Why is the national anthem played before sporting events? O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?Īnd the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, O say can you see, by the dawn's early light, The locks arms in unity for the national anthem before their first game since February.

had several other unofficial national anthems, including Hail, Columbia, My Country, 'Tis of Thee and America the Beautiful. Prior to the Star-Spangled Banner, the U.S. It soon emerged as a song to signify patriotism, although the original lyrics have been shortened with only the first of the piece's four original stanzas commonly sung today. Originally a poem titled the Defence of Fort M'Henry, the words were eventually put to the music behind To Anacreon in Heaven, a popular song at the time. In particular, the song was inspired by the sight of the American flag flying high above the battlefield following a U.S. Key, a lawyer and poet, penned what would eventually become the Star-Spangled Banner after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy during the War of 1812. Officially named as the national anthem of the United States of America in 1931, the lyrics to the Star-Spangled Banner were originally written on September 14, 1814, by Francis Scott Key. How did the Star-Spangled Banner become the national anthem?

Words to the star spangled banner song