Songs Lyrics and YT- Youtube Music Videos

Traditional - Frankie And Johnny

Traditional - Frankie And Johnny Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: various
Released: 1904

Frankie And Johnny Lyrics

Frankie And Johnny

Originally titled "Frankie and Albert," this traditional murder ballad was inspired by the real-life crime of passion committed by Frankie Baker in 1899. Frankie discovered her lover, Albert Britt, had been with another woman and took revenge by shooting him at a boardinghouse in St. Louis, Missouri. She would be acquitted under plea of self-defense.

The origins of the song as we know it today are a bit murky. That same year, local singer Bill Dooley composed a song sensationalizing the case, and it became a popular mainstay in local saloons before its official publication as "Frankie and Johnny" in 1904. The song was not credited to Dooley, however, but to ragtime composer/lyricist Hughie Cannon.

Frank and Bert Leighton's 1908 version, which was published as "Frankie and Johnny" in 1912, brought us the familiar opening:

Frankie and Johnny were sweethearts
They had a quarrel one day

Countless covers over the years have provided many variations of the song. Sometimes the duo are "lovers" instead of "sweethearts." Johnny's mistress can be Alice Pry or Nelly Bly. Sometimes, Frankie is cheered by onlookers as she shoots Johnny and is exonerated; other times, she's executed.

Many artists have recorded this, including Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. Sam Cooke sang a cleaner version than most, which is the most popular contemporary cover. Here are the charting versions in America:

1959, #57 - Johnny Cash
1961, #20 - Brook Benton
1963, #14 - Sam Cooke
1964, #75 - The Greenwood County Singers
1966, #25 - Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley starred in a 1966 movie called Frankie And Johnny where he performed the song. In 1991, another movie of the same name was released starring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer, who in one scene banter over the song when they realize they are named Frankie and Johnny. The exchange:

Pfeiffer: Didn't they kill each other?
Pacino: No. She killed him. You got the edge there.

In 1942, the real Frankie Baker filed a defamation suit against Republic Pictures for the 1936 film Frankie and Johnnie, starring Helen Morgan and Chester Morris. Frankie lost the lawsuit and was never able to escape her reputation as a murderer, though she had been acquitted. She said during the (defamation) court proceedings: "I was pointed out as the worst woman in the world and introduced as the Frankie of song, instead of Miss Baker."

Brook Benton's R&B version was included in the 2011 compilation Mad Men: A Musical Companion.

Anika Noni Rose performed this in the 2011 miniseries Bag of Bones, based on the Stephen King novel. Rose played Sara Tidwell in the movie.

Traditional - Rockabye Baby

Traditional - Rockabye Baby Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Rockabye Baby
Released: 1872

Rockabye Baby Lyrics

Rockabye Baby

Originally titled "Hush-a-bye Baby," this nursery rhyme was said to be the first poem written on American soil (according to 1904's Book Lover). There's no official record, however, that proves when the song was written. Some sources claim it was as early as the 1500s. It first appeared in print in Mother Goose's Melody in 1765 and contained a stern morality lesson in the footnote: "This may serve as a Warning to the Proud and Ambitious, who climb so high that they generally fall at last."

Several rumors exist about "Rock-a-bye Baby's" origin, none of which has been proven:

It was written by a pilgrim who sailed to America on the Mayflower. During this trip, the young passenger observed the way Native American women rocked their babies in birch-bark cradles suspended from the high branches of a tree, allowing the wind to rock the baby to sleep.

Effie Crockett, a relative of Davy Crockett, wrote the lyrics in 1872 while babysitting a restless child. (Indeed, Crockett - known as Effie I. Canning - has an IMDB filmography containing over 175 credits for the extensive use of "Rock-a-bye Baby" in film and television.)

It was inspired by an English family, the Kenyons, who lived in a vast tree house fashioned out of an ancient yew tree.

Author Gerald Massey ties the rhyme into Egyptian mythology in his book Ancient Egypt, claiming the baby is the god Horus.

Another legend finds the rhyme's origins steeped in the political climate prior to the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The baby refers to the heir born to England's King James II. Supposedly written in an English pub, the original lyrics served as a death wish upon the newborn prince in hopes the empire would be overthrown.

Even though this song is supposed to be a lullaby with a tender melody, many claim it's violent and abusive. It starts out sweet and innocent with the gentle "Rock-a-bye Baby," but quickly turns to disaster with when the bough breaks and down comes baby, cradle and all.

