Posted on 09/15/2014 8:46:54 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Two hundred years ago today, it was the unlikely convergence of a physician and a lawyer that produced the most recited poem in American history. Its inspiration occurred just a few miles from Fort McHenry, located in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, the site of one of our nation’s most important military conflicts.
[SNIP]
Key, not surprisingly gloats over the failure of the British in the third stanza which was mostly dropped after they became our allies in the 20th century.
But the poem/song’s most powerful stanza is its last. In the fourth stanza Key proclaims the primary reason for the republic’s survival and a divine hope for its glorious future:
“Oh! thus be it ever; when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation,
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heav’n-rescued land
Praise 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 doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
Written 200 years ago. Few words choke me up more.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
A female US Navy sailor sang a very fine rendition prior to last night’s Yankees-Orioles game in Baltimore (200th. anniversary).
I was so gratified they did not book Miley Cyrus or something.
The fourth is the most important verse not the first. Pity our public school educated nation doesn’t even know that there are four verses.
It’s the third stanza that has the liberals panties in a wad, citing it as reason to dump it as our national anthem. This stanza makes it clear that Key is talking about the British and their conduct both in this war and the Revolution. They incited riot and revolution among both the Indian tribes and the slave population and set them against the American people. They did not do this, of course, out of any great love for these poor downtrodden people, slavery was still quite legal in the British Empire and native peoples were subordinated to the interests of Britain throughout the world.
The first verse ends with a question: “Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”
When I sing along I don’t go down for the last note. I go up, to make it a question as it truly is.
Does the flag still wave over the land of the free and the home of the brave? Only America’s people can answer that, and not by anything they sing or say - but only by what they DO. It takes one generation to destroy this country, and I’m afraid the Bill Ayers generation has done it.
It depends on what the rest of us DO. That will be our answer to the QUESTION that is our national anthem.
Francis Scott Key answered it for his day, in the words of the 4th verse.
Americans need to pull our heads out of our rear ends and finally answer it for OUR generation.
Well said.
If anybody watched “Who Do You Think You are?” series, you might recall that one of Chris O’Donnell’s grandfathers, was at Ft. McHenry, manning a cannon, while Francis Scott Key was writing the Star Spangled Banner.
I thought that was really cool .. especially since he’s one of my favorites ever since the series NCIS-Los Angeles went on the air.
The best verse of the song. Happy Birthday day to our national anthem!
I understand what you are saying, but the musical notes as written in a song override pronunciation and grammar in text. If you were speaking the poem, the rising intonation would be correct. In the song, you are supposed to sing the notes.
“Supposed to” doesn’t matter to me any more. My country itself and the importance of that question is more important to me than any rendition of a song.
Musically speaking, the music is always supposed to serve the text.
Few know that the motto on our currency was the nation’s motto proclaimed by the nation’s most famous national anthem, long before it was added to the currency.
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