Baseball fans

have no doubt noticed a new practice at many ballparks of not only playing

the national anthem before each game, but also "God Bless America"

during the seventh-inning stretch. That reminds me of the ongoing debate,

begun long before the most recent patriotic surge, over whether "The

Star-Spangled Banner" should be replaced by "God Bless America"

as the official national anthem.

The most popular

argument in favor of a change is that "The Star-Spangled Banner"

is simply too difficult to sing. That alone, in my mind, is not reason

enough to replace the existing anthem. There is the question of historical

significance.

Nearly every

good song has an interesting story behind it, a story profound and moving

enough (or funny enough, as the case may be) to inspire a musical tribute.

"God Bless America" was written by one of our nation's greatest

song writers, while the author of "The Star-Spangled Banner"

would be a total unknown except for that single composition. But a study

of the events leading up to their creation deserves another look.

According to

the Smithsonian Institution's Web site, the original version of "God

Bless America" was written by Irving Berlin during the summer of

1918 for a Ziegfeld-style revue. "Make her victorious on land and

foam, God Bless America..." ran the original lyric. However, Berlin

decided that the solemn tone of "God Bless America" was somewhat

out of keeping with the more comedic elements of the show and the song

was laid aside.

In the fall

of 1938, as war was again threatening Europe, Berlin decided to write

a "peace" song. He recalled his "God Bless America"

from 20 years earlier and made some alterations to reflect the different

state of the world. Singer Kate Smith introduced the revised "God

Bless America" during her radio broadcast on Armistice Day, 1938.

The song was an immediate sensation; the sheet music was in great demand.

Berlin soon established the God Bless America Fund, dedicating the royalties

to the Boy and Girl Scouts of America.

The Star-Spangled

Banner was inspired by an important battle in the War of 1812. Francis

Scott Key spent a rainy night as a prisoner on a British ship in the harbor

near Fort McHenry in Maryland as the British fleet shelled the fort mercilessly.

He was a lawyer who had agreed to try to negotiate the release of an American

doctor taken prisoner by the British.

When the American

forces successfully defended the fort, its commander lowered the storm

flag that flew during the rain-soaked bombardment and raised a larger,

dry flag with 15 stripes and 15 stars on the morning of Sept. 14, 1814.

Upon seeing

that flag from eight miles offshore, he knew that the fort had not surrendered.

He took a letter from his pocket and began to compose a poem on the back

of it. Its original title was "The Defense of Fort McHenry,"

and it was sung to the tune of a popular English song, "To Anacreon

in Heaven."

In 1931, following

a 20-year effort during which more than 40 bills and joint resolutions

were introduced in Congress, was a law finally signed proclaiming "The

Star Spangled Banner" to be the national anthem of the United States.

That flag was

donated to the Smithsonian nearly 100 years ago and remains there today,

undergoing restoration. It measures 30 by 34 feet, and each star is 26

inches across.

When one tries

to place oneself at that scene with Key, watching the nation under attack

and his own personal freedom at risk, the words to "The Star-Spangled

Banner" have significantly more weight than they do in a stadium

before Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. So we have two

wonderful songs, but one has something more, and that's why it's the official

song of this country.

In light of

recent events and their direct effect on so many families, allow me to

share my favorite song story of all.

In the nineteenth

century, Horatio G. Spafford waited for the arrival of his wife and two

daughters, who were crossing the Atlantic Ocean by ship. He received word

that the ship had sunk, and agonized for many hours without word of his

family's condition.

Finally, he

received a telegram from his wife. It contained only two words: "Safe,

alone." He knew instantly that his precious little girls were lost

at sea, never to return. In this time of utter desolation, he sat down

and penned these words:

When peace like a river attendeth

my way, when sorrow like sea billows roll;

Whatever

my lot, Thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.

His personal

tragedy became an anthem sung in thousands of churches every week, more

than one hundred years after it was composed. May the families of our

most recent fallen heroes find comfort in these words as well.

[Monroe Roark

can be reached at [email protected].]