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Asahikawa American English Conversation School

The Star Spangled Banner

アメリカの国歌

The National Anthem of the United States of America is a song entitled The Star-Spangled Banner.   The words for this song were written as a poem by Francis Scott Key in late 1814.   This poem was first published under the title “Defense of Fort M’Henry” and later as “The Star-Spangled Banner.”   The poem gained wide popularity and was later sung to the melody “To Anacreon in Heaven”.  The origin of this tune is obscure, but it may have been written by John Stafford Smith, a British composer who was born in 1750.

The reason Francis Scott Key wrote this poem can be directly attributed to an incident, which occurred on September 13, 1814.   It was during The War of 1812 in which the U.S. and the British Empire were having a dispute about the freedom of access to the seas for American ships.   During this conflict, a certain Dr. William Beanes, had been captured by the British after the burning of Washington D.C., and was being detained by the British fleet that was anchored in Chesapeake Bay.   Mr. Key was able to secure the release of Dr. Beanes but he had to remain overnight on a British warship and was thus able to observe the British shelling of Fort McHenry, which was one of the forts defending Baltimore, Maryland.

After the intense bombardment of the fort, Mr. Key was delighted to see that the American flag, the so called stars and stripes, was still flying proudly over the badly damaged walls of the compound.   It was this inspiration which motivated him to compose the poem which would officially become the National Anthem of the United States of America by a vote of Congress in 1931.   The words of the poem are as follows………

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, thro’ 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 thro’  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?

Although the poem has three additional verses, they are rarely sung and most Americans, including myself, don’t know them by heart.   The contents of the remaining verses are much like the first verse, a description of the battle and praise for the American fighting spirit.   Some of the descriptions of war are quite graphic and gruesome.

The National Anthem is usually sung by Americans on occasions such as the start of a baseball game or other sporting events.   On these occasions, the entire crowd will stand along with all the team’s players and sing the first verse of the poem.   If the players are wearing hats or helmets, they will remove their headgear and hold it over their hearts while the song is being sung.   After the song has been sung, everybody claps, sits down and waits for the start of the game.

In the case of a very important game, such as the baseball World Series, or the American football Super Bowl, it is customary to have a famous person, such as Whitney Houston lead the crowd in singing the Star-Spangled Banner.   The melody of the National Anthem is rather high-pitched and dramatic, and few people can sing is very well.

   The remaining three verses of the poem are as follows:

As you can see, the English Language as used by Americans today is somewhat different from what it was in 1814 when this poem was written.   All languages are dynamic entities that continually evolve and change as time goes by.

By the way, you can listen to the Country Western Band The Dixie Chicks singing the Star Spangled Banner by clicking on the link below.

Thanks Kuni!!!

The Dixie Chicks singing The Star Spangled Banner

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