President Biden quoted the song “American Anthem” during his keynote address on the opening night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention — and while the tune may not be that familiar to some, it’s one he’s referenced before.
After an introduction by his daughter, Ashley Biden, the outgoing POTUS addressed tens of thousands of United Center’s attendees who chanted “Thank You” as they gave him a lengthy standing ovation.
He ended his remarks by quoting “American Anthem,” written by Gene Scheer: “Let me know in my heart when my days are through, America, America. I gave my best to you.”
According to the song’s creator, it was penned in the late 1990s.
Grammy winning opera singer Denyce Graves performed the song in 1998 at the Smithsonian Institution for then President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton during a “Save America’s Treasures” launch event.
In the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, she performed it again on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Larry King Live,” and later sang it at the 2005 inauguration of George W. Bush. Graves also joined Patti LaBelle and Take 6 on her 2003 PBS TV special “Breaking the Rules” for a rendition.
Another Grammy winner, New York City native Norah Jones recorded “American Anthem” as the theme song for Ken Burns’ World War II PBS documentary, “The War” in 2007.
Graves was later accompanied by Laura Ward for a Sept. 2020 performance of the song at Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s memorial at Capitol’s Statuary Hall. The late Supreme Court judge counted the sought after mezzo-soprano as one of her favorite opera singers.
Biden previously quoted the song to close out his January 2021 Inaugural Address, which prompted Norah Jones to react on social media.
“Hearing President Biden share the familiar lyrics to “American Anthem” was deeply moving,” the “Don’t Know Why” singer wrote on Facebook. “The song, written by Gene Scheer, carries so much meaning. I was asked to sing it for Ken Burns’ documentary, “The War,” and have always been struck by the song’s message, one that honors the past and commits to the work we have to do going forward.”
Scheer, who hails from New York, said he was “truly in shock” when Biden quoted the song that first time.
The composer and librettist told the New York Times the song was inspired by Catherine Drinker Bowen’s 1966 book “Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention.”
“I wrote the song just thinking about what the country means to me and this balancing act between personal freedom and collective responsibility,” he said.
