The Star Spangled Banner serves as the national anthem of the United States in 1814, text by Francis Scott Key. A lawyer and future poet, Key wrote the line after observing British attacks in the War of 1812 and then observing British songs that were caught up in British English songs in heaven. In 1931 it was officially recognized as a national anthem containing texts honoring resilience, freedom and patriotism, and it is usually held at public meetings, sporting events and national ceremonies.
National Anthem Lyrics
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | The Star-Spangled Banner |
| Type | National Anthem |
| Lyricist | Francis Scott Key |
| Year Written | 1814 |
| Original Title | Defence of Fort M’Henry |
| Music By | John Stafford Smith (original melody) |
| Genre | Patriotic Song |
| Themes | Freedom, Patriotism, National Pride |
| Historical Context | War of 1812; Inspired by the U.S. flag flying over Fort McHenry |
| Official Status | Declared U.S. National Anthem in 1931 |
National Anthem Lyrics
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 watch’d, 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?
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?
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 wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country, shall leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From 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.
O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their lov’d home 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.
More Lyrics: Te Iwi E Lyrics
