100 Dumb US Laws (With Proof They Exist)
The United States national anthem is titled The Star-Spangled Banner and has held its official status since 1931. The lyrics were penned in 1814 by American poet Francis Scott Key, set to music composed by John Stafford Smith. Interestingly, the melody was originally a popular drinking song. Before 1931, the U.S. did not have an anthem established by federal law; instead, patriotic gatherings commonly featured My Country, ‘Tis of Thee and Hail, Columbia as unofficial anthems.
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U.S. National Anthem
🔊 Audio
The U.S. national anthem is available in both instrumental and vocal arrangements on Wikipedia. You can listen to or download the track in MP3 and other formats in a wide variety of renditions. One of the finest versions is the instrumental performance by the United States Navy Band, available for download in MP3 format.
Best of all, this audio file is in the public domain, making it available for virtually any use without copyright restrictions.
You can also download a rare historical recording of the anthem from 1914, performed by opera singer Thomas Hardie Chalmers.
🎥 Video
A standout rendition occurred at Super Bowl 50, where Lady Gaga performed the national anthem. Twenty-five years earlier, Whitney Houston delivered what many consider the legendary standard at the same event.
YouTube hosts a vast collection of versions of the American anthem with lyrics included.
🗎 How the Anthem Is Sung
While the full text of “The Star-Spangled Banner” contains four verses, typically only the first verse is sung at public events. The second, third, and fourth verses are almost always omitted.
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Original Lyrics of the U.S. National Anthem
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 on 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 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 preserv’d 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. -
Fun Facts About the Anthem
⚪ The Melody Originated as an English Drinking Song
The tune of the anthem comes from an old drinking song popular in 18th-century English pubs. Titled “To Anacreon in Heaven”, it was the official song of the Anacreontic Society, a gentlemen’s club of amateur musicians in London.
Historical records indicate that the music was composed by British musician John Stafford Smith. The lyrics of the original English song were first published in the London magazine The Vocal in 1778.
⚪ Why the Anthem Is Played Before Sporting Events
In the United States, it is a longstanding custom to play the national anthem before the start of NHL, NFL, NBA, and other major sporting events.
While the exact origins are debated, a prevailing theory suggests the tradition gained traction during the 1918 World Series in Chicago. With World War I ongoing, a military band began playing the anthem during the seventh-inning stretch as a display of patriotism.
Spectators in the stands spontaneously began singing along, making a strong impression on Chicago Cubs officials. Starting in 1919, “The Star-Spangled Banner” became a regular feature at Wrigley Field home games, and other teams gradually adopted the practice.
⚪ How “The Star-Spangled Banner” Got Its Name
The title refers to the specific American flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore. Francis Scott Key, who penned the lyrics, witnessed the bombardment firsthand. This historic moment in September 1814 inspired him to write the verses that would become the national anthem.
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