On the shore dimly seen thro' 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 on the stream:
'T is the star-spangled banner: O, long
may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
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 wash'd 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 lov'd
homes and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the
heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us as a
nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause 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!
