Skip to main content

The Whole Star Spangled Banner Anthem!

Do you know the Star Spangled Banner? All of it?

Here it is, in its entirety.

First Verse
Oh, 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 rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air 

Gave proof thro' 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?

Second Verse
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 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.

Third Verse
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 footstep's 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.

Fourth Verse
Oh, thus be it ever when free men shall stand 

Between their loved homes 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 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!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Moldy Middle

While taking statistics during my quest to get an MBA and while earning my engineering degree, the professors always emphasized the importance of finding the statistical mean of any population by using the Central Mean Theorem (a.k.a the highest point of the Bell Curve). As an engineer, this was essential in order to maximize throughput, minimize cost and waste, and ultimately make a better, faster, cheaper widget. A funny thing happened on the way to the dark side of marketing. I discovered that the only thing in the middle of the road was quite literally dead road kill. I do not know if you remember stores like Bradlees, Ames and Service Merchandise (just to name a few), but they all folded because the environment changed and they were caught trying to service the mythological “average customer.” Part of that change came when Wal-Mart began its juggernaut with the discount department store. Wal-Mart did two things right: 1) Focused on “mobile” consumers, and 2) Fo...

The Saleman's Litmus Test

If your goal is to become a great company or even improve your existing one, every employee in you company should be able to “sell” the product or service that you are merchandising. Since that is usually not the case, you are forced to hire sales people to help implement the objectives laid out by upper management. A national study indicated that less than 3% of the population has an inherent penchant for sales, and as much as 50% of all salespeople really do not know how to sell. During my 20 odd years in sales, I have hired, worked with, and observed great sales people (yes, both men and women). Being the observant type and believing in best practices, I have complied a listing of questions you should ask any salesperson before you hire them, and should use this Litmus Test to review of your existing sales force to determine whether to keep them or cut them loose.  I hope you find it useful. Psyching Out the Test : People always try to answer questions the way they thin...

Traits of an Entrepreneur

I will begin and end this article with two quotations. The first is from Edward Rogers: "You don't deserve to be called an entrepreneur unless you've mortgaged your house to the business." --Edward S. (Ted) Rogers  This one sentence pretty much says it all. Entrepreneurs are not necessary gamblers, but they are willing to put everything they own, or go all in, in order to make it happen. In the classical sense an entrepreneur is define as anyone who has possession of a new enterprise, endeavor, venture or idea, and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks associated with the development, growth, and outcome. He or she is an organizer who combines land, labor, material resources, and/or capital to create and market new goods, products, or services. The term "entrepreneur" is loaned from the French and was first defined by the Irish economist Richard Cantillon, where the term was applied to the type of persona who was willing to take upon th...