Talk:The Star-Spangled Banner

Misdated

The Star Spangled Banner was actually called out in the 1980s not the 1990s for being racial provoked. 2600:1700:39B0:3BE0:93D8:3FC0:9324:D031 (talk) 15:54, 13 March 2025 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 30 April 2025

The section "Composition" claims the song is in B major and has two flats. This is contracitory, as B major has five sharps. I believe the sentence should be correct to "B-flat major" which indeed has two flats, B and E. I have no idea if this is the correct key of the piece (which is likely sung in many different keys, and a quick Google search confirms many claimed keys) but it would at least make the sentence internally correct. Another option would be to remove the sentence claiming which key it is in--there is no source cited either. 130.74.58.194 (talk) 19:29, 30 April 2025 (UTC)

 Done Removed section. meamemg (talk) 21:26, 30 April 2025 (UTC)

Section addition request

Towards the end of the section "National anthem" can we add a section mentioning that there is a Spanish language version of the song that is recognized as an official translation and is the only alternative allowed to be sung at official events with lyrics written by Clotilde Arias (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clotilde_Arias#%22El_Pendon_Estrellado%22)? This seems notable enough to me to be mentioned in this article as well. 2600:1700:46B6:1010:254B:AE7B:EB9A:BB06 (talk) 20:48, 16 June 2025 (UTC)

Missing unofficial verse from 1986 not mentioned in article.

There is an unofficial 6th verse written by Claire Clonninger, a writer of Contemporary Christin Music and was song by Sandi Patty in 1986 for the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. The lyrics written by Claire Clonninger are: "And still we can see As the years have gone by There’s a dream in our land Like a flame that keeps burning. And the lantern of hope From the harbor still shines. Those who seek freedom’s dream To its light are still turning. Now we look to the skies And we lift up our eyes For we know with the dawn, We will see our flag rise. And this is our Star-Spangled Banner unfurled As a sign to the free And a hope to the world." John Gutekunst in an editorial published on September 6, 2020 for the Parker Pioneer was of the opinion that this verse “better reflects the desires of our people” and “could again be the unifying force that it was for so long.” He further reasoned that “Americans are, if nothing else, hopeful and optimistic. We want to build a better, more just nation.” he argued that “Clonninger’s verse should inspire us all.” (source: https://www.parkerpioneer.net/opinion/article_f2fcd636-f0bc-11ea-a639-27046d7a888b.html) Tigereye468 (talk) 12:41, 17 June 2025 (UTC)

Gentlemen's Club

The article refers to "the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians." For obvious reasons, I changed this to "an 18th-century amateur musicians' club." @Maineartists reverted, objecting that the "gentlemen's club" is correct 18th-century usage. That's true, but the readers of Wikipedia live in the 21st century, where a "gentlemen's club" means "a nightclub for men that features scantily clad women dancers or stripteasers" (quoting Merriam-Webster). We should write to be easily understood, not to follow obsolete "correct" usage.

Tagging recent contributors: @Igordebraga, @Danadarve, @SavagePanda845. Isaac Rabinovitch (talk) 18:55, 19 July 2025 (UTC)

Hm. Are you assuming that there are no intelligent, historically-minded, well-read persons in the 21st century who read WP and articles such as The Star-Spangled Banner, who would - or could - not discern between the term "18th-century gentleman's club" and a 21st century "strip club"? or are you simply implying that all readers "live" in the 21st century equate "gentlemen's club" with a "strip club" ... period. I for one knew exactly what this article meant but its terminology, and I know numerous others whose mind would not immediately go to "strip club" when reading the following: "This was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London"; considering if you click on the link, it brings you to the page: "... was a popular gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London founded in the mid-18th century." An editor just added the short description for the club: "18th century gentlemen's club in London, England"[1] It seems fine for them. Why would a reader of this page be confused, but not the reader of the page Anacreontic Society? In additional, your edit: "an 18th-century amateur musicians' club in London" implies female members. Last, why exactly are you tagging other editors? Did they have a direct say or hand in this specific edit? or are you simply inviting those that may agree with you? The term "gentlemen's club" has been associated with this page since its creation in 2005. Maineartists (talk) 01:23, 20 July 2025 (UTC)

I tagged everybody who edited the page in the last month. I've never engaged with them before and I have no idea what they'll think about this issue. But you and I strongly disagree, and are obviously not going to reach a consensus by ourselves. Isaac Rabinovitch (talk) 00:45, 21 July 2025 (UTC)

"I tagged everybody who edited the page in the last month." That is not how Talk Pages work at WP. Maineartists (talk) 01:29, 21 July 2025 (UTC)

I've been contributing to Wikipedia for over 20 years. Bringing more people into a discussion is a common way to work towards consensus.

Please approach our difference of opinion in a less adversarial manner. You might find Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not about winning helpful. Isaac Rabinovitch (talk) 04:58, 21 July 2025 (UTC)

Further or Farther Correction?

There they learned Beanes was aboard HMS Tonnant farther down the Bay.Iraklizourabichvili (talk) 00:18, 17 October 2025 (UTC)