The Star Spangled Banner

Composed by Francis Scott Key,
"In Defense of Fort McHenry",
September 20, 1814.

Oh, 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,
Thro' 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 thro' 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 freemen shall stand,
Between their lov'd 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 preserv'd us as a nation!
Then conquer we must,
When our cause 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!

Congress proclaimed it the U.S. National Anthem in 1931.

Lyrics: www.scoutsongs.com

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