Our National Anthem...?

[RoryN]

(trying)

O say can you see
by the dawn's early light
what so proudly we hail
at the twilight's last gleaming

Whose broad stripes and bright stars
through the perilous fight
o'er the ramparts we watch
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
bannar yet wave
O'er the land of the free
and the home of the brave

Hmm...how'd I do?

 

[Darkest Lord]

Very well done!!!!!

 

[RoryN]

Really? Does "o'er" happen twice? And is it "yet wave"?

 

[gravyrug]

Really? Does "o'er" happen twice? And is it "yet wave"?

Yep, you got it right. A little strained on the high notes, but that's normal.

 

[Killswitch]

Rockets. We need More ROCKETS!

 

[RoryN]

Well, good. It's nice to know I can do it better than most of the Right who call me an America hater.

 

[Recidiva]

Pretty good!

I can do it too. I like seeing Eddie Izzard's impression of Americans doing the Anthem:

The American national anthem I've noticed is a bit hazy in the middle! ‘Cause it starts strong and you finish strong, but the middle bit's a bit, "And fish in the sky, and a big… monkey pie..." I've seen guys up there, halfway through, just losing it.

"What the fuck is it?"

 

[Peregrinator]

Yep, you got it right. A little strained on the high notes, but that's normal.

No shit. Least sing-able song EVER. There was a brief movement to change it to something people can actually sing comfortably.

Nice job, Rory. Um, you know it has three more verses, right?

I googled. I make no claim to having all the verses stuck in my cranium somewhere:

Francis Scott Key, 1814
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 rockets' 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?


On the shore dimly seen thro' 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 wash'd 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 free-men 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 Pow'r 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!



On Sept. 13, 1814, Francis Scott Key visited the British fleet in Chesapeake Bay to secure the release of Dr. William Beanes, who had been captured after the burning of Washington, DC. The release was secured, but Key was detained on ship overnight during the shelling of Fort McHenry, one of the forts defending Baltimore. In the morning, he was so delighted to see the American flag still flying over the fort that he began a poem to commemorate the occasion. First published under the title “Defense of Fort M'Henry,” the poem soon attained wide popularity as sung to the tune “To Anacreon in Heaven.” The origin of this tune is obscure, but it may have been written by John Stafford Smith, a British composer born in 1750. “The Star-Spangled Banner” was officially made the national anthem by Congress in 1931, although it already had been adopted as such by the army and the navy.

Link, but popups are rife.

 

[MechaBlade]

But can you recite the whole thing?

edit: beaten

 

[Liontamr]

You know you're a Dallas Stars fan when you hear that anthem and it's almost instinct to shout the word "STARS" the two times it's said in the anthem..

 

[RoryN]

You know you're a Dallas Stars fan when you hear that anthem and it's almost instinct to shout the word "STARS" the two times it's said in the anthem..

That's got nothing on Atlanta fans yelling "...and the home of the BRAVES"!

 

[Liontamr]

That's got nothing on Atlanta fans yelling "...and the home of the BRAVES"!

And see that's just saying it wrong.. It's 'brave' not 'braves'

Stars fans win.

 

[Spinaroonie]

It sucks, we need a new one.

 

[RoryN]

And see that's just saying it wrong.. It's 'brave' not 'braves'

Stars fans win.

"O'er the land of the free, and the home of the [favorite sports team]"

Nah; Atlanta fans have the upper hand on this one because the context works far better than randomly shouting "stars".

They know it, I know it...and you know it.