The Star Spangled Banner Lyrics

Lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner This song was written in 1813 by Francis Scott Key, after he had been watching the British bomb Fort McHenry in Baltimore. He watched as the British sent bombs for 25 hours, but they left after they had failed to destroy the base. After this, Key quickly checked, and to his relief, the American flag was still there, flying proudly above the base. Key wrote this song down as a poem, at the time called "The Defence of Fort McHenry", and handed it out to people on flyers. Later, this poem was put to music, and it was renamed to "The Star Spangled Banner." It was a much beloved song, so on March 3, 1931, it was adopted as out National Anthem.