The title "Rock-a-bye Baby" was used for a 1958 comedy starring Jerry Lewis as a TV repairman who agrees to care for his movie star sweetheart's triplets.

If you're looking for a version of this song where the baby doesn't meet its doom, Candice Night recorded a more comforting rendition for her 2015 album Starlight Starbright with her husband Ritchie Blackmore on guitar. Her lyric becomes:

When that wind blows, there's nothing to fear
'Cause mommy and daddy will always be here

In our interview with Night , she said, "If you are a parent or caregiver you have absolutely every right - more than that, it should be your duty really - to do whatever you can do to comfort your child and let them know everything is all right. Even if it isn't... We all shoulder burdens and hide truths from our children so that they can retain their innocence. And the most vulnerable time for a child is right before bedtime. Why would anyone want to scare them at that moment?"

Traditional - The Peace Of The Roses

Traditional - The Peace Of The Roses Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: various
Released: 1486

The Peace Of The Roses Lyrics

The Peace Of The Roses

This was written shortly after the birth of Arthur, Prince of Wales, and appears in a song book from the court of his father, Henry VII (1457-1509). Henry was the first of the Tudors, ascending to the throne on the death of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485, the last significant battle in what was known as the Wars of the Roses. The head of the House of Lancaster, on January 18, 1486, he married Elizabeth York cementing an alliance between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. On September 20, 1486, their first son, Arthur, was born at Winchester - as in Winchester Cathedral. Winchester is also the legendary seat of Camelot, and Arthur was named after its equally legendary king.

"The Peace Of The Roses" acknowledges this alliance:

"I love the Rose both Red and White
Is that your pure perfect appetite?
To hear talk of them is my delight,
Joyed may we be
Our Prince to see
In Roses three".

In other words, the Red Rose of Lancaster unites with the White Rose of York to form the Tudor Rose.

Alas, that was as good as things got for the House of Tudor. On November 14, 1501, Arthur was married to Catherine of Aragon - who was barely a year older - but died April 2 the following year aged only 15. In 1509, Arthur's brother Henry married his widow, the first of his six wives. After divorcing Catherine he married Anne Boleyn, and when like Catherine she was unable to give him the son and heir he wanted, he chopped off her head, which was obviously bad news for her, but Anne's execution did inspire one of the most memorable dark songs of the 1930s, "With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm."

Traditional - Danny Boy

Traditional - Danny Boy Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Songs Of Old Ireland
Released: 1913

Danny Boy Lyrics

Oh, Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side.
The summer's gone, and all the roses falling,
It's you, it's you must go and I must bide.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow,
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow,
It's I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow,
Oh, Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so!

But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying,
If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
You'll come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an Ave there for me.
And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me,
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be,
For you will bend and tell me that you love me,
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me!

Writer/s: HUNTER, NIGEL/BRUCE, DUNCAN/NUTTER, ALICE/WATTS, LOUISE
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Danny Boy

Originally set to the tune of the ancient melody "The Londonderry Air," this song has been rumored to have been written about a father singing to his son, who apparently was named Danny. The song was based on a story about an Irish father whose son was eventually going off to war in Ireland.

Many of the traditional versions have only four verses, but the most recognized version, and the most common one for Ireland, has six verses in total. (thanks, Annabelle - Eugene, OR)

Some of the many artists who recorded this include Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Johnny Cash, Patti LaBelle, Glen Miller and Elvis Presley.

Tradition links the composition of the piece to a seventeenth century blind harpist, Rory Dall O'Cahan. In 1851, Jane Ross, of Limavady, Co Londonderry, wrote down the music after hearing it played by an itinerant fiddler. The "Londonderry Air" became popular with the Irish diaspora, especially in America, and in 1910, Frederick Edward Weatherly, an English lawyer, who is thought never to have set foot in Ireland, wrote the words.

According to the book Sunshine and in Shadow: The Family Story of Danny Boy written by Weatherly's great grandson Anthony Mann, after Weatherly penned the lyrics, he struggled to find the right melody for the song. Eventually Weatherly's sister-in-law, Margaret Enright, an Irish American known as Jess, introduced the tune he was looking for when she sung "Londonderry Air" to the lyricist while visiting his home in 1912. Weatherly shaped the lyrics to the tune and published "Danny Boy" soon after. However, Frederic never acknowledged Jess's contribution, which caused a major division in the family. Mann explained to The Irish Times: "Jess, who resented for the rest of her life the fact that Fred had taken this melody and made it his own, went on (with Eddie) to die in poverty while Fred enjoyed both fame and wealth."

