The Meaning of Our National Anthem: A New Look at the Grand Old Flag

With the 4th of July coming up, I got to musing as I have for many years, about the fact that so many people don't seem to understand or appreciate the real meaning behind the words of our national anthem. They sing the words, but they hardly ever really comprehend their meaning. Moreover, very few people know more than the first verse of the anthem. But the poem, for which he seemed to have a tune in mind, was written by Frances Scott Key, and is drenched with the emotion he was feeling after a particular event. You can feel this if you really listen to the meaning of the words.

The Battle That Led to the Writing of "The Star Spangled Banner"

For those who need a refresher in the history surrounding the anthem, it was written during the war of 1812, a particularly brutal and nasty conflict with the British. The capital building, the treasury building and the president's mansion in Washington had already been burned down, and the British were intent on capturing the Port of Baltimore, which was being protected, in part, by Fort McHenry, a bit to the south.

On September 7th, 1814, two men went out to one of the British ships, intending to try to negotiate the release of a third man, a doctor by the name of William Beanes, who had been captured during the attack on Washington. The two would-be rescuers were Colonel John Skinner, and our esteemed Frances Scott key, who was a lawyer and a sometimes poet. Doctor Barnes was a friend of Key's, and by showing the British some letters from wounded British officers who praised the care they had received from Dr. Beanes, the two were successful in getting the British to agree to the release.

However, in the process, the three men had learned way too much about the planned attack on Baltimore, and so were forced to remain on board the ship until the battle was over, which was not to commence until six days later.

The battle began on September 13th, and British forces pummeled the fort for some 25 hours. During the early morning hours of the 14th, in heavy rain, and as they stood there watching, full of apprehension, they kept struggling to see a glimpse of the enormous flag that was flying over the fort, a flag that had been especially commissioned to be so big, 42 feet by 30 feet, that the British couldn't possibly miss it, even from a distance. It had eight red stripes, seven white stripes, and fifteen white stars. It was intended to be a symbol, and that's exactly what it was to the three Americans watching anxiously from the deck of an enemy ship.

The rain was making visibility difficult, and the smoke from the battle only made matters worse. But every now and then they caught a glimpse of the beloved flag still waving over the fort. Then, suddenly, in the dark of the night, the battle stopped. They could not tell what flag was flying now. Was it still the Stars and Stripes, or had the British flag now taken its place? Can you imagine the emotion that was overtaking them at that moment? Every minute was excruciating, seeming like an hour.

When the rain stopped, and the dawn brought enough light to finally allow them to see, they could make out that a flag was flying, but could not at first determine which flag it was. The jubilation at finally discovering that it was still the American flag flying had to be overwhelming. This is the emotion that the National Anthem Should be invoking in all of us today. But I'm afraid it all too often doesn't.

Overcome with jubilation, Frances Scott Key took out an envelope and scribbled on the back of it a poem, which he called "Defense of Fort McHenry."

How Would the Words of the "Star Spangled Banner" be Written in Modern Language?

Here is the first verse as written:

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 through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare,
The bomb 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?

One of the problems for modern readers, especially young ones, may be the language used. Poetry is often hard for some people to understand, and the language of this verse is a bit archaic. So I thought I'd do a little exercise in modernization. If the Star Spangled Banner were Written today, how would it be expressed? Here is my rendition of how a young person today might express this situation. It's not exactly poetry, but it might help young readers understand the meaning of the words.

Oh tell me please, can you see what we're looking for in the light of the dawn?
The flag we were watching by the last light of yesterday,
With its broad stripes and bright stars, that through all the danger of the battle
We could still see over the walls of the fort, waving so gallantly in the breeze,

And all through the night, the rockets and the bombs lighting up the sky
Told us what we needed to know - that our flag was still flying there.
But please, oh please tell me, is the star spangled banner the one that still waves,
Over the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

Most people think this verse is telling us the flag still waves. But you can see now, it's asking the question. They are holding their breath apprehensively, wondering which flag it will be.

The poem goes on:

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 - O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Over there on the shore, hardly seen through the misty haze from the water,
Where this ship of the arrogant enemy waits in dreadful silence,
What is it that the breezes blowing over the towering cliff,
Are partly concealing and partly disclosing?
Look now! It's catching the gleam
of the first rays of sunshine!
And the light is reflecting the full glory of it's colors!
It's the Star Spangled Banner! - yes long may it wave,
Over the land of the free, and the home of the brave!

It's not until this verse that we feel the jubilation of the men as they finally catch enough of a glimpse to see it's still their flag billowing over the fort and not the British. Read this out loud, with a little emotion, and you very likely will find a tear in your eye.

For completeness, I am presenting the last two verses of the original poem, but I will leave it up to you to read and re-read these words until you actually can understand the meaning behind them, and feel the emotions of the poet as he wrote them.

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 vict'ry 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!

So next time you have occasion to hear or sing the "Star Spangled Banner", take a moment to reflect on the real meaning of the words. (See an image of the original 1812 Broadside printing of the "Defense of Fort McHenry."