Ok, so... I'm pretty baked right now, and I just wrote this for reasons still a little beyond me, however after reading it I was kinda proud so I thought I'd like to share it. I didn't really know where to post it either and I worried that it might be flame bait due to "religious" content. Star Spangled Banner So, we all know the first verse of this song by heart. We've heard it a million times before every baseball game, however, the song is much longer than the part we all sing. Actually, If you hear the entire song, the lyrics in the latter half of the song don't mesh as well with the music... maybe that's the reason we don't sing the rest of the song. Despite not being vastly memorized, Francis Scott Key's words are really incredible; even morose if you know the story (from Wikipedia): Here is the full song. Pay attention to the imagery.... try to imagine the actual SIGHT of what Key was seeing on that September morning in 1814. 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 trust" And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! When you read these words, I think it's pretty easy to identify what Key was trying to say... During the war of 1812, the British could have easily crushed us. Hell, even during the American Revolution, we weren't fighting the British at full force. By 1812, Jefferson had NOT kept the US army in any kind of fighting form. We had absolutely DICK for a navy. PLUS, those fucking redcoats were pissed that we worked em over the first time. The importance of this song is directly related to what a bad spot we were in in 1812. We were on the brink of destruction when Ft. McHenry was bombarded by the Brits. Washington DC had BURNED TO THE GROUND only two months prior. What Key witnessed was the incredible might of endurance that was the United States of America, however, In Key's eyes... our victory was not a coincidence. Key believed that GOD had divinely protected America (and for good reason) and the battle he witnessed was God personally extending his right hand to literally shield us from the destruction of the battle. And by the time the sun emerged over the Atlantic, and it's rays descended upon Old Glory herself, it was PROOF that God had a stake in the United States of America and that our future as a nation was part of his plan. Now, I'm not trying to convert anyone (however, it's a shame that we don't talk about the latter verses of our national anthem most likely due to the religious implications) but I do think that it is important to know the history of our great country especially the parts we aren't really taught in history class. I mean, did anyone really get taught the importance of the war of 1812 in school? If you did, then you probably didn't go to public school When I go to Chase Field to watch the D-Backs lose, and the Star spangled banner comes on the loudspeaker... my flesh erupts into goosebumps and the hair on my arms stands up. I hope the same for every American when you hear our great anthem.