Why does the U.S. national anthem contain such violent imagery?

Question

O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' 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?

On the shore dimly seen thro' 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 on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever when free-men shall stand
Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd 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!

Here is a photograph of it, with all four verses:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Defence_of_Fort_M%27Henry_broadside.jpg/356px-Defence_of_Fort_M%27Henry_broadside.jpg

jehut: there is a clear reference to God in the fourth verse

I'm Canadian, by the way, so you can stop implying that I somehow offending "our forefathers".

I have also served my country in the Royal Canadian Armed Forces, as does my son, so don't accuse me of being pacifist either.

Answer 1

The United States was founded at a time when war was still seen as glorious and righteous. Our first president, George Washington, was a military general. Then we had a skirmish with the Brits again in 1812. After winning our independence from England, another very militaristic state, the violence turned inward and against native Americans.

That was followed by a bloody civil war that won African-Americans some token freedoms that didn't really become fully realized until the 1960s, during our Vietnam war.

Some of our wars have produced valuable outcomes -- most Americans include the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and World War Two in the category. Most of our wars have not, and we remember less about them: The Spanish-American War, the Mexican-American War, the dozens of Native-American Wars, Vietnam, and now Iraq.

At any rate, we are now as we were then, a violent culture. As Dr. Martin Luther King said, "If America's soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read Vietnam".

Answer 2

Because it describes the WAR.
This generation doesn't even understand war, does it? You think that war means a conflict with someone, and we send along Jessica
Savitch, and if someone says something mean, well they will be certainly told about that......
Hey, war is ugly, unfriendly, unkind, no mercy, horror by day and then again by night, bad conditions, sadness and death all around you;
disease, pain and heartache.
The media has made war to look like any other tv movie you might choose to watch.
It's a freakin insult to all those who shed blood and died for the freedoms this country enjoys.
You sound like just another clueless joe from this generation.
Wake up. War is not a tv show. And, war shouldn't be treated as one. They should not show it on tv news - The President of the US should send in his Military Generals to Iraq and Afganisthan with this order: Take the Country; secure it by whatever means possible, and deliver the Country (countries) to me. period.
No more games. No more crap. War is not a game to be played by ignorant civilians who watch it on the tube. Nor should those civilians have any say (politicians included) on what happens on the battlefield; thats why we have the best trained Military Generals of any Country, and of all-time.

Answer 3

It's not really all that violent. The first stanza describes the shelling of Fort McHenry by the British during the War of 1812, but it isn't about bombs and bloodshed. It's about hope and anticipation. When the clouds of smoke clear, will the flag still be flying? It's about standing tall in the midst of chaos and refusing to bow to tyranny. It's about courage and ideals that cannot be bombed out of existence.

Phoenix: "And I don't know where you got those last three verses, but they are not part of the actual anthem."

They are, but they are rarely sung. Most US citizens don't know the stanzas exist and would get annoyed having to listen to all four before the ball game could start.

Answer 4

Francis Scott Key was being held prisoner on a boat, watching a battle when he wrote this. The whole chorus is about him asking, is the American flag still waving? If the flag wasn't up, he would know we lost the battle.

It's relevant as our national anthem still because there are many kinds of "battles" our country must face that aren't just the military kind.

Answer 5

Francis Scott Key was writing about what he was seeing during a battle in the War of 1812. And all four verses are included in what he wrote!

Answer 6

...Because war is violent, costly, and destructive, in terms of lives lost and scattered and property destroyed.
...War is no lady's afternoon tea party.
...The author, Francis Scott Key, wrote this song either during or after the British shelling of Ft. McHenry, during the War of 1812.
...Like it or not, war is sometimes unavoidable. Thank God we have a great military to protect our country and freedoms, to protect our interests, and to stop evil dictators, like the Axis powers in World War II.

Answer 7

The poem itself was written during a battle, then set to the tune of an English drinking song (kid you not.) It's a poem that isn't supposed to focus on the violence, rather that through all the struggles the symbol of our country remained standing strong.

Answer 8

America is a country founded on war so isnt it logical that our antheim have some reality in it we shouldnt soften the truth america is a waring country although many countries are given the stataus that america holds its much more likley to have to wage war and defend itself than other countries

Answer 9

It was written during a battle. It was adopted because it shows that America WILL NOT concede, even against overwhelming odds. Personally, I would prefer "God Bless America" as an anthem. YBIC

Answer 10

Because the price of freedom is very costly, as in the lives of soldiers fighting for your right to protest Christians, the government, etc.