FUN · EFFECTIVE · FAMILY STYLE LEARNING

The Star Spangled Banner

Poem or Song

The United States National Anthem

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 fightO’er the ramparts we watch’d 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,O say does that star-spangled banner yet waveO’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deepWhere 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 waveO’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 confusionA 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 slaveFrom the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth waveO’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever when freemen shall standBetween their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued landPraise 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 waveO’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Fun Facts

  • Francis Scott Key initially was not happy about the US going to war with Great Britain. However, in 1814 when the British raised Washington D.C. and burned the White House, Francis began to support the war effort more.
  • The lyrics to the first verse of this song was intially scibbled on the back of a letter.
  • The flag that Key saw is still on display in the Smithsonian’s National Museum American History.
  • The third verse is commonly ommitted due to its reference to slavery.
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The Story

Francis Key Scott was a lawyer initially opposed to the 1812 war with Great Britain. After the British burned the White House in Washington DC, however, he became more supportive of the war. On September 13, 1814, Francis Key Scott rowed to a British warship to try and negotiate the release of some American prisoners. The British held him on the boat while they began to blast Fort McHenry, which was visible in the distance. For hours the British aimed rockets and shells at the fort. As dawn neared, Scott squinted through the smoke to try and see the fort. As he peered through the smoke, he saw the American flag still standing. The British attack had failed and Baltimore was saved. Inspired by the view, Francis penned this song.

Language Arts Practice

Excerpt

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 fightO’er the ramparts we watch’d 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,O say does that star-spangled banner yet waveO’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

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