"The Stars and Stripes Forever"

“The Stars and Stripes Forever” is an American patriotic song. It is a march intended to be played by a marching band or orchestra and features parts for trumpets, trombones, and piccolos. Written in the late nineteenth century, it became a beloved anthem of national pride, and the song was eventually proclaimed America’s official march.

Background

Patriotic songs are intended to make people feel good about the country in which they live. Very often, these songs originate during times of war or conflict. American patriotic songs began during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Soldiers would march into battle to the sounds of fifes and drums, and songs about fighting for freedom would be sung to encourage support for the war among soldiers and civilians alike.

As America grew, musicians created a library of songs that encouraged feelings of national pride and stirred emotions of support and love for the country. Each time a war or conflict arose, new music would be written to help build the fervor needed to keep people going through the hardships imposed by war.

Just before America celebrated its hundredth anniversary, the nation became embroiled in the Civil War (1861–1865). Citizens wrote songs supporting their viewpoints, soldiers wrote songs about their experiences, and others wrote about battles and events that happened during the war. Music played a key role in literally drumming up support for the war and the soldiers who fought on both sides. Parades of men marching off to war down a town’s main street were a common sight, and these marches were accompanied by the sound of bands playing rousing music intended to inspire everyone who heard it.

In the midst of this, John Philip Sousa was growing up in Washington, DC. Born on November 6, 1854, Sousa was the son of Bavarian-born Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus and Spanish-born John Antonio Sousa. His father was a trombone player with the US Marine Band, which was headquartered just down the street from where the Sousas lived. The Marine Band is also known as the “President’s Own” band and frequently plays for the president at both formal and social occasions.

Sousa showed an early interest in music and began studying flute, trombone, and the cornet, baritone, and alto horns as a young child. In addition, he learned to play the violin and piano and studied voice. When Sousa was thirteen, he tried to run away to play in a circus band. When his father discovered his plan, he got Sousa into the Marine Band as an apprentice instead. When he was older, he joined as a full Marine. This gave him an opportunity to study music in more depth and immersed him in the patriotic music the band frequently played. Sousa remained in the Marines until he was twenty-one, then traveled and played with bands and orchestras. Within a few years, he was conducting orchestras that played in theaters before and during shows.

After marrying in 1879, Sousa became the bandleader for the Marine Band. He wrote original marches for the band, including “Semper Fidelis,”the official Marine anthem. Sousa’s marches grew in popularity when the Marine Band became one of the first to record music for a new invention, the phonograph. Eventually, he left the Marine Band and started his own traveling band but was so well known for his marches that he was called the “March King.”

Overview

In 1896, while Sousa was traveling in Europe with his wife, he learned that the director of his band had unexpectedly passed away. Knowing the band would need him, Sousa boarded a ship bound for America. Sousa said later that it was an anxious trip as he thought about all the things that he would need to do for the band upon his return. As he walked the deck of the ship, he heard rhythmic marching band music played by what he called a “brain band” in his head. Inspired by the thought of coming back to America, Sousa imagined a rousing anthem that evoked images of the flag-waving and people marching.

Back in New York, he wrote down this music on Christmas 1897. It became known as “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” The name was likely borrowed from another bandmaster’s frequent toast to the flag or from another earlier work with the same name. When Sousa resumed leadership of his band and toured the country, the song became a favorite. Audiences would request it if it was not played. People often stood during the song, as if it were the national anthem.

In addition to its popular appeal, the song is considered a musical masterpiece. It is written in the key of E-flat major. It includes a famous “trio section” that features trumpets, trombones, and piccolos in the key of A-flat major. Many conductors would have the musicians with those instruments move to the front of the stage for the song, a practice that some bandleaders continue in contemporary times. The song did not originally have words, but Sousa wrote some for it when it was used in his 1898 pageant show “The Trooping of the Colors.” Today, few people know the words to the song.

“The Stars and Stripes Forever” was also a commercial success. During his lifetime, Sousa made more than $400,000 from the sale of sheet music, and his descendants benefited from the royalties until 1953 when the copyright expired. “The Stars and Stripes Forever” is thought to be one of the most recorded songs in history. Sousa frequently led the song as well. When he died on March 6, 1932, he had just finished rehearsing with a band in Reading, Pennsylvania. The last song he led was “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”

To celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the song, Congress passed legislation making it the national march of the United States in December 1987. “The Stars and Stripes Forever” is played at presidential inaugurations and at many other patriotic events, such as Fourth of July celebrations. The song has even moved outside of the country, as soccer fans in some parts of Europe have adopted the song. They sing made-up lyrics to its tune to encourage their teams.

Bibliography

Anderson, Lawrence E. “Patriotic Music through the Ages.” Alive Magazine, 3 July 2013, aliveeastbay.com/archives/patriotic-music-through-the-ages/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2019.

“Biography of the March King: John Philip Sousa.” Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/a-capitol-fourth/history/john-philip-sousa/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2019.

Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Performance and Production, vol. 2,A&C Black, 2003.

Fettig, Jason K. “Stars and Stripes Forever.” Marines, www.marineband.marines.mil/Audio-Resources/The-Complete-Marches-of-John-Philip-Sousa/The-Stars-and-Stripes-Forever-March/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2019.

“John Philip Sousa.” Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200152755/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2019.

Lovrien, David. “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” Sousa Band, 13 June 2012, sousamusic.com/the-stars-and-stripes-forever/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2019.

“Nation Marches to Sousa’s Legacy ‘Stars and Stripes Forever’ Retains Popularity after 100 Years.” Baltimore Sun, 18 May 1997, www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1997-05-18-1997138194-story.html. Accessed 22 Feb. 2019.

“Stars and Stripes Forever.” America’s Library, www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/sousa/aa‗sousa‗forever‗1.html. Accessed 22 Feb. 2019.