01355383 Varieties of English and Cultures of English Native Speakers 08 | Page 13

The national anthem
The Star-Spangled Banner is the title of U.S. national anthem. It
was approved as the official anthem in 1931. The lyrics were
based on a poem Defense of Fort McHenry by Francis Scott Key.
There are four verses in the song, although the short version,
sung at sports events, usually contains only the first one.
Watch Whitney Houston’s legendary performance at
Super Bowl in 1991 here. How does it make you feel?
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, through 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?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_lCmBvYMRs