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1. 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, through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thru 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?
2. On the shore, dimly seen thru 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! Oh, long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
3. Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes 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 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!
Text: Francis Scott Key, 1779-1843
Music: John Stafford Smith, 1750-1836
-History: (Source: Wikipedia)
“The Star-Spangled Banner” is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from “Defence of Fort McHenry”, a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships in Chesapeake Bay during the Battle of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812.
The poem was set to the tune of a popular British drinking song, written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men’s social club in London. “The Anacreontic Song” (or “To Anacreon in Heaven“), with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Key’s poem and renamed “The Star-Spangled Banner”, it would soon become a well-known American patriotic song. With a range of one and a half octaves, it is known for being difficult to sing. Although the song has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today, with the fourth (“O! thus be it ever when free men shall stand…”) added on more formal occasions. The fourth stanza includes the line “And this be our motto: In God is our Trust.”. The United States adopted “In God We Trust” as its national motto in 1956.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” was recognized for official use by the Navy in 1889 and the President in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301), which was signed by PresidentHerbert Hoover.
Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American officialdom. “Hail, Columbia” served this purpose at official functions for most of the 19th century. “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee“, whose melody is identical to the British national anthem, also served as a de facto anthem before the adoption of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Following the War of 1812 and subsequent American wars, other songs would emerge to compete for popularity at public events, among them “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
On September 3, 1814, Francis Scott Key and John Stuart Skinner set sail from Baltimore aboard the ship HMS Minden, flying a flag of truce on a mission approved byPresident James Madison. Their objective was to secure the exchange of prisoners, one of whom was Dr. William Beanes, the elderly and popular town physician of Upper Marlboro and a friend of Key’s who had been captured in his home. Beanes was accused of aiding the arrest of British soldiers. Key and Skinner boarded the Britishflagship HMS Tonnant on September 7 and spoke with Major General Robert Rossand Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane over dinner while the two officers discussed war plans. At first, Ross and Cochrane refused to release Beanes, but relented after Key and Skinner showed them letters written by wounded British prisoners praising Beanes and other Americans for their kind treatment.
Because Key and Skinner had heard details of the plans for the attack on Baltimore, they were held captive until after the battle, first aboard HMS Surprise and later back on HMS Minden. After the bombardment, certain British gunboats attempted to slip past the fort and effect a landing in a cove to the west of it, but they were turned away by fire from nearby Fort Covington, the city’s last line of defense.
During the rainy night, Key had witnessed the bombardment and observed that the fort’s smaller “storm flag” continued to fly, but once the shell and Congreve rocket barrage had stopped, he would not know how the battle had turned out until dawn. By then, the storm flag had been lowered and the larger flag had been raised.
Key was inspired by the American victory and the sight of the large American flag flying triumphantly above the fort. This flag, with fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, came to be known as the Star Spangled Banner Flag and is today on display in the National Museum of American History, a treasure of the Smithsonian Institution. It was restored in 1914 by Amelia Fowler, and again in 1998 as part of an ongoing conservation program.
Aboard the ship the next day, Key wrote a poem on the back of a letter he had kept in his pocket. At twilight on September 16, he and Skinner were released in Baltimore. He completed the poem at the Indian Queen Hotel, where he was staying, and entitled it “Defence of Fort McHenry.”
Much of the idea of the poem and even some of the wording is arguably derived from an earlier song by Key, also set to the tune of The Anacreontic Song. The song, known as “When the Warrior Returns,” is said to have been written in honor of Stephen Decatur and Charles Stewart on their return from the First Barbary War.
According to the historian Robin Blackburn, the words “the hireling and slave” allude to the fact that the British attackers had many ex-slaves in their ranks, who had been promised liberty and demanded to be placed in the battle line “where they might expect to meet their former masters.”
Key gave the poem to his brother-in-law, Judge Joseph H. Nicholson. Nicholson saw that the words fit the popular melody “The Anacreontic Song“, ofEnglish composer John Stafford Smith, which was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, an 18th-century gentlemen’s club of amateur musicians in London. Nicholson took the poem to a printer in Baltimore, who anonymously printed broadside copies of it—the song’s first known printing—on September 17; of these, two known copies survive.
