The Anacreontic Song

A group of amateur musicians formed a club in London in the mid-1700s called the Anacreontic Society. They had day jobs as the pillars of society, but at night they would get together and present concerts. Member John Stafford Smith wrote a song that became known as the Anacreontic Song with six stanzas that became the official anthem of the group.

In all probability some drinking did occur at Society meetings, but the primary purpose of the Society (and its song) was to promote an interest in music. [The song] was commonly used as a sobriety test: If you could sing a stanza of the notoriously difficult melody and stay on key, you were sober enough for another round.

You can listen to a version of the Anacreontic Song on YouTube and hear why why this song is so remarkable. Learn more at Scribal terror. http://scribalterror.blogs.com/scribal_terror/2009/08/name-that-tune.html