During the 19th century, “The Star-Spangled Banner” became one of the most beloved and most widely accepted patriotic tunes. This period was the time when many people turned to music whenever they felt like expressing their deepest emotions of love towards the country. Although the military had adopted the song for ceremonial purposes, it wasn’t until 1931 that it was officially accepted as a national anthem.
U.S citizens stand for the flag and the anthem to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their freedom. “The Star-Spangled Banner” is played at sport games and other significant gatherings to send a message that no matter the race, the religion, or the political differences, we are all Americans.
The lyrics along with the music make the anthem pretty challenging to perform. That’s why it’s only sang by professional musicians or played on a recording. However, during a sporting event at an Iowa school, the hymn was performed by both the members of the competing teams and the crowd, and listening to it gives us goosebumps.
It happened last February when people were eagerly waiting for the high school girls’ basketball game to take place. North Polk intended to play a musical recording of the anthem before the start of the game, but things didn’t turn as planned. The recording wouldn’t start playing and there was no professional singer around. Would that mean the powerful lyrics of the anthem wouldn’t fill the air? Certainly not. In one moment, the audience, the students, the referees, as well as the school staff started singing on their own.
All those voices harmonized in one is one of the most emotional anthem performances you’ve ever heard. So many emotions put into a single tune.
When it came to singing “O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!” everyone involved was so caught up into the moment that it sounded like seasoned chorale. We are sure that if you don’t know the background story, you would never guess there is no professional musician involved in the astounding performance.
Many people took the time to praise these people’s action. Most agree how it should always be done this way and how the school should start a tradition. One person writes: “I applaud every person STANDING there and singing. Every parent every grandparent, every teacher, every coach for installing something so powerful as our national anthem into these children. I stand and applaud every child in that gym for standing and singing.”
Take a look at it in the video below.