The most commonly used section is the first verse, the words of which are:
O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, <br /> What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, <br /> Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, <br />O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? <br />And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air, <br /> Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. <br />O say, does that star spangled banner yet wave <br />
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?