Prudish Victorians, concerned that "Londonderry Air" bore too close a resemblance to the phrase "London derrière," preferred to refer to it by the title "An Air From County Derry."

If you don't like this song or are just sick of it, you're not the only one. When we asked Matt Kelly of the Dropkick Murphys about his favorite Irish songs, he replied: "I love 'Come Out Ye Black and Tans,' 'At The Rising of the Moon' is a great tune, and 'My Brother Sylveste' is a great song. Those are some of the bigger ones. You know, if I never heard 'Oh, Danny Boy' or 'Smile Again,' it would be just fine."

Traditional - Happy Birthday

Traditional - Happy Birthday Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Happy Birthday
Released: 1893

Happy Birthday Lyrics

Happy Birthday

This song was written by two sisters from Kentucky: Mildred Hill and Patty Hill. They both taught nursery school and/or kindergarten. Patty invented the "Patty Hill blocks" used in schools nationwide, and served on the faculty of the Columbia University Teachers College for thirty years. Mildred, who was the older sister, studied music and became an expert on Negro spirituals. In 1893, while Mildred was teaching at the Louisville Experimental Kindergarten School where her sister served as principal, she came up with the melody to this song. Patty added some lyrics and it became a song called "Good Morning to All," which was a way for teachers to greet students.

Here are the original lyrics:

Good morning to you
Good morning to you
Good morning, dear children
Good morning to all

Later in 1893, the song was published in the songbook Song Stories For The Kindergarten, and other schools started singing it. After a while, it became more popular for kids to sing it to teachers, and the song became commonly known as "Good Morning To You," since the third line could be changed to fit the subject.

It's unclear who wrote the words "Happy Birthday To You," but the lyrics first appeared in a songbook in 1922 as the optional third verse of "Good Morning to You" (listed as "Good Morning and Birthday Song") with the lyrics to "Happy Birthday" as the optional third verse, and instructions on how to insert the birthday child's name.

Various movies and radio shows started using the song as a birthday greeting, and "Good Morning To You" morphed into "Happy Birthday To You." It was used in the 1931 Broadway musical The Band Wagon and was part of Western Union's first "singing telegram" in 1933. It was also used in the Irving Berlin musical As Thousands Cheer. The Hill sisters were not compensated for use of "Happy Birthday To You," so their other sister Jessica filed suit to prove that "Happy Birthday To You" was their song with different lyrics. The court agreed and gave the Hill sisters the copyright to "Happy Birthday To You" in 1934, which meant that anytime it was used in a movie, radio program, or other performance, the Mildred and Patty Hill were compensated. (In the case of Mildred, her estate was compensated, since she died in 1916.)

The Clayton F. Summy Company, working with Jessica Hill, published and copyrighted "Happy Birthday" in 1935. Under the laws in effect at the time, the Hills' copyright would have expired after one 28-year term and a renewal of similar length, falling into public domain by 1991. However, the Copyright Act of 1976 extended the term of copyright protection to 75 years from date of publication, and the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 added another 20 years, bringing copyright protection to "Happy Birthday" until at least 2030. Challenges to the copyright itself (see below) nullified this copyright in 2015.

Warner Chappell, the largest music publishing company in the world, got the rights to this song when they bought what was The Clayton F. Summy Company in 1998 for a reported price of $25 million. They spun off the company as Summy-Birchard Music, which became a part of Time Warner.

The song brought in about $2 million in royalties every year, with the proceeds split between Summy-Birchard and the Hill Foundation. Both Hill sisters died unmarried and childless, so their share of the royalties presumably went to charity or to nephew Archibald Hill ever since Patty Hill passed away in 1946.

When this song was under copyright (1949-2015), you could sing it at a birthday party without paying royalties, but anytime it was performed in public in front of a large gathering of people (like at a concert) or broadcast, a performance license was required. This is normally issued in the US by three companies: ASCAP, BMI and SESAC - The Hill Foundation is a member of ASCAP.

Companies that are required by law to have performance licenses operate radio stations, TV stations, concert venues, and restaurants and other retail outlets over a certain size where music is played. A blanket deal with ASCAP means these venues could sing "Happy Birthday" as much as they'd like, but many outlets didn't have such a deal, which is where it got tricky.

