US National Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner

US national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.

I'm quite a fan of this song, as well as the Star-Spangled Banner. I have listened to about 18 performances of this song by different singers, and my favorites are:

I have yet to hear a performance that sing more than just the first stanza.

here's lyrics.

US National Anthem

Oh, 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 watched 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.

Chorus
Oh, 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 in the stream

Chorus
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh 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 and the gloom of the grave

Chorus
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Bles't 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, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”

Chorus
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

The lyrics of this song says so much about the human animals. Look at the first stanza. When in war, confusion falls, and one way for the animals to tell about their future's prosperity is to look at the hilltop: “Whose banner is it flying?”.

Why hilltop? Because that's the highest ground where a flag would be most effective in its visual communication. Why flag? Because flag is the visual analog of dog piss; being the most effective in visually communicating territorial claims.

And, observe the lyrics, of blood and bombs and slaves. These are typical words appearing in national anthems. The screed and violence in the Star Spangled Anthem does not necessarily outshine others. Look at the lyrics of National Anthems of the Chinese, French, Russia…

Pop Stars Singing US National Anthem