O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!Īnd where is that band who so vauntingly swore, ’Tis the star-spangled banner-O long may it wave
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream, Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam, What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,Īs it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes, On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave? O say does that star- spangled banner yet wave Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there, O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?Īnd the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming, O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light, Here are all the four verses, as they were written more than 200 years ago by Key: While the first verse of “The Star-Spangled Banner” is widely known by the American public, the last three verses are generally omitted in performances. What are the forgotten verses of the “Star-Spangled Banner”? The tune has kicked off ceremonies of national importance and athletic events ever since. If you have any intellectual property questions or need assistance with any patent, trademark, or copyright matters and would like to speak to one of our patent attorneys please feel free to contact us.More than a century later, in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed an executive order designating “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem, and in 1931, the US Congress confirmed the decision. Suiter Swantz IP is a full-service intellectual property law firm based in Omaha, NE, serving all of Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. The same rules apply to anthems sung by other organizations such as Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), etc.įortunately, for those who enjoy singing in the shower or displaying their vocal talents on YouTube, feel free to sing the National Anthem loudly and proudly! To put this all together, for example, when the National Anthem is sung, broadcast, or recorded during a televised National Football League (NFL) game, the NFL owns the mechanical, performance, and publishing rights for that specific performance. This is part of copyright law and payment is required to the composer, lyricist, and publisher, if one was used. Performing rights are a copyright owner’s exclusive right to control the public presentation or a work, either live, through broadcast, or in moving image or sound recordings. These rights are not defined by a statute, rather it is a term recognized in the music industry. The owner of these rights has the control of where and how the recording is obtained or broadcast. Publishing rights are intellectual property rights to the sound recording that can be bought or sold to parties that may or may not have any involvement with the recording.
Once the song is published it can be recorded by anyone as long as a fee is paid and a mechanical license is obtained. Mechanical rights are the rights obtained from a creator or publisher to record and distribute their works or rights held by the person or persons whose performance was recorded (i.e. However, mechanical, publishing, and performance rights may still apply. Since the song was declared the national anthem of the United States, the copyright became public domain to all U.S. On March 31, 1931, Congress declared the “Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem of the United States of America.Īs we hear the anthem sung at events around the country and the world, some often wonder, who owns the rights to the “Star Spangled Banner”? In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson declared that the song should be played at all official events. People started referring to the tune as the “Star Spangled Banner”. The song became very popular after the Civil War with patriotism at a high. The poem was later set to the music of a popular drinking tune by composer John Stafford Smith called “To Anacreon in Heaven”. This scene was reflected in the words of the now famous anthem: “nd the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.” flag flying high over Fort McHenry amidst the rubble and destruction. Key was moved and inspired at the sight of the lone U.S. The song, originally a poem, titled “The Defence of Fort McHenry” was written after Key witnessed the British bombard the Maryland fort during the War of 1812. Francis Scott Key penned America’s national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”.