Quote:
Originally Posted by nelsonone
sorry but I don't get the USA one of singing about the flag
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I love the US one. Never get tired of hearing it before a ball game. Especially because it is not an easy one to sing, and really challenges the soloist who performs it. Even the top pro singers are pressed to hit all the notes right on. But it sounds great when someone really nails it, especially the last few notes.
Originally entitled "The Defense of Fort McHenry," it was a poem written by a young man who witnessed the siege of Ft. McHenry, the fort defending Baltimore, from a ship with the British fleet, which bombarded the fort continuously for 25 hours in support of a land assault that was going on simultaneously. The Brits had already taken Washington, where they burned down the White House, the Capitol, and a good bit of the city. The fires could be seen from Baltimore, 40 miles away. Baltimore was not expected to be able to hold out long against the powerful British forces.
The commander of the fort had a flag made, 42 feet by 30 feet, and flew it from the ramparts, so that for miles around, it could be seen, showing that the fort had not yet been taken. He was determined that it would not be. An hour before dawn, the din from the cannons and rockets fell silent. Mr. Key awaited the first light of dawn, expecting that the fort had fallen to the tremendous assault of the British. Then, in the early light, he saw the immense flag still proudly waving. He was overwhelmed with emotion, which inspired him to write the poem later that day after the British released him(he had boarded the British ship under a flag of truce to negotiate a civilian's release). The British fleet lost 22 vessels, and their forces made little headway with the land assault, so that morning, the decision was made that the price to take Baltimore was too costly. They abandoned the assault and withdrew.
So the poem, later made a song and renamed, isn't so much about the flag, as it is about the courage, valor, and determination of American fighting men to defend American soil against all odds.