Posted on 07/04/2011 6:38:57 AM PDT by quintr
NATIONAL ANTHEM -- STAR SPANGLED BANNER by Francis Scott Key
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, 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 through 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 in the stream: 'Tis the star-bangled banner! Oh 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 washed out their foul footsteps' pollution. No refuse 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!
Oh! thus be it ever, when freeman shall stand Between their loved home and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved 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!
Sure wish they would sing all 4 every time. Great history lesson.
Agree wholeheartedly.
We got a brief history lesson of the Battle of Baltimore before church yesterday and sang all four verses. The flag that was flown was 32x40’
Hard to miss that one!
“And the rockets red glare...” These rockets were taken from the Tipu Sultan in India after the British defeated him in 1799. This stolen technology that was new to the west. They caused a lot of consternation until it was realized that they were impossible to aim accurately. They were also used against Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans.
All 4 verses with history intro, dedicated to victims of 9-11:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piT33GV2EMA
Marine sings 4th verse at Herman Cain Tea Party gathering:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj4mKHL_nBM
Combined service academy choirs sing SSB- 1s verse only but wow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ETrr-XHBjE
Thanks for the link! Just played it for the kids. Once wasn’t enough though. GOD is great!
Actually, it sometimes has a FIFTH verse, or at least if you look in songbooks printed in the early 1860’s:
When our land is illumined with liberty’s smile,
If a foe from within strikes a blow at her glory,
Down, down with the traitor that tries to defile
The flag of the stars, and the page of her story!
By the millions unchained,
Who their birthright have gained
We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave,
While the land of the free is the home of the brave.
also, I may be mistaken about this, so someone feel free to correct me, but I believe the actual act of Congress that officially designated it our national anthem only adopted the first stanza
Has any one heard performers sing the national anthem in the present tense? "What so proudly we hail . . . O'er the ramparts we watch . . . ." It's bad enough they think verbal pyrotechnics are required they think they're describing a present event.
'La bonne cuisine est la base du véritable bonheur.' - Auguste Escoffier
(Good food is the foundation of genuine happiness.)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
Thanks for your post. I did not know there was a 5th stanza.
I didn’t either until recently, It seems to be a civil war add on, and written purportedly by no less a personage than Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ father
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