review boston and for 10 years edited the mis bits flonary magazine also preparing other literature for missionary distribution this involved translating languages of which he could read 12 or 13 easily at the age of eighty five years he visited a daughter bringing along a russian gram mar and a russian bible delighted because he had begun to master a new tongue doctor smith and his wife traveled extensively y later writing books on missions and one or two biographies ills son D A W smith became president of a seminary in rangoon burma in april 1895 1805 doctor smith was honored with a childrens service one afternoon and an evening meeting at which the governor of the commonwealth presided seven months later on the train en route to preach nt at a little town in massachusetts doctor smith died peacefully while sitting beside a friend although some americans object to america because it lias has the same tune as the english national anthem god save the king the fact Is that the air Is not the air of En glands national anthem alone r for or germany switzerland and denmark sing the familiar strains as well as we who sing america the first line line of those german words at which smith glanced after he had been attracted by the simple and natural movement of the music are hell dir im Switzer lands national anthem begins ruest du Va terland while the danes sing hell dir dem Lle Lie benden 11 there has been considerable dispute as to the origin of the air and concerning this one authority the Brit tanIca says tile the most celebrated of all national anthems Is the english god save the king which la is said to have been first sung as ills his own composition by henry carey in 1740 and a version was assigned by W chappell popular music to the harmonia Har Ilar Angll cana of 1742 or 1743 but no copy erasta and this Is koiv no doubter doubt pd 0 words and music were printed in the gen tle alemana tl emana manlo magazine for Octo october bei 1745 there has been much controversy ns as to the authorship which la Is comell complicated bated by the fact that earlier forms of the air and the words are recorded hsuch arean are an ayrel ayre of 1619 1019 attributed to john bull who has long been credited with the origin of the anthem the scottish carol Ite remember member 0 thou man in Ravens crotts crofts Mells mata 1611 the ballad franklin la Is pled fled away printed 1009 1060 and a piece in Pur celles choice collection for the harpsichord 1606 the words or part of them are aie also found in various forms from the sixteenth century the question was discussed in richard clarkes charkes Cl arkes account of the national anthem 1882 and has been by dr W cum wings kings in hla his god save the king 1002 carey and bull in the general opinion of musical historians divide the credit but in his bis 1 minstrelsy of england 1001 1901 frank kidson introduced a new claimant james oswald a scotsman who settled in london in 1742 and worked for john simpson the publisher of the early copies of god save the king and who became chamber composer to george what appears to be certain Is that 1745 Is the earliest oate date assignable to the substantial national anthem arwe as we know it and that both words and music had been evolved out of earlier forms bulls Is the earliest form of the air careys carels claim to the remodeling of the anthem rests on an tradition and on general probabilities oswald Is a strong candidate As early as 1779 the tune of god save the king was adapted to the spirit of the times in america by the patriots during their struggle with the mother country A dutch song of 10 verses written as the records have it by a lady of the hague was published in the pennsylvania packet at philadelphia that year as a tribute to sailors of american ships moored at amsterdam it began god save the thirteen states long rule the thirteen states god save our states make blake us victorious nappy and glorious no tyrants over us god save our states the original america as written by samuel smith contained eight verses but these tour four are rarely sung our glorious land today neath educations sway soars upward still its halls of learning fair whose bounties all may share behold them everywhere on yale vale and hill bill thy safeguard liberty the school shall ever eer be our nations pride 1 no go tyrant hand band shall shiell smite while with encircling might all here are taught the right with truth allied beneath heavens gracious will au the stars of progress still our course do sway away in unity sublime to broader heights we climb triumphant over oter time god speeds our way grand birthright olour of our sires our altars and our fires J keep we ate still pure I 1 our starry flag unfurled the hope of all the world in pence peace and light Im pearled god hold secure 1 it Is said that smith wrote america in less than half an hour and doctor tillett in commenting upon it in the methodist hymnal annotated says the author had not the remotest idea that the words he be dashed off thus hurriedly would mould ever become a favorite with any lovers of mimic milc and song much less become the national hymn of a groat great and growing nation national hymns do not become such by virture of their loftiness of poetic thought and expression but because they have in them that indefinable simple something that gets into the hearts of the peo pie greater national songs than chah this have been written hymns hIrl ISSIng it in dignity and nobility of thought but it Is doubtful if we shall ever have in arn america erica a national hymn more popular with the people than this JQ 0 by western newspaper union |