Oh! say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last read more

Oh! say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming;
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' 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!

Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,
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Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,
A flash of color beneath the sky:
Hats off!
The flag is passing by.

Under spreading ensigns moving nigh, in slow
But firm battalion.

Under spreading ensigns moving nigh, in slow
But firm battalion.

United States, your banner wears
Two emblems--one of fame;
Alas! the other that it bears
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United States, your banner wears
Two emblems--one of fame;
Alas! the other that it bears
Reminds us of your shame.
Your banner's constellation types
White freedom with its stars,
But what's the meaning of the stripes?
They mean your negroes' scars.

"A song for our banner?"--The watchword recall
Which gave the Republic her station;
"United we stand--divided we read more

"A song for our banner?"--The watchword recall
Which gave the Republic her station;
"United we stand--divided we fall!"
It made and preserves us a nation!

Under the sooty flag of Acheron,
Harpies and Hydras.

Under the sooty flag of Acheron,
Harpies and Hydras.

A moth-eaten rag on a worm-eaten pole,
It does not look likely to stir a man's soul.
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A moth-eaten rag on a worm-eaten pole,
It does not look likely to stir a man's soul.
'Tis the deeds that were done 'neath the moth-eaten rag,
When the pole was a staff, and the rag was a flag.

Your flag and my flag,
And how it flies today
In your land and my land
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Your flag and my flag,
And how it flies today
In your land and my land
And half a world away!
Rose-red and blood-red
The stripes forever gleam;
Snow-white and soul-white--
The good forefathers' dream;
Sky-blue and true-blue, with stars to gleam aright--
The gloried guidon of the day, a shelter through the night.

Uncover when the flag goes by, boys,
'Tis freedom's starry banner that you greet,
Flag fames in read more

Uncover when the flag goes by, boys,
'Tis freedom's starry banner that you greet,
Flag fames in song and story
Long may it wave, old glory
The flag that has never known defeat.