Fun Fact
Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 1:43 pm
One is never too old to learn something new. At least that's true of me. I spent some years of my working life on various military posts (no, I wasn't a camp follower!), which meant I often heard the plaintive call of "Taps." It had never occurred to me to wonder what the name means, though I had a vague idea it had something to do with drumming.
I happened on an item in this morning's Washington Post that explains it, and the explanation is a lot jollier than I had imagined. The history goes back three centuries to Britain, where troops were summoned back to their barracks in the evening by a bugle and drum call that said to nearby tavern owners: "It's time to turn off the taps -- no more ale." The troops knew the call meant their supply was being cut off, so they hightailed it back to bed.
After reading that, I thought of the fact that our national anthem is set to the tune of an old drinking song. I Googled that and found the words to "To Anacreon in Heaven." It's too long to quote here, and I couldn't figure out how one could sing it to the same tune as "The Star Spangled Banner" anyway. (Anacreon was a minor Greek poet whose main interests seemed to be wine, women and song, not necessarily in that order.)
I happened on an item in this morning's Washington Post that explains it, and the explanation is a lot jollier than I had imagined. The history goes back three centuries to Britain, where troops were summoned back to their barracks in the evening by a bugle and drum call that said to nearby tavern owners: "It's time to turn off the taps -- no more ale." The troops knew the call meant their supply was being cut off, so they hightailed it back to bed.
After reading that, I thought of the fact that our national anthem is set to the tune of an old drinking song. I Googled that and found the words to "To Anacreon in Heaven." It's too long to quote here, and I couldn't figure out how one could sing it to the same tune as "The Star Spangled Banner" anyway. (Anacreon was a minor Greek poet whose main interests seemed to be wine, women and song, not necessarily in that order.)