O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.’ĭetained on British prison ship during the battle, Key watched the enemy bombs fall on Fort McHenry, and was inspired to write ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ as he saw the American flag flying overhead in the early morning hours of September 14, 1814. From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave, And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave. No refuge could save the hireling and slave. A home and a Country should leave us no more? Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution. The third stanza reads: ‘And where is that band who so vauntingly swore, That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion. Though the full poem is the national anthem by law, in practice only the first stanza is ever sung. The national anthem is based on a four-stanza poem written by Key, which recounts the British bombardment of Baltimore harbor during the War of 1812. The debate over the anthem’s third stanza has raged among academic circles for years, with historians brining forth historical context to try to illuminate the intended meaning.
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