Hail to the chief
Hail to the Chief ( German about " Heil dem Anführer"; "Heil" in the sense of "Greeting", "Chief" is among other things the American name for the chief of an Indian tribe) is the official presidential salute for the President of the United States of America , which accompanies him in almost all public appearances. Before that, four drum rolls and fanfares (ruffles and flourishes) are played for the president .
Emergence
The song is said to have its origin in the seascape of the Scottish Highlands. The London- born composer of the piece, the director of the Surrey Theater , James Sanderson (1769–1841), is said to have never stayed there. The text goes back to Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake (1810) with the line "Hail to the Chief who in triumph advances!", Which Sanderson set to music.
In November 1810, Scott wrote to a friend that The Lady of the Lake would be adapted as a play by Martin and Reynolds in London and by a Mister Siddons in Edinburgh . Around the same time, he received a letter from a friend that ended with the boat song Hail to the Chief .
On July 4, 1828, American National Day, the Naval Orchestra played the song at the opening ceremony of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in the presence of President John Quincy Adams . Hail to the Chief was first heard as the announcement music for the president at the inauguration of James K. Polk on March 4, 1845, at the suggestion of Julia Tyler, wife of Polk's predecessor John Tyler . In 1954 the US Department of Defense made the piece the official anthem of the President.
text
The text is by Albert Gamse. It is rarely sung.
Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation,
Hail to the Chief! We salute him, one and all.
Hail to the Chief, as we pledge cooperation
In proud fulfillment of a great, noble call.
Yours is the aim to make this grand country grander,
This you will do, that's our strong, firm belief.
Hail to the one we selected as commander,
Hail to the President! Hail to the Chief!
Cultural references
- The phrase "Hail to the Chief" is often used in American culture to make fun of people in authority - for example, as the title of several film and television productions as well as in music titles.
- The nickname of baseball player Chad Cordero is "The Chief". When his team, the Washington Nationals , play, “Hail to the Chief!” Appears on the scoreboards.
- At the time of the Watergate affair , demonstrators - spreading the word about President Richard Nixon - often sang the song with the words "Jail to the Thief" ( meaning: into jail with the thief) .
- On the occasion of George W. Bush's inauguration in 2001, demonstrators chanted “Hail to the Thief”, alluding to the supposedly “stolen” presidential election the previous year . The rock band Radiohead released an album in 2003 called " Hail to the Thief ".
Trivia
Chester A. Arthur , the 21st President of the United States , could n't really make friends with Hail to the Chief . In a conversation with John Philip Sousa , then Kapellmeister of the United States Marine Band , he asked him to create a new composition for the presidential office. He made two works for this purpose: Presidential Polonaise (1886) and two years later Semper Fidelis (1888). Neither of the two pieces was able to prevail as the presidential salute, and Hail to the Chief is still played to honor the President .
Individual evidence
- ^ Hail to the Chief on the Library of Congress website
- ↑ Semper Fidelis on the official website of the United States Marine Corps
