the star spangled banner full song lyrics

Yet, the second verse stands in stark contrast. It’s fitting, then, that Independence Day celebrations often include massive fireworks displays accompanied by this anthem. The first stanza is explosive, sounding as if Key watches fireworks all night, but these threaten to destroy everything he holds dear.

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,Īnd this be our motto – “In God is our trust,”Īnd the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation! O thus be it ever when freemen shall standīetween their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!īlest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

No refuge could save the hireling and slaveįrom the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,Īnd the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution. That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusionĪ home and a Country should leave us no more? O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!Īnd where is that band who so vauntingly swore, ’Tis the star-spangled banner – O long may it wave In full glory reflected now shines in the stream, Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam, What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,Īs it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes, On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there, O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?Īnd the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight

What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming, O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light, While Americans traditionally only sing the first stanza, the other three stanzas describe the long night Key witnessed and end with a call to action. The National Anthem, based on the poem “Defence of Fort M’Henry” by Francis Scott Key summarizes the feelings of hope that Star-Spangled Banner gave him as he watched helplessly from captivity. Although national pride isn’t as rampant as it once was, the flag still inspires feelings of awe and gratitude in many citizens, and it’s something that all Americans have looked upon at least once in their lives. Today, we Americans remember those who have fought for the ideals of our nation.

The star spangled banner full song lyrics