The Voice of Praise ‎#202

202. The Star-Spangled Banner

1 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 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;

Chorus:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

2 On the shore, dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foes' haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep
As it fitful √ 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; [Chorus]

3 O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the pow'r that has 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]

Text Information

• First Line: O! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light
• Title: The Star-Spangled Banner
• Author: Francis Scott Key
• Publication Date: 1904

Tune Information

• Name: [O! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light]
• Composer: Samuel Arnold
• Key: B♭ Major