Monday, July 03, 2006

The Star-Spangled Banner

—Francis Scott Key, 1814

O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever when free-men shall stand
Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

To read the story behind the writing of our anthem click here or here.

7 comments:

Gayle said...

Thanks for that, JGF! I know the first verse by heart as most patriotic Americans do, but never could remember the others. I won't remember them now, either, but it was nice to read them.

Blessings gal, and have a wonderful Independence Day! :)

ABFreedom said...

I never get tired of reading the whole thing ... can't sing it cause I'll scare everyone away .. lol

Happy 4th jgf!

Anonymous said...

Happy Fourth!

Dionne said...

I loooooooooove this song and still get teary eyed when I sing it!! Happy 4th!!!!!

Jan/The Mom said...

I too love the Star Spangled Banner. But it is a hard song to sing no matter how glorious it is. I have always thought that "America the Beautiful" would make a better national anthem. It is much more poetic as it speaks of our beautiful land and the grace that God has given us. And the melody makes for easy harmony. Happy 230th America!

clew said...

Hey lady! I've been off-blog for a while but am making my way back. Just wanted to check in. Hope you've been well! XOXOXO

shoprat said...

The second and third verses are largely forgotten, and while more people know the fourth, it too does not get the attention it deserves and the first verse really doesn't make sense without the rest. We need to educate people on the whole thing..