the Star-Spangled Banner
noun /ðə ˌstɑː ˌspæŋɡld ˈbænə(r)/
/ðə ˌstɑːr ˌspæŋɡld ˈbænər/
[singular]- the national anthem (= song) of the USCultureThe song was written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key (1779-1843), an American lawyer, as he watched British ships trying without success to capture Fort McHenry in Maryland during the War of 1812. He wrote the words and added the music of an old British song. The US Congress made it the country's official national anthem in 1931. It ends:“And the star- spangled banner in triumph shall waveO'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!”