Finish this lyric: Whose broad stripes and bright stars…………….”

If your answer was “through the perilous fight,” you’re one of the very few Americans who can answer that question correctly.

We hear the National Anthem everywhere- before every sporting event, almost every political function, and before the Pep Rally and Homecoming Football Game each fall. However, despite hearing it so often and at so many of our favorite events, an alarming number of Americans do not know the words to this very important song.

According to a 2004 Harris Poll, nearly two out of three Americans do not

know the words to the National Anthem. As if this statistic isn’t disturbing enough, an

ABC News Poll found that as few as 15 percent of American youth can sing the words to

the Anthem from memory. This same poll also revealed that one in three teens do not know the official name of our National Anthem (“The Star Spangled Banner”), and

that less than 35% can name the author of the Anthem (Francis Scott Key).

One major reason for Americans’ lack of knowledge of the Anthem is that, in

recent years, budget cuts of school music programs have caused fewer people to be able to learn it. The 2004 Harris Poll found that more than 70% of Americans reported learning the National Anthem in school music class, which shows the impact that learning the Anthem in schools has on Americans’ knowledge of the song. According to the Harris Poll, of those who claimed to know the words, only 39% knew what follows “whose broad stripes and bright stars” (“through the perilous fight”). Thirty-four percent answered “were so gallantly streaming”, and 19% answered “gave proof through the night.” Of those who answered correctly, 58% had received at least five years of music education in school while they were growing up.

Senior Brad O’Brien commented that he remembered learning the National Anthem at baseball games, as he played baseball a lot while growing up. He mentioned that hearing it regularly at games greatly helped his knowledge of the lyrics, and he thought that a reason for Americans’ lack of knowledge of the song could be that “Many Americans aren’t patriotic.”

Ranger Jim Bailey, a park ranger and volunteer coordinator at Fort McHenry, said that while most Americans do not know the words to the Anthem, many maintain an emotional connection to the song.

“I would agree that most Americans do not know the words to the Anthem, but I would argue that they still maintain a very strong and emotional connection to it- in other words, they stand when it is played, place their hand over their hearts, and become emotional when they hear the first few notes…..for many, the Anthem represents everything they believe the United States to be or wish it to be.”

Besides a lack of knowledge of lyrics, another major reason that so many Americans cannot sing the National Anthem is that it is an extremely difficult song to sing, and an even more difficult song to sing well. With an octave-and-a-half range and a plethora of hard-to reach notes, it is, without a doubt, one of the hardest commonly-known songs there is to sing.

In a 2006 New York Times interview, Steven Blier, a vocal