canegrl04 wrote:I don't want to sound unpatriotic,but the Star Spangled Banner sounds like it was written by someone who had alittle too much of the whiskey
I picked America The Beautiful
The year was 1814. Our country was at war with England. In August, the English soldiers had captured and burned Washington D.C. Now they were planning to capture Baltimore, Maryland. To capture Baltimore, the English would have to destroy the fort that protected the city - Fort McHenry.
Before the battle an American doctor, Dr. William Beanes, had tried to arrest some soldiers. The angry English took the doctore prisoner aboard one of the English warships.
Dr. Beanes' friends were worried about him and they sent Francis Scott Key in a small boat to talk to the admiral of the English warship.
The admiral said he would let Dr. Beanes go, but that the Americans would have to stay on the English boat for a few hours. The English were ready to attack Fort McHenry. They did not want Mr. Key to go back and warn Fort McHenry of the attack.
So Mr. Key watched as the English shot bombs and rockets at Fort McHenry. He kept his eyes on the large United States flag flying over Fort McHenry. As long as our flag was still flying, he knew the English had not won.
Night came. But in the light of the rockets' red glare and the bombs bursting in air, he could still see our flag. It had many holes in it from the rockets and bombs, but it was still proudly flying!
Then he did not see our flag for a long time. Was it still there? Dawn came and soon Mr. Key saw the flag again!
Still on board the ship, Franis Scott Key began writing a poem. He called it "The Star-Spangled Banner." Later, when he was back on land, he showed the poem to his brother-in-law. His brother-in-law liked it so well that he had it printed.
The people liked it too. Someone noticed that the words seemed to fit an old English tune. Soon "The Star-Spangled Banner" was sung everywhere.
Francis Scott Key wrote four verses to "The Star-Bangled Banner." The first verse is the one you hear most often.
Think how he felt on that ship, wondering if his country's flag was still flying or if it had been captured by the enemy. Then think how thrilling it was to see his flag, though tattered and torn, still flying.
I'm sure you know all this, but when you think about what happened while listening to it, it makes it much more meaningful. At least to me.
I really like this one and "God Bless the USA", and "America the Beautiful" close behind.
