*** The Fourth Verse ***

* Of The Star Spangled Banner *

Oh thus be it ever when all men shall stand

Between our loved homes and war’s desolation

Blessed with beauty and peace may our heavenly lands

See the light up above and become more than nations

But if struggle we must for the cause that is just

May we choose as standards those that all men can trust

Then the Star Spangled Banner in honor shall wave

Among the lands of the free and the home of the brave

Francis Scott Key
and
Howard Scott Pearlman

Nevertheless there will always be a minority who will not get the point you are trying to make….

Do you believe as I do that our government is too big and too powerful?

Do you share my concern that our privacy rights and other civil liberties are being eroded in the false hope of providing national security against our nation’s enemies?

Do you worry that government spending is growing out of control and that the national debt of over $9 trillion dollars (about $31,000 for you and every other man woman and child in America) threatens our national prosperity.

Well, if you do, may I invite you to continue the revolution that began last fall with the campaign to help Congressman Ron Paul win the Republican nomination for President?

I would be honored to have you and every other Ron Paul supporter join me as we continue in our effort to make history and bring real change to our political system, and ultimately, our government.

Your support will help me reveal to all Americans that there is very little difference between the Republican and Democrat candidates for President in areas of most concern to you and me.

If you need evidence of this, then consider the very recent vote in the U.S. Senate on the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). You may have seen me on television, or read about my strong and vocal opposition to this amazing abuse of power and violation of our privacy rights.

Both Senators John McCain and Barack Obama showed their true colors when they cast their votes with the Bush administration and against your rights and mine.

FISA is the first very big step on a slippery slope that will most surely lead to more and more surveillance – and not just aimed at foreign terrorists overseas.

Because of your stead fast support for our precious liberties, I know you must be angered like me at where our nation is headed. But unlike the vast majority of uninformed Americans, you have an understanding of the issue and a passion for freedom.

You spent much of your time, treasures and talent over the last nine months in support of a great Patriot, Ron Paul. I am sure you must be disappointed in the outcome of his bold, courageous efforts.

Well, you shouldn’t be. You helped write the first chapter in a new American history book. Ron Paul’s unprecedented support – collecting more than 1,000,000 votes in GOP primaries all across the nation and raising $35 million to get his message out – is something you can be proud of.

Now I ask you to join me as we continue pursuit of the dream.

You may be tired and discouraged about now, but this is no time to rest.

In less than four months we have to re-energize our grassroots support and let every American know of the dangers of FISA and every other facet of big government that threatens our freedom and civilliberties.

To make a difference for the future, I need your help. You were influential in turning out that one million votes. You were a leader in getting the message out on the Internet and in your community. And, you were generous with your financial support for the Paul campaign.

I believe that if you can help me in the same manner, together we will make history. Your voice will be heard.

I will be able to expose the reality that in so many, many ways there is virtually no difference in the Democrat and Republican Presidential candidates. I will explain to concerned Americans that FISA and other big government schemes are a threat to their own personal liberties.

With your help we can enlighten so many people about the needs for government reform at every level. And with you at my side I can expose the truth about our financial system, federal debt and the coming economic crisis unless we make major changes in Washington.

If what I have shared so far isn’t enough to convince you, then I encourage you to visit my website at http://www.BobBarr2008.com to learn more.

If you are ready to enlist in another critical political campaign, then I welcome you and ask you to take three steps.

#1. If you haven’t already, subscribe to my email list. You’ll learn about our efforts to win a place on every ballot in America and to confront Senators McCain and Obama on the real issues in the national media.

#2. Please tell your friends, family and neighbors about me and my stands on issues critical to every family in America.

#3. Help me collect the resources necessary to get the word out about my campaign. Your contribution of $50, $100, $250 or more TODAY will provide us the funds to print bumper stickers, literature and signs. Your gift will fund the operation of a national campaign headquarters and will empower us to deliver a message of change.

Between now and November, the McCain and Obama campaign machines will spend over $400 Million to win votes. With your help, I believe we can be effective with a fraction of that amount. But, we can’t wait another day to ramp up our offensive.

