Jun 06 2010
Our Forgotten History – Awesome!
Reader Lurker9876 had recently posted this little known verse and linked to this amazing moment previously. Here are all the lyrics:
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, thru the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, 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 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 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 washed 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 freemen shall stand,
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest 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 trustâ€
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave
Update: Reader Paul_in_Houston references a piece by Isaac Asimov where he published all four stanzas and discussed the source and meaning of each. It is wonderful to reconnect with our American roots.
I would propose that the Congress amend the National Anthem, sung at all events, to rather include the next to last line to say:
“And the star-spangled banner in TRIUMPH shall wave!”
Let’s see the true American’s who can stand up for TRIUMPH!
And the Tea Party should include the last verse as a rallying cry.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Barbara, AJ Strata. AJ Strata said: new: Our Forgotten History – Awesome! http://strata-sphere.com/blog/index.php/archives/13520 […]
That brought a tear to my eye.
Sad, but I spent some time today trying to find a performance of our national anthem on Youtube in its complete form.
No luck.
What does that say?
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Thanks, AJ Strata!
Oregon Guy, what a great idea! Perhaps someone should ask that guy in the video to sing the whole song?
A long time ago, Isaac Asimov published “All Four Stanzas” as one of his monthly essays in Fantasy & Science-Fiction magazine. He covered the circumstances at the time and just what those stanzas were about.
That essay has been reprinted here: All Four Stanzas.
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Paul! Wow, that is simply wonderful. Thanks for posting it.
One of my brothers gave one of Issac Asimov’s book to my dad. It’s a book about math. Then I noticed Dad has another book by Asimov. Something about Christianity or the Bible.
Someone should sing the whole thing and post it at YouTube.
Its sad that I never even knew there was more to the song than what is normally sung. I’m in my mid 20s and no one ever taught me that til today.
Failure of your parent, who also did not know about the other stanzas!
The Fourth verse has always been my favorite to sing, it makes libs want to swallow their tongues.
Then conquer we must!
when our cause, it is just!
and this be our motto, in God is our Trust!!
pet peeve – I’ve always been annoyed by those who think the song is difficult to sing – for those of us who like to sing, it isn’t difficult at all, it’s a lot of fun. The only real trick is to make sure that the accompanist starts off in the right key. (poor accompanists don’t think about this, and pick a key that takes the top notes out of a singer’s range)
A-cappella singers at ball parks usually get into trouble because they don’t think ahead and they begin the song in the middle of their ranger rather than towards the bottom, which also kills them when they get to the top part. Gotta think ahead to where you’re going to go before you get there, just like driving.
That, of course, doesn’t account for idiot “celebrities” like Rosanne who couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket if their lives depended on it. There needs to a rule that an officer will be standing by and if anyone shows any signs of butchering the anthem like that at a public gathering, they will be tazed before they get to the end of the first stanza.
That’s how things will be once I’M in charge!
p.s. I’ll bet people would pay good money to see that, too!
Best story of the day besides Helen Thomas (and it’s a shame she quit so quickly; I would have liked to watch the old hag twist in the wind for a few more days)
You may recall that last week I noted in a comment here that Jim Greer was going to try and drag Charlie Crist to the pen with him? And that this was going to be the end of Good Time Charlie once and for all?
Today Greer’s attorney went on record, saying (and I don’t doubt that his client will testify in open court) that Charlie Crist *personally* approved of the money making/laundering scheme that Jim Greer has been arrested for.
Why, does that make Charlie an accomplice to fraud and theft? Why yes it does!!! So THAT”s why you’ve been so desperate to stay in office! It’s the only way you’ve got to keep your private little scams going!! Looks so obvious now!
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/gubernatorial/jim-greers-lawyer-says-gov-crist-okayed-diversion-of-gop-funds/1100322
I want to see Charlie put on the stand and asked about this under oath. That’s probably *likely* now – both sides in Greer’s trial now have incentives to call him as a witness.
Exit question for Greer’s Attorney – If this scheme was completely “legal”, as you claim, why did everyone go to such great lengths to keep it a secret from EVERYONE except the guys who were skimming the money, hmmmm????
The wording is to extreme and strident. All this talk of war and fighting. We need ot come up with a bipartisan version.
(Chuckled.)
You’re right, Oneal. Perhaps Noam can be persuaded to revise the lyrics.
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Yes, it’s definitely fringe right thinking.
May I suggest for the last line:
Over the Planet of the “responsible” and the home of the “empowered.”
The entire story of how the anthem was written has always moved me.
Wouldn’t it be great if, on every Memorial day/July Fourth and other memorial days, the broadcast news and FoxNews spent a few moments to read the Declaration of Independence, the story of how the Star Spangled Banner was conceived, and parts of the Constitution among other great documents from our founding.
In Boston, The DofI is read every year since our inception…from the exact same place, I believe.
And I want to say this: I am really, really tired of having people live among us who have no regard for the Founders and founding of this great nation. And who want to “change” the greatest nation on the face of the earth. I really wish they would take all that energy and go to their homelands and “change” them.
To the NEA: STOP re-writing our history!
Thanks for this reminder.
Great Idea!
AJStrata should consider posting the entire DoI and write his view of the Founders on July 4th!