And yet today, as the national anthem of the United States, its words can be a barrier to unity. While little known and rarely sung, the third verse of Key’s lyrics includes the following ...

Clague: This whole stanza was cut from the National Anthem because of its mocking of the British. When we became allies with them in WWII, the verse drops out of use in “The Star-Spangled Banner.” ...

On official occasions, only the first verse is usually sung. The words of the National Anthem are as follows: "God save our gracious King! Long live our noble King! God save the King! Send him ...

We only sing the first verse anyway, and the same sort of legislative act that made the song the national anthem could shorten it from four verses to three. No muss, no fuss, and one thing we all ...

Depending on your tastes, Alicia Keys' rendition of the national anthem at Super Bowl XLVII was ... you'd have thought she added one of the other three verses to Francis Scott Key's lyrics.