The Star Spangled Banner
 One of two surviving copies of the 1814 broadside printing of the "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem that later became the lyrics of national anthem of the United States. | |
| National Anthem of |  United States |
|---|---|
| Lyrics | Francis Scott Key, 1814 |
| Music | John Stafford Smith, 1780 |
| Adopted | 1931 |
The Star Spangled Banner (Instrumental) Problems listening to the file? See media help. | |
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from a poem written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, a then 35-year-old amateur poet who wrote "Defence of Fort McHenry" after seeing the bombardment of Fort McHenry at Baltimore, Maryland, by Royal Navy ships in the Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812.
The poem was set to the tune of a popular British drinking song, written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a London social club. "The Anacreontic Song" (or "To Anacreon in Heaven"), set to various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Key's poem and renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", it would soon become a well-known American patriotic song. With a range of one and a half octaves, it is known for being difficult to sing.
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Although the song has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today, with the fourth ("O thus be it ever when free men shall stand ...") added on more formal occasions.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the Navy in 1889 and the President in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at ), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.
Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of American officialdom. Most prominent among them was "Hail, Columbia," which served as the de facto national anthem from Washington's time and through the 18th and 19th centuries. Following the War of 1812 and subsequent American wars, other songs would emerge to compete for popularity at public events, among them "The Star-Spangled Banner."
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Learn about the flag that inspired America's national anthem.
The Star-Spangled Banner at American History Museum
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 ...
The Star-Spangled Banner — Infoplease.com
The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from a poem written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, a then 35-year-old amateur poet ...
The Star-Spangled Banner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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American Treasures of the Library of Congress: Memory (Star-Spangled Banner). In 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote new words for a well-known drinking song, "To Anacreon in ...