Some TV networks, for instance, clear songs on an individual basis, so if a host decided to serenade an audience member with "Happy Birthday," the station was on the hook, and ASCAP would send them a bill for pretty much any amount they deemed reasonable. Broadcasters in these situations were under strict orders NOT to sing it. Many restaurants created their own birthday songs in large part to avoid legal trouble.

On September 22, 2015, a judge ruled that the copyright to "Happy Birthday to You" was invalid, putting the song in the public domain.

The lawsuit was filed in 2013 by Jennifer Nelson, a filmmaker working on a documentary about the song. After researching the song, she decided that it should be free to the public, and she objected to the $1,500 payment Warner Music asked for its use in her film, prompting the legal action.

As evidence in the case, Nelson presented the 1922 songbook where the song's lyrics first appeared. Since the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 states that any work created before 1923 is public domain (keeping Mickey Mouse and other Disney copyrights valid), "Happy Birthday" would thus be free.

The case had an impact not just on those hoping to use the song gratis, but on those who had already paid royalties for its use, since those could possibly be recouped. In December 2105, a settlement was reached with Warner Music agreeing to pay $14 million to thousands of people and entities in a class action who had paid to license the song. Months later, the same law firm was employed in effort to bring the song "We Shall Overcome" into the public domain.

It was rumored that Paul McCartney owned the rights to this song. McCartney bought the publishing rights to a lot of songs (including most of Buddy Holly's), but he does not own this one.

One of the most famous performances of this song was Marilyn Monroe's rendition to US President John F. Kennedy in May 1962 at Madison Square Garden. Monroe was accompanied on the piano by jazz pianist Hank Jones who recalled in a 2005 interview on National Public Radio: "She did 16 bars: eight bars of 'Happy Birthday to You' and eight bars of 'Thanks for the Memories. So in 16 bars, we rehearsed eight hours. She was very nervous and upset. She wasn't used to that kind of thing. And, I guess, who wouldn't be nervous singing 'Happy Birthday' to the president?"

In our interview with Tom Gabel of Against Me!, he told us: "If I could have written any song in the world it would have been 'Happy Birthday.' It's the only song that groups of people annually sing specifically for someone specifically in an attempt to make them feel special. It's a completely unique song and it's ubiquitous." (Gabel would later identify as female and take the name Laura Jane Grace.)

This was named the highest-earning song of all time in the documentary The Richest Songs In The World, which aired on BBC Four on December 28, 2012. Runner-up was Irving Berlin's "White Christmas."

This was the first song to be performed in outer space. On March 8, 1969, the astronauts on Apollo IX sang it to celebrate the birthday of Christopher Kraft, who at that time was director of NASA space operations.

In a 1989 Time Magazine article, this was one of the three most popular songs in the English language, along with "Auld Lang Syne" and "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow." (thanks, Jimmy - Bronxville, NY)

Traditional - Hymn To Ninkasi

Traditional - Hymn To Ninkasi Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: stone tablet only
Released: 1964

Hymn To Ninkasi Lyrics

Hymn To Ninkasi

Alternatively "Hymn To Nin-kasi", this is one of the oldest extant songs in the world. It can be dated to around the 18^th Century BC, and can be viewed as either a prayer and/or a drinking song and/or a beer brewing recipe! Ninkasi was the Sumerian goddess of beer.

The words were inscribed on a clay tablet that was found in what is now Iraq. Although the music has been lost - assuming there was music, as most likely there was, along with the name of the composer(s) - something far more important was recovered. The words were translated in 1964 by Miguel Civil at the University of Chicago.

In August 1991 it was reported that Solomon Katz of the University of Pennsylvania had teamed up with Fritz Maytag of the Anchor Brewing Company to brew the actual beer as described in the hymn/song/poem/recipe. It is said to have a dry flavor similar to apple cider but retaining the flavor of dates. (thanks, Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2)

Traditional - Nearer, My God, To Thee

Traditional - Nearer, My God, To Thee Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: various
Released: 1850

Nearer, My God, To Thee Lyrics

Nearer, My God, To Thee

Sometimes one or both the commas in the title are dropped from the title of this early 19^th Century hymn. Not a great deal is known about its origin, but it is best known for its relationship with one of the most famous maritime disasters of the following century because it is the song that was played by Wallace Hartley, band leader on the Titanic as the ship went down. In October 2013, the violin Hartley used was auctioned for £900,000 exclusive of buyer's premium and value added tax.

