Well, among other things, it’s an almost impossible song to sing, so if we had something better we might not have this problem. Therefore, related, and for several other reasons, IMO the Star-Spangled Banner as the national anthem is basically a disgrace and should have been changed long ago to either America the Beautiful or This Land Is Your Land (or maybe it never should have even so become in the first place). First of all the lyrics were written of course by Francis Scott Key, who while did at points lukewarmly support abolition was largely an anti-abolitionist who at many points fought the abolitionist movement and even in his official capacity as a District Attorney (not a good role model for school children who sing it at the beginning of every school day). Furthermore, the melody is not even American, but is a melody from The Anacreontic Song by English composer John Stafford Smith and was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century gentlemen’s club of amateur musicians in London (so this is not an American thing). And Frank Sinatra called it “a terrible piece of music,” so it is imperative that we listen to the Chairman of the Board and do things [His] Way. Dump The Star Spangled Banner. See: Frank Sinatra doing the National Anthem.