Ay, tear her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky;
Beneath it rung the battle shout,
And burst the cannonтАЩs roar;тАФ
The meteor of the ocean air
Shall sweep the clouds no more!
Her deck, once red with heroesтАЩ blood
Where knelt the vanquished foe,
When winds were hurrying oтАЩer the flood
And waves were white below,
No more shall feel the victorтАЩs tread,
Or know the conquered knee;тАФ
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
The eagle of the sea!
O, better that her shattered hulk
Should sink beneath the wave;
Her thunders shook the mighty deep,
And there should be her grave;
Nail to the mast her holy flag,
Set every thread-bare sail,
And give her to the god of storms,тАФ
The lightning and the gale!