"Nearer, My God, To Thee" started life as a poem by Sarah Flower Adams, who died in 1848. It is said to have been inspired by or based loosely on the Biblical reference to Jacob's dream, as was the Rush track "Jacob's Ladder" a century-and-a-half later.

The poet wrote the words at her home at Loughton, Essex, and initially it was set to music by her sister, Eliza Flower, but it has also been set to the tunes of "Horbury" (1861), "Propior Deo", "St.Edmund" (by Arthur Sullivan in 1872) and most often by the 1856 "Bethany", composed Lowell Mason.

"Nearer, My God, To Thee" was also sung by the crew of the SS Valencia when the ship went down off the coast of Vancouver in January 1906. (thanks, Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 3)

Jacob's dream is presented in Genesis 28:11-19. Let's take a look at how the hymn's lyrics match up with the story.

By this time, Jacob is on the run from his twin brother, Esau, who vowed to kill Jacob for taking his birthright and stealing his blessing from their dying father.

Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness be over me, my rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I'd be nearer, my God, to Thee.

As he settles down to rest on his journey, he dreams of a ladder coming down from heaven with angels ascending and descending upon it.

There let the way appear, steps unto Heav'n;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy giv'n;
Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee..

God appears and promises the land around him will belong to Jacob and his descendants. "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done that of which I have spoken to you," He says. When Jacob awakens, he names the land Bethel, meaning House of God.

Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs Bethel I'll raise.
So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee.

While there are many interpretations of Jacob's Ladder, many Christian scholars believe the ladder represents Jesus Christ as the connection between man and God, citing John 1:51: "And he [Jesus] said to him, 'Truly, truly I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.'"

There in my Father's home, safe and at rest,
There in my Savior's love, perfectly blest;
Age after age to be nearer, my God, to Thee.

Traditional - The Star-Spangled Banner

Traditional - The Star-Spangled Banner Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Celebrate America
Released: 1814

The Star-Spangled Banner Lyrics

The Star-Spangled Banner

This song is the national anthem of the United States. The poem that formed the basis of the lyrics was penned in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, a 35-year-old lawyer who was sent to negotiate with the British in an attempt to gain the release of an American prisoner they were holding. On September 7, Key reached the British fleet and after a few days of negotiations, secured the release of the prisoner. However, the British planned to attack Baltimore and would not release the Americans until after the battle. On September 13, the British launched a fierce bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore that lasted throughout the night, an event Key witnessed from the deck of a US truce ship. The next morning (in the "dawn's early light") Key saw the Americans take down the battle-torn US flag at the fort and replace it with a larger one. This inspired him to write down notes for his famous poem, which he finished upon his return to Baltimore the evening of the 16th. Key later described the event: "Through the clouds of the warthe stars of that banner still shone in my view, and I saw the discomfited host of its assailants driven back in ignominy to their ships. Then, in he hour of deliverance, and joyful triumph, my heart spoke; and 'Does not such a country and such defenders of their country deserve a song?' was its question." (Thanks to the folks at the Fort McHenry national monument for providing this information. Check out the Fort in Song Images.)

Key's poem was published on September 17, 1814, the day after he returned to Baltimore. The poem was sung to the music of a popular British drinking song called "To Anacreon in Heaven" (also known as "The Anacreontic Song"), which has been attributed to John Stafford Smith.

Before 1931, the US National Anthem was "My Country 'Tis Of Thee."

"The Star Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889 and the White House in 1916. It got more attention when it was played during the seventh-inning stretch at Game 1 of the 1918 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. World War I was raging on, and when the band at the ballpark played the song, the players faced the flag and stood at attention. The fans did likewise, and this ritual was repeated for the rest of the Series. In ensuing years, the song was often played at baseball games as a show of patriotism. The song gained supporters, and on March 3, 1931 it was made the US National Anthem by a Congressional resolution.

The flag that was raised over Fort McKenry on September 16, 1814 is considered the Star Spangled Banner. It measures 42 by 30 feet and was made by Mary Pickersgill. The American officers wanted a huge flag so that the British would have no trouble seeing it in the distance and know that the Americans were not defeated. The flag is displayed in the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of American History in Washington, DC.

