A national anthem is generally a patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions, and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation’s government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from “Defence of Fort M’Henry“, a poem written on September 14, 1814, by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large American flag, the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the American victory.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889, and by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.
By Original uploader was Dr.frog at en.wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3661221
In 1899, the US Navy official adopted “The Star-Spangled Banner”. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered that “The Star-Spangled Banner” be played at military and other appropriate occasions. The playing of the song two years later during the seventh-inning stretch of Game One of the 1918 World Series, and thereafter during each game of the series is often cited as the first instance that the anthem was played at a baseball game, though evidence shows that the “Star-Spangled Banner” was performed as early as 1897 at opening day ceremonies in Philadelphia and then more regularly at the Polo Grounds in New York City beginning in 1898. In any case, the tradition of performing the national anthem before every baseball game began in World War II.
By Francis Scott Key - Frank A. O'Connell; Wilbur F. Coyle (1914). National Star-Spangled Banner Centennial, Baltimore, Maryland, September 6 to 13, 1914 (1914). Baltimore: National Star-Spangled Banner Centennial Commission. p. 64., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3807435
The Star-Spangled Banner – 1944
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 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?
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, should 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 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!
Additional Civil War period lyrics
In indignation over the start of the American Civil War, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.added a fifth stanza to the song in 1861, which appeared in songbooks of the era.
When our land is illumined with Liberty’s smile,
If a foe from within strike a blow at her glory,
Down, down with the traitor that dares to defile
The flag of her stars and the page of her story!
By the millions unchained who our birthright have gained,
We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained!
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
While the land of the free is the home of the brave.
Right or Wrong to Protest the National Anthem?
“The Star-Spangled Banner” is traditionally played at the beginning of public sports events and orchestral concerts in the United States, as well as other public gatherings. The National Hockey League and Major League Soccerboth require venues in both the U.S. and Canada to perform both the Canadian and American national anthems at games that involve teams from both countries (with the “away” anthem being performed first) It is also usual for both American and Canadian anthems (done in the same way as the NHL and MLS) to be played at Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association games involving the Toronto Blue Jays and the Toronto Raptors (respectively), the only Canadian teams in those two major U.S. sports leagues, and in All Star Games on the MLB, NBA, and NHL. The Buffalo Sabres of the NHL, which play in a city on the Canada–US border and have a substantial Canadian fan base, play both anthems before all home games regardless of where the visiting team is based.
Two especially unusual performances of the song took place in the immediate aftermath of the United States September 11 attacks. On September 12, 2001, the Queen broke with tradition and allowed the Band of the Cold-stream Guards to perform the anthem at Buckingham Palace, London, at the ceremonial Changing of the Guard, as a gesture of support for Britain’s ally. The following day at a St. Paul’s Cathedral memorial service, the Queen joined in the singing of the anthem, an unprecedented occurrence.
There is pride in the history carved in the intimate fibers of a nation’s flag and the deep sentiment of its patriotic national Anthem. The blood boils and the heart quivers. When someone attacks a nation it revives the feelings of homeland and heroism. People turn to the God we trust, the history, the meaning of the flag and the hymn. The courageous soldiers that gave their lives for our freedom. Memorial Day and Veterans Day give a especial meaning to the fallen who lived and died in search of freedom. Our greatest pride!
“O thus be it ever, when freemen 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!”
When a leader betrays the nation, there are broken hearts, inexplicable anger and desolation. The courageous men a women stand tall to show pride and readiness to fight back and defend what has cost so many lives.
“We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained!
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
While the land of the free is the home of the brave.”
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_anthem
Flag Picture:
By Original uploader was Dr.frog at en.wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3661221
Lyrics Picture
By Francis Scott Key – Frank A. O’Connell; Wilbur F. Coyle (1914). <a rel=”nofollow” class=”external text” href=”http://www.archive.org/stream/nationalstarspan02nati#page/n63″>National Star-Spangled Banner Centennial, Baltimore, Maryland, September 6 to 13, 1914</a> (1914). Baltimore: National Star-Spangled Banner Centennial Commission. p. 64., Public Domain, <a href=”https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3807435″>Link</a>
“The Star-Spangled Banner” video: Title: Movietone News: “The Star-Spangled Banner” (Version II) (ca. 1944) Sumary: Patriotic montage of scenes accompanying performance of U.S. national anthem as sung by Merrill Miller. Producer: Fox Movietone News Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W Keywords: Patrioti
