What was the original tune of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” later adopted as the U.S. national anthem?

The original tune of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was “Anacreon in Heaven.”

The melody came from an English club song associated with the Anacreontic Society, a London musical organization. The tune was published in the late 18th century and was already familiar in both Britain and the United States before Francis Scott Key’s lyrics were written.

Key wrote the poem “Defence of Fort M’Henry” after witnessing the American defense of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. The poem was later fitted to the existing melody and became widely known as “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Congress officially designated the song as the U.S. national anthem in 1931. The anthem’s words refer to the flag surviving the bombardment of Fort McHenry, while the melody’s British origin is sometimes overlooked. “My Country, ’Tis of Thee” uses the melody of “God Save the King,” not “Anacreon in Heaven.”