The song is hard for amateurs to sing, because of its extended vocal-range requirements. And among the professional singers who have the vocal finesse and range to "nail" all of the high notes, many often forget or stumble over the lyrics - one reason why the song is frequently prerecorded and lip-synched for public performances.

The song consists of four verses, but it is very rare to hear any but the first performed. One poll showed that 61% of Americans don't know all of the words to the song. Of those who claim to know all the words, only 39 percent know what comes after "Whose broad stripes and bright stars."

Like the British national anthem "God Save The Queen," the song is one of the few national anthems of the world without a country's name mentioned in the lyrics.

In the US, this is played before most professional sporting events. Many famous and not-so-famous musicians have performed it before football, basketball, hockey and baseball games. Sometimes kids sing it, and celebrities are occasionally asked to sing it with disastrous results. Sprinter Carl Lewis did a painfully bad version, but perhaps no version of the song has generated more ill-will than comedian Roseanne Barr's version sung at a San Diego Padres-Cincinnati Reds doubleheader in July of 1990. It launched more than patriotic fireworks... it generated a veritable firestorm of truculent criticism. Barr's version was called "disgraceful" by then-President George Bush and dubbed "The Barr-Strangled Banner" by the press. More than 25,000 fans heard her attempted belt out of the song transformed into a screeching, horrible performance. When they booed and jeered, Roseanne added insult to comedic injury by grabbing her crotch and spitting onto the field in a misguided attempt to imitate what ballplayers do. The fans didn't think it was funny at all. The San Diego Padres switchboard lit up with more than 1,000 angry calls, and Roseanne reportedly received multiple death threats owing to her disastrous rendition.

At the original Woodstock in 1969, Jimi Hendrix did a famous performance of this song. He was the last act of the festival and was scheduled to close the show on Sunday night, but he didn't take the stage until 8 am Monday morning. Of about 500,000 people who were there over the weekend, only about 30,000 were left, and many of them remember waking up to this song. Jimi did an extended version on his guitar which was very unorthodox and caused some controversy among people who felt he was desecrating the song. He had been playing this version for about a year, beginning as part of a guitar solo he played during "Purple Haze." When he played southern states in the US, he was often warned not to play it because the locals made threats against him, but Jimi always played it anyway. He tried to record his version for an album, but was never happy with the results in the studio. After he died, engineer Eddie Kramer mixed a version from Jimi's studio takes which was released on the album Rainbow Bridge, but his Woodstock performance is by far his most famous version of the song.

Hendrix' version can be seen as an anti-war song about the situation in Vietnam. Halfway through the song, Hendrix imitates the sounds of bombs dropping, machine gun fire and people singing. His version was the first song played when a propaganda radio station called "Radio Hanoi" went on the air broadcasting to American troops serving in Vietnam in an effort to destroy their morale and convince them to desert. (thanks, Euan - Lanark, Scotland)

A controversial Spanish-language version, "Nuestro Himno," was released on 28 April 2006, just days before nationwide immigration-law reform demonstrations on May 1, 2006. Public reaction was divided. "I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English and they ought to learn to sing the national anthem in English," said President George W. Bush.

"Nuestro Himno" is not the first Spanish-language version of the The Star-Spangled Banner to have been published. The United States Department of State's website shows other Spanish-language versions of it, including "Himno nacional - La Bandera de Estrellas," copyrighted in 1919. Another multilingual version was released on May 16, 2006: performing as Voices United for America, 10 singers performed the song in Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Bulgarian, German, Arabic, Japanese, Tagalog, Korean, and English. The song was recorded to raise awareness of House Resolution 793, which states that the National Anthem should be sung only in English.

Other notable moments in Star Spangled Banner history:

Jose Feliciano sings a slow, Jazzy version at Tiger Stadium before Game 5 of the 1968 World Series. It was the first time artistic liberties were taken with the song preceding a major sporting event, and it created a huge controversy. Many Americans felt he defiled the song, and by extension, America, but Feliciano - a native of Puerto Rico - explained that he was simply expressing his love for the United States with feeling. His performance was released as a single and reached #50.

Marvin Gaye's soulful rendition at the 1983 NBA All-Star game the year before his death. Back in 1968, Gaye sang the National Anthem at Game 4 of the World Series - the game before Feliciano. Gaye was asked to keep the "Motown Influence" to a minimum, and sang that one straight, but at the All-Star Game, held at the Los Angeles Forum (where the Lakers played), Gaye walked out to a beat - a major departure from tradition. Gaye put the arrangement together with his musical director Gordon Banks that weekend, and showed up at the Forum shortly before the performance. Lakers management feared for the backlash, but the fans in attendance cheered wildly. This version was the first song played on VH1 when the network went on the air on January 1, 1985.