On September 20, both the Baltimore Patriot and The American printed the song, with the note “Tune: Anacreon in Heaven.” The song quickly became popular, with seventeen newspapers fromGeorgia to New Hampshire printing it. Soon after, Thomas Carr of the Carr Music Store in Baltimore published the words and music together under the title “The Star-Spangled Banner,” although it was originally called “Defence of Fort McHenry.” The song’s popularity increased, and its first public performance took place in October, when Baltimore actor Ferdinand Durang sang it at Captain McCauley’s tavern. Washington Irving, then editor of The Analectic Magazine in Philadelphia, reprinted the song in November 1814.
The song gained popularity throughout the nineteenth century and bands played it during public events, such as July 4 celebrations. On July 27, 1889, Secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracysigned General Order #374, making “The Star-Spangled Banner” the official tune to be played at the raising of the flag.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that “The Star-Spangled Banner” be played at military and other appropriate occasions. Although the playing of the song two years later during theseventh-inning stretch of the 1918 World Series is often noted as the first instance that the anthem was played at a baseball game, evidence shows that the “Star-Spangled Banner” was performed as early as 1897 at opening day ceremonies in Philadelphia and then more regularly at the Polo Grounds in New York City beginning in 1898. However, the tradition of performing the national anthem before every baseball game began in World War II. Today, the anthem is performed before the beginning of all MLS, NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL games (with at least one American team playing), as well as in a pre-race ceremony portion of every NASCAR race. In Baltimore, where the anthem was written, fans at the Baltimore Orioles, Baltimore Ravens, and Maryland Terrapins game often yell “O!” when the anthem reaches the line, “Oh, say does that Star Spangled…”. This began because one of the common nicknames for the Orioles is the “O’s”.
On November 3, 1929, Robert Ripley drew a panel in his syndicated cartoon, Ripley’s Believe it or Not!, saying “Believe It or Not, America has no national anthem”. In 1931, John Philip Sousa published his opinion in favor, stating that “it is the spirit of the music that inspires” as much as it is Key’s “soul-stirring” words. By a law signed on March 3, 1931 by PresidentHerbert Hoover, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was adopted as the official national anthem of the United States.
The first “pop” performance of the anthem heard by mainstream America was by Puerto Rican singer and guitarist Jose Feliciano. He shocked some people in the crowd at Tiger Stadiumin Detroit and some Americans when he strummed a slow, bluesy rendition of the national anthem before game five of the 1968 World Series between Detroit and St. Louis. This rendition started contemporary “Star-Spangled Banner” controversies. The response from many in Vietnam-era America was generally negative, given that 1968 was a tumultuous year for the United States. Despite the controversy, Feliciano’s performance opened the door for the countless interpretations of the “Star-Spangled Banner” heard today. One week after Feliciano’s performance, the anthem was in the news again when American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos lifted controversial raised-fists at the 1968 Olympics while the “Star-Spangled Banner” played at a medal ceremony.
Marvin Gaye gave a soul-influenced performance at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game and Whitney Houston gave a soulful rendition before Super Bowl XXVin 1991, which was released as a single that charted at number 20 in 1991 and number 6 in 2001 (the only times the anthem has been on the BillboardHot 100). Another famous instrumental interpretation is Jimi Hendrix’s version which was a set-list staple from autumn 1968 until his death in September 1970. Incorporating sonic effects to emphasize the “rockets‘ red glare”, and “bombs bursting in air”, it became a late-1960s emblem.Roseanne Barr gave a controversial performance of the anthem at a San Diego Padres baseball game at Jack Murphy Stadium on July 25, 1990. The comedienne belted out a screechy rendition of the song, and afterward she attempted a gesture of ball players by spitting and grabbing her crotch as if adjusting a protective cup. The song and the closing routine offended many in the audience and, later, across the country after it was played on television.
United States Code, 36 U.S.C. § 301, states that during a rendition of the national anthem, when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart; Members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are present and not in uniform may render the military salute; men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold the headdress at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart; and individuals in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note; and when the flag is not displayed, all present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed. Military law requires all vehicles on the installation to stop when the song is played and all individuals outside to stand at attention and face the direction of the music and either salute, in uniform, or place the right hand over the heart, if out of uniform. Recently enacted law in 2008 allows military veterans to salute out of uniform, as well.
