Hold the Fort

I love that show VH1 Storytellers.

You know the show.

Where famous musicians.

Tell not so famous stories.

About their famous songs.

For our first stop on our trip through Washington DC.

We stopped in Baltimore.

For the 1812 version of VH1 Storytellers.

Who knew they had cable back then.

The place is called Fort McHenry.

And if you haven’t heard of Fort McHenry.

Join the club.

But I know it now.

That's where you find out the real meaning behind the most played song in this country.

No, not Baby by Justin Bieber.

He’s Canadian.

If you’ve ever been to a sporting event in these United States.

You should know all about Fort McHenry.

That’s where the battle between us and them took place.

The battle that inspired Francis Scott Key.

The battle that inspired Key to pen our National Anthem.

If you come to the DC area, take the trip to Baltimore.

For the Snow Crabs.

And the Fort.

It’s well worth the drive.

Long story short.

The British were trying to take over Baltimore.

By taking over the harbor.

But in this all important battle.

The Americans resisted.

And beat on the Brits.

Key was a lawyer who was being detained on a ship a couple of miles away from this battle.

And in the morning.

When the fighting stopped.

He peeked through his binocs to see which flag was flying.

To his satisfaction it was the stars and stripes.

So he went to his iPad and starting writing a song.

Yada yada yada.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Now if I could only figure out what Bohemian Rhapsody is all about.