The Original

As I get older, I dwell longer and deeper on each and every word . . .

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 rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there
Oh 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 in the stream
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh 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

Oh 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 out trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

God bless America! Happy Independence Day!