Oh, 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 thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through 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 in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it 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!
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through 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 in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it 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!
We are proud and deeply grateful to be Americans. Happy Independence Day, everyone!
Love,
The Petersons
4 comments:
FANTASTIC!! Did you really take those pics?? Or is it a professional one you copy and pasted? Either way- GORGEOUS! (and now you have patriotic songs in my head- which is good too.) Happy 4th of July to you. =)
Your fireworks photos turned out FANTASTIC!!!! Love them! I loved the message, too!
We sang the "Star Spangled Banner" at church yesterday for the closing hymn. It was so moving, especially the last two verses.
These troubled times worry me.
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it 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!
Ceej - yep, we took them our very own selves. :-)
Gayle - Thanks to the tutorials you posted! We put our camera on manual and did our best to replicate the settings they suggested (
Lee - Alma 62:40. That last verse of the national anthem has been on my mind a lot lately too. And, interestingly, we just happen to be in the war chapters of the Book of Mormon in our family scripture reading. It occurred to me that if the Constitution is going to be "hanging by a thread" that the LDS people will save it not so much by some sort of political action, but by our faith and prayers and righteousness.
The Nephites were ultimately victorious in the war against the Lamanites in spite of government corruption, contention and even outright rebellion of some of the citizens. The Lord established the United States and won't let it be destroyed even from within if there are still people in it who are willing to follow Him (also Hel 13:13). We have to remember that the ultimate victory will be His, no matter what else goes wrong. And I think we'll find, as Moroni did, that some of our leaders are not as bad as they look. :-)
So I'm coming away from this particular 4th of July feeling a lot more positive, and I think I have a little bit better understanding of President Hinckley's optimism about the times we live in.
By the way, I should introduce you to my friend Tim. He would drive you nuts, but I think you two would have a lot of fun arguing with each other. :-)
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