Star Spangled Banner
Poem by Francis Scott Key written in 1814
Originally titled: Defence of Fort McHenry
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 through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bomb bursting in air,
Gave proof through 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 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–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 footstep's 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 freemen 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 power 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.
A fifth verse was written by Oliver Wendell Holmes in 1861 that speaks to the Civil War or the American Revolution and his sadness about the Enemy from within.
When our land is illum'd with Liberty's smile,
If a foe from within strike a blow at her glory,
Down, down, with the traitor that dares to defile
The flag of her stars and the page of her story!
By the millions unchain'd who our 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.
Upon publication, music was added from an old bar tune, "the Anacreon in Heaven." Later that same year, the title was changed to the "Star Spangled Banner." In 1889, the Navy sang the song as the flag was raised and lowered. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson declared the song to be the National Anthem for the Armed Forces. The following year, an official arrangement for the music was made by a committee that included John Philip Sousa and Walter Damrosch. In 1931, Congress declared the Star Spangled Banner to be the Nation's official Anthem.