To Anacreon in Heaven, where he sat in full glee, A few sons of harmony sent a petition, That he their inspirer and patron would be; When this answer arrived from the jolly old Grecian: Voice, fiddle, and flute, no longer be mute, I'll lend you my name and inspire you to boot And besides I'll instruct you like me to intwine The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine.
–Words by Ralph Tomlinson, music by John Stafford Smith, about 1775.