SUNDAY -- THE FOURTH OF JULY 2010 !!

The Star Spangled Banner
by Francis Scott Key

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 waveO'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On that 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, now conceals, now 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 are the foes who so vauntingly sworeThat the havoc of war and the battle's confusionA home and a country should leave us no more?Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' 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 loved homes and the war desolation;Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued landPraise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!Then conquer we must, for 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!

NOTES AND QUESTIONS
Biographical and Historical Note
Francis Scott Key (1780-1843), a native of Maryland, was a lawyer and poet. His patriotic poem, "The Star-Spangled Banner," which has become a national song, made him famous.

The incidents referred to in this poem occurred during the War of 1812. In August, 1814, a strong force of British entered Washington and burned the Capitol, the White House, and many other public buildings. On September 13, the British admiral moved his fleet into position to attack Fort McHenry, near Baltimore. The bombardment of the fort lasted all night, but the fort was so bravely defended that the flag was still floating over it when morning came.

Just before the bombardment began, Francis Scott Key was sent to the admiral's frigate to arrange for an exchange of prisoners, and was told to wait until the bombardment was over. All night he watched the fort, and by the first rays of morning light he saw he Stars and Stripes still waving. Then, in his joy and pride, he wrote the stirring words of the song which is now known and loved by all Americans--"The Star-Spangled Banner."