Whitney Houston's performance at the 1991 Super Bowl when the US was battling the first Gulf War. Her performance was lip-synched, but was released as a single and sold about 750,000 copies.

Steven Tyler changes the words from "Home of the brave" to "Home of the Indianapolis 500" at the 2001 race. The ad-lib didn't go over well and Tyler apologized.

In the Disney/Pixar movie Cars, a funny scene recurs when an an army jeep raises a flag in the morning to this tune, while next door a hippy micro-bus plays the Jimi Hendrix version. (thanks, Mike - Mountlake Terrace, WA)

A 2008 Harris Interactive survey revealed that 67% of Americans know all the words to this song, up from 61% in 2004. Folks in the Midwest and Northeast were more likely to know the words. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

The song has charted three times, all from performances at sporting events. Jose Feliciano's version checked in at #50 in 1968, Whitney Houston's made #20 in 1991, and Jennifer Hudson's performance at the Super Bowl in 2009 nicked the charts at #98. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

Billy Joel sang this at the 1989 Super Bowl, and when asked about the experience in a 1998 interview with Uncut, he said: "It was OK. Between you and me, it's not a very good song, nobody can hit the high notes. They asked me to do it, and I thought it was a good way of getting Super Bowl tickets."

Surprisingly, Joel sang it again for the 2007 game.

Traditional - The Hearse Song

Traditional - The Hearse Song Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: not on an album
Released: 1910

The Hearse Song Lyrics

The Hearse Song Song Chart

Also known as "The Worms Crawl In," this delightful ditty is thought to have originated from the First World War or earlier. Certainly fragments of the lyrics predate the 20th Century, and although our ancestors lacked the technology that makes possible gory horror films like ...Dream Warriors, they certainly did not lack lurid imaginations.

Whether or not it is entirely or partly of American origin, it was popularized by the New England author Alvin Schwartz (1927-92), who included the lyrics of what might be called his version in Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. This 1981 book was written for children, though many people - including those who run the American Library Association - did not consider it entirely suitable for young minds. (thanks, Alexander Baron - London, England)

Traditional - Home on the Range

Traditional - Home on the Range Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Songs of the Old West
Released: 1873

Home on the Range Lyrics

Home on the Range Song Chart

This classic ode to frontier life was written by Kansas homesteader Brewster M. Higley VI as the poem "My Western Home" and first appeared in the Smith County Pioneer in 1873. Higley's friend Daniel Kelley, a Civil War veteran who lived in the Sunflower State for a time, wrote the music.

Both Higley and Kelley moved on to greener pastures after writing it. Higley eventually landed in Oklahoma, while Kelley made Iowa his home.

The original version of this song did not contain the phrase "on the range."

Kansas made this its official state anthem on June 30, 1947.

When Higley was penning his poem, it was a promising time for pioneers who could understand the sentiment "give me a home where the buffalo roam." The 1862 Homestead Act allowed farmers and ranchers to earn the title to 160 acres of land as long as they worked it for five years. The legislation came on the heels of decades-long turmoil in Kansas - white settlers forced Native Americans off of the plains to take control of the land, and then battled each other over the right to own slaves in the territory (before the Civil War).

John Lomax, a professor and collector of folk songs, captured the earliest known recording of the tune when he heard a cattle driver-turned-saloonkeeper singing it in 1908.

In 1910, Lomax did his own rendition, which includes a reference to the Native Americans' plight:

The red man was pressed from this part of the West
He's likely no more to return,
To the banks of Red River where seldom if ever
Their flickering camp-fires burn

"Red man" or "Red skin" were commonly used terms to describe Native Americans by white settlers.

Texan David Guion is credited for first publishing the sheet music in 1925 under the new title "Home on the Range."

Though this has been covered numerous times throughout the years, from Roy Rogers and Dale Evans to Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Porky Pig, the song has never hit the charts.

Neil Young sang this for the opening credits of the 1980 film Where the Buffalo Roam, starring Bill Murray and Peter Boyle.

Willie Nelson sang this over the closing credits of the 2009 war drama The Messenger, starring Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson.