Oh, Say Can You See…

So my sweetie just put together this video of me singing the National Anthem on the Capital Hill lawn in Washington, DC, and I must admit I am pretty proud of it. Yes, of course I am proud that after all of the hours he spent editing it, it turned out really nice. What I also mean is I am proud that I had a chance to sing “The Star Spangled Banner”, our National Anthem at our Nation’s Capital! What an honor!

“The Star-Spangled Banner” lyrics come from a poem called “Defence of Fort McHenry” written in 1814 by the 35-year-old amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy  ships in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889 and the President in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931, which was signed by President Herbert Hover.

In recent years patriotism in our country has taken a back seat to political correctness. It used to be that every television station would sign off the air each day with our flag, “Old Glory” waving in the wind while blaring our National Anthem.

One of the things that get’s me fired up (in a good way) and almost gets me as excited as sneaker shopping or working out, is hearing those first five notes of our National Anthem, da, da, da – da, da.  What American isn’t proud to hear “The Star Spangled Banner” when one of our athletes is on the podium during the olympics.

Musical Score for "The Star Spangled Banner"

I remember when I was in elementary school we would stand up every day before class started and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Sadly, that doesn’t happen anymore because of the Political Correctness. But thankfully, at sporting events and a few other events we still stand and sing our National Anthem. Go Team USA!

I get a lot of visitors on my website from other countries who might not be familiar with the words to our National Anthem, so it is with great pleasure and pride the Greek Blonde Girl supplies you with the lyrics so you can sing along with me as you watch my new video.

Star Spangled Banner

O! 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 rockets’ red glare, the bombs 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?

and God Bless America… oh wait, that’s another song all together.

Blessings,

Ava

xox