It turns out many of our greatest poets inspired musicians and composers. Natalie Merchant set Emily Dickinson’s poem “Because I could not stop for Death” to music in 2005. O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,Īnd this be our motto–“In God is our trust,”Īnd the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!

O thus be it ever when freemen shall standīetween their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!īlest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land No refuge could save the hireling and slaveįrom the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,Īnd the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution. That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusionĪ home and a Country should leave us no more? O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!Īnd where is that band who so vauntingly swore, ’Tis the star-spangled banner-O long may it wave In full glory reflected now shines in the stream, Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam, What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,Īs it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes, On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O say does that star- spangled banner yet wave Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there, O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?Īnd the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight

What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming, O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light, Here are all the four verses, as they were written more than 200 years ago by Key: While the first verse of “The Star-Spangled Banner” is widely known by the American public, the last three verses are generally omitted in performances. What are the forgotten verses of the “Star-Spangled Banner”? The tune has kicked off ceremonies of national importance and athletic events ever since. More than a century later, in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed an executive order designating “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem, and in 1931, the US Congress confirmed the decision.

Lyrics for star spangled banner song