Anthem History

The text was written by the American lawyer and poet Francis Scott Key (1779-1843). During the night of September 13, 1814, the British fleet bombarded

Fort McHenry in the harbour at Baltimore, Maryland. Francis Scott Key, a 34-year old lawyer-poet, watched the attack from a deck of a British prisoner-exchange ship. As the battle ceased on the following morning, Key turned his telescope to the fort and saw the American flag was still waving. The sight so inspired him that he pulled a letter from his pocket and began to write the poem which eventually was adopted as the national anthem of the United States - "The Star Spangled Banner."

The melody to which Francis Scott Key intended his poem to be sung was the tune known as "to Anachreon in Heaven".The composer of this tune is uncertain. John Stafford Smith (1750-1836), used the tune for an arrangement and is often regarded as the composer of the tune.

Vocabulary notes

Contiguous – соприкасающийся, прилегающий

Gross domestic product – Валовый национальный продукт

Abbreviations - сокращения

Hemisphere - полушарие

Unanimous - единогласный

Purity - чистота

Innocence - невинность

Hardiness - смелость, отвага

Valor - доблесть

Vigilance - бдительность

Perseverance – упорство, настойчивость