The Star Spangled Banner


THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER
by Francis Scott Key, 1814

Congress adopted the song in 1931 as our national anthem, the result of a nation-wide campaign initiated by the VFW

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 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?

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 Pow'r 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.      

 

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