Hail to the Chief is a musical composition used to officially announce the arrival or presence of the President of the United States. Although generally performed as an instrumental work, “Hail to the Chief” is a song. The words come from The Lady of the Lake (1810), a poem by Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. James Sanderson, an English composer, set Scott’s words to an old Scottish tune, and this song was published in the United States in 1812. The song had achieved its status as a ceremonial tribute to the President by the time James Polk took office in 1845.
