644. The Star-Spangled Banner

1 O 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 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?

2 O 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 Power 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 Information
First Line: O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light
Title: The Star-Spangled Banner
Author: Francis Scott Key
Meter: Irregular meter
Language: English
Publication Date: 2008
Topic: Patriotic
Tune Information
Name: NATIONAL ANTHEM
Composer (attributed to): John Stafford Smith
Meter: Irregular meter
Key: A♭ Major
Source: Origin Unknown, 18th Century



Media
More media are available on the text authority and tune authority pages.

Suggestions or corrections? Contact us