Fourth verse of the Star Spangled Banner
June 16, 2010 in Misc.
There has been a lot of talk recently about how the fourth verse of the Star Spangled Banner has been forgotten or intentionally eliminated from public performances. Faithful Men will sing the first and fourth verses at this event. We thought we’d post them here so you can read them for yourself!
Verse 1
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 light,
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?Verse 4
Oh! Thus be it ever when free men shall stand.
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven 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.
Why should it just be men? Women have so often taken up the the flag of the men who were killed in many ways and flown that flag to the glory that both had envisioned. Don’t underestimate the will of the women!
The word “men” by definition can include both sexes. This is from my dictionary:
Man: a human being of either sex; a person : God cares for all races and all men.
I totally agree Kevin (different Heidi here)! I don’t believe that the intent of the song was to single out men – I think it referred to the effort all mankind, including women, in our nation put into the freedom we enjoy. Women made just as many sacrifices as the men did, and I don’t think, especially in our current political climate, that we should make this a divisive issue. We all need to stand together to take back the Liberty that our nation was founded upon!
I agree with Kevin and the #2 Heidi that the word “men” is used as a generic form to mean all people. Remember the era from when the poem was written and that “men” and people were interchanged. But that isn’t what this thread is about. Save the gender political correctness rhetoric for a different thread. The discussion here is whether we all just forgot the other 3 verses of the National Anthem and namely the 4th verse or is it intentionally being ignored. Is it because it has to do with the idea of why we as a nation go to war to fight for democracy for all or because of a religious aspect that says that our Almighty God is a reason to our nation’s causes and reasons for being a great nation! At the time this was written we were at war for the 2nd time with Britain and as such, it was a patriotic feeling that Mr. Key must have been feeling. I could only imagine his feelings to know the battle that was just fought was over and we were victorious as he saw our tattered flag still flying proudly. Francis Scott Key was alive and thankful to God for life and country and the liberty we all continue to have today. If any of us were also coming away from a battle or walked away from the bombing of the WTC towers you would also thank God for being alive and that our country is strong.