I salute you for your admirable efforts on behalf of Congressman Paul and thank you for your consideration of my appeal.

Sincerely,

Barr Signature

Bob Barr

P.S. – Remember, FISA is just one of many issues where Senators Obama and McCain agree. They are political clones who will not make the changes we need in Washington. The powerful and wealthy establishment that runs this country controls both the Republicans and Democrats. If we are to recapture control for the people, we can wait no longer. Thanks again for joining me in this historic revolution.

Paid for by Barr 2008 Presidential Committee.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” requires a bit of context to be understood: during the War of 1812, Key went out in a truce ship toward the British fleet to negotiate the release of a prisoner who was a friend of his. Before he returned, the British attacked Fort McHenry, 8 miles away; Key watched from the sea, amid “the foe’s haughty host.” When the fighting stopped at night, he could not see what had happened, and had to wait till morning for the flag to appear.

It’s a shame that we generally only sing the first verse, which ends on a cliffhanger — does that banner still wave, or what? (People often get confused by line 7, which says that the flag WAS still there at twilight; Key can’t see once night falls, and wonders if it will still be there in the
morning.) Read rightly, verse 1 is just preparation, building up suspense: we start with a question, interrupt for a little proud reminiscence, but then come back to the same question. This verse is the whole long, anxious night of September 13, 1814, drifting, waiting, surrounded by foes who know no more than we do.

Which sets us up for verse 2, my favorite. The tenseness of verse 1 is still there at the beginning, in the dread silence and the fitful, teasing breeze — but it exists only to be broken. After the two short lines 14 and 15, the flag’s full appearance bursts out, and you (or at least, I) just want to get
up and cheer. Verse 2 is about that one moment, when relief floods in all at once and drowns our uncertainty, that sudden leap of the heart as we see the flag. It’s the same jump that interrupts the beginning of the refrain in line 17; in all the other verses that line is an unbroken thought, but here
it has an exclamation point and an “O” in the middle.

The third verse is a source of some embarrassment now that the British are our friends again, and is omitted even more often than the second and fourth. But we lose something when we omit it. “The Star-Spangled Banner” is a whole; it travels naturally from one verse to the next. The great release of verse 2 must, inevitably, pour out the gloating of verse 3. “And where is that band….” We can see Key, as soon as the first moment of joy is past, turning his head to look for those arrogant Brits in the ships around him, who, remember, have been waiting just as anxiously as he has. The poem would be more kind and polite if it passed immediately into the sober reflection of verse 4 without any emotion, or even with emotions a bit less savage; but it would read like a poem composed to educate men, not like a sincere, joyful celebration of victory. (Besides, this is nothing. If you want a really bloodthirsty national anthem, try reading the Marseillaise.)

But we do get some sober reflection at last. Once he’s gotten that gloating out of his system, Key doesn’t just continue jumping on British graves. He turns calm and serious, and he gives us a moral lesson, as, after all, he has to. There isn’t any wildly original insight here, of course, and there isn’t meant to be: the force comes from the simple, strong, short words in the three rhyming lines 32-34. The point isn’t to teach us anything new, but to remind us of what we already know, to make sure that we don’t get carried away with our (appropriate) joy in victory, but calm down and think about
the purpose of that victory, and the Power that gave it to us. Then, finally, we get the joy again, enhanced, not reduced, by the lesson, when the refrain comes back.

Key’s use of the refrain, by the way, is masterful. The variation effectively fits it to each verse, and the movement of each verse builds toward it in a different way, so that it never becomes boring, or seems put in just because it has to be there.

So, basically, I like this poem. (Of course, it’s better with the music, which I believe was a traditional English drinking tune or something; certainly not original. I am utterly unqualified to discuss the quality of the music at all.) I admit, of course, that I like it more because it’s associated, to say the least, with American patriotism, because I’ve heard it played at a million baseball games, etc. But I think, even without that, that it’s a real good poem. I’d be interested to know how it strikes English, Australian, Indian, etc. readers, who don’t have my biases. Happy Independence Day.

Emlen

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