

- WHAT ARE THE WORDS TO THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER SONG FULL
- WHAT ARE THE WORDS TO THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER SONG FREE
More specifically, “Defence of Fort M’Henry” was printed as a broadside ballad, so in addition to providing a ballad text (Key’s poem, in this instance), it named the popular tune to which the text was to be sung. Such texts could be written, typeset, printed, and distributed very quickly, so broadsides were an effective means of spreading information. Their texts often dealt with topics of the day, and they frequently carried news of a recent scandal, accident, crime, or execution. Originally untitled, Key’s poem was first printed in Baltimore a few days later, probably on September 17, in a broadside entitled “Defence of Fort M’Henry.” Broadsides- single sheets of paper printed on one side only-were commonplace in larger cities during the 18th and 19th centuries.
WHAT ARE THE WORDS TO THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER SONG FREE
O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!īlest 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,Īnd this be our motto-“In God is our trust,”Īnd the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave 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, And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave. Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution. ’Tis the star-spangled banner-O long may it wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!Īnd 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?
WHAT ARE THE WORDS TO THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER SONG FULL
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam, In full glory reflected now shines in the stream, 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? O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave? 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?Īnd 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 starspangled banner yet wave O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light, Performance: Whitney Houston with The Florida Orchestra, conducted by Jahja Ling (1991) “The Star-Spangled Banner” Composer: John Stafford Smith 1. The text of its earliest surviving draft appears below, transcribed from his handwritten manuscript. Key began his poem onboard the ship and finished it shortly after his release from captivity. Famously, he knew that the American forces had emerged victorious when he saw their flag flying over Fort McHenry in the morning light on September 14, 1814. Key subsequently witnessed the nighttime battle from aboard a British ship. Although Key and his compatriots were successful in their mission, they were held captive after overhearing British officers plan an attack on the city of Baltimore.

During the War of 1812, Key travelled with a delegation to the British flagship HMS Tonnant to negotiate a prisoner exchange. The tune is several decades older than the text, but our story will begin with the famous poem by Francis Scott Key (1779–1843). United States of America: “The Star-Spangled Banner”Īs is the case with almost every national anthem, the words and the tune to “The Star-Spangled Banner”1 were created by different people at different times. United States of America: “The Star-Spangled Banner”.