However, this statutory suggestion does not have any penalty associated with violations. 36 U.S.C. § 301 This behavioral requirement for the national anthem is subject to the sameFirst Amendment controversies that surround the Pledge. For example, Jehovah’s Witnesses are not required to stand for or sing the national anthem.
As a result of immigration to the United States, as well as the absorption of significant numbers of Spanish-speakers in the Southwest and Puerto Rico, the lyrics of the song were translated into other languages. In 1861, it was translated into German. The Library of Congress also has record of a Spanish-language version from 1919. It has since been translated into Hebrew and Yiddish by Jewish immigrants, Latin American Spanish (with one version popularized during pro-immigration rallies in 2006), French by Acadians ofLouisiana, Samoan, and Irish. The third verse of the anthem has also been translated into Latin.
The song is notoriously difficult for nonprofessionals to sing, because of its wide range – an octave and a half. Garrison Keillor has frequently campaigned for the performance of the anthem in the original key, G major. Humorist Richard Armour referred to the song’s difficulty in his book It All Started With Columbus.
In an attempt to take Baltimore, the British attacked Fort McHenry, which protected the harbor. Bombs were soon bursting in air, rockets were glaring, and all in all it was a moment of great historical interest. During the bombardment, a young lawyer named Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner”, and when, by the dawn’s early light, the British heard it sung, they fled in terror—Richard Armour
Professional and amateur singers have been known to forget the words, which is one reason the song is sometimes pre-recorded and lip-synced. Other times the issue is avoided by having the performer(s) play the anthem instrumentally instead of singing it. Such situations have been lampooned in film (see below). The pre-recording of the anthem has become standard practice at some ballparks, such as Boston’s Fenway Park, according to the SABR publication The Fenway Project. Pop singer Christina Aguilera performed the wrong lyrics to the song prior to Super Bowl XLV, replacing the song’s fourth line, “o’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming,” with an alteration of the second line, “what so proudly we watched at the twilight’s last gleaming”.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” is traditionally played at the beginning of public sports events and orchestral concerts in the United States, as well as other public gatherings. Performances at particularly large events are often ended with a military flypast. The NHL requires arenas in both the U.S. and Canada to perform both the Canadian and American national anthems at games that involve teams from both countries.
One especially unusual performance of the song took place on September 12, 2001, after the United States September 11 attacks: it was played by the Band of the Coldstream Guardsat Buckingham Palace in London at the ceremonial Changing of the Guard as a gesture of support for Britain’s ally.
Several films have their titles taken from the song lyrics. These include two films entitled Dawn’s Early Light (2000 and 2005); two made-for-TV features entitled By Dawn’s Early Light (1990 and 2000); two films entitled So Proudly We Hail (1943 and 1990); a feature (1977) and a short (2005) entitled Twilight’s Last Gleaming; and four films entitled Home of the Brave (1949, 1986, 2004 and 2006).
The Isaac Asimov short story “No Refuge Could Save” takes its title from a line in the third verse. In the story, the protagonist notes that he once ferreted out a German spy during World War II because of the spy’s knowledge of the third verse, which is virtually unknown by Americans.
Ken Burns‘ documentary Baseball consists of 9 “innings”, each of which begins with a rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner that is historically appropriate for the period covered in that episode of the series.
The 2002 movie The Sum of All Fears featured the second half of the fourth verse being sung instead of the first at a major football game.
In Angels in America, the disillusioned Belize says “The white cracker who wrote the national anthem knew what he was doing. He set the word ‘free’ to a note so high nobody can reach it. That was deliberate. Nothing on earth sounds less like freedom to me.”
In The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, main character Frank Drebin butchers the anthem before a baseball game while posing as fictitious opera singer Enrico Pallazzo. Portions of his version include “And the rockets…red glare! Bunch of bombs…in the air!”
In Borat, the titular character sings a fictional Kazakh national anthem to the tune of Star Spangled Banner.
In Eagle Eye (2008) the trigger to detonate an explosive near the US president is set to activate when the high F on a trumpet is played.
A shortened version of the tune is played before the first baseball game in A Boy Named Charlie Brown