The Star Spangled Banner
Poetry: Our National Anthem
What is your favorite part of going to a big sports game or match?
Is it cheering on your favorite team? Maybe the half-time show performance? Or is it getting some yummy game-time snacks? We all have our own favorite game-day traditions, but there’s one common experience that we have all shared: Before every game, the crowd is asked to stand, remove their hats in a show of respect, and join in singing the national anthem. America’s national anthem is called “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and it was written more than 200 years ago.
Do you remember the words?
It goes like this:
“O 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 through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s 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?”
The Star Spangled Banner
- How it was heard in 1854: From the Smithsonian Museum of American History, this 19th century version (MP3) of the Star-Spangled Banner is from the Smithsonian’s website and collection. According to the Smithsonian’s website, this recording of the National Anthem is performed on original instruments from the National Museum of American History’s collection and played as it would have been heard in 1854. The music is arranged by G. W. E. Friederich.
- How we hear it today: The Museum of American History held a national anthem singing competition. According to the museum, they received over 800 eligible submissions. Here’s the contest winner singing the National Anthem at the Museum of American History:
You may know the words by heart
But it’s just as important to know what they mean. So let’s look at when “The Star-Spangled Banner” was written and how it has since become a central part of American history, pride, and identity.
