"There's a Star-Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere" is a patriotic anthem written in 1942 by Paul Roberts and Shelby Darnell (a pseudonym for producer Bob Miller). With

Elton Britt Elton Britt (born James Elton Baker; June 27, 1913 – June 22, 1972) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician, who was best known for his western ballads and yodelling songs. Biography Britt was born on a farm near Ma ...

's version selling well over one million copies, the song was

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

's greatest World War II hit, though ''

Your Hit Parade ''Your Hit Parade'' is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1953 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During its 24-year r ...

'' would not feature the song in its original country music format.

History

The song was completed, along with other tunes, on Swan's Island, Maine, where Paul Roberts visited and performed with his soon to become wife, Annie Marrithew, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The song enjoyed its greatest popularity during the war years. The ''somewhere'' in the title of the song refers to an idealistic version of heaven reserved for the brave

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word ...

fighting the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

, somewhat akin to the concept of

Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla ( , ; , )Orchard (1997:171–172) is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. There were five possible realms the soul could travel to after death. The first was Fólkvang ...

. The verses are a narrative of a young disabled man, who still yearns to fight and earn his place in this patriotic afterlife. Elton Britt's version was recorded in 1942 with President Roosevelt asking Britt to perform the song for him at the White House.

Jimmy Wakely James Clarence Wakely (February 16, 1914 – September 23, 1982) was an American actor, songwriter, country music vocalist, and one of the last singing cowboys. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, he released records, appeared in several B-Western ...

recorded a version in June 1942.

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

sang the song on his "Sergeant Gene Autry Show." on Sunday, August 16, 1942.

Other versions

Other lyrics to this melody have been recorded by Red River Dave in 1960 and called ''Ballad of Francis Powers''. This is a song about the U.S. flier,

Francis Gary Powers Francis Gary Powers (August 17, 1929August 1, 1977) was an American pilot who served as a United States Air Force officer and a CIA employee. Powers is best known for his involvement in the 1960 U-2 incident, when he was shot down while fly ...

, who has been shot down on a spy mission over Soviet territory and taken

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

; he is shown singing ''There's A Star-Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere'' in prison. Numerous performers have recorded "There's a Star-Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere" through the years. One of the most successful versions was recorded by country music artist

, whose version reached No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' magazine's pop chart in 1942. Another recording was made by country singer

Wynn Stewart Winford Lindsey "Wynn" Stewart (June 7, 1934 – July 17, 1985) was an American country music singer and songwriter. He was one of the progenitors of the Bakersfield sound. Although not a huge chart success, he was an inspiration to such artist ...

, on his 1968 Capitol Records album ''In Love''.

References

;Bibliography *

External links

''There's A Star-Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere'' lyrics''Ballad of Francis Powers'' lyrics
American patriotic songs Songs of World War II 1942 songs 1942 singles North American anthems {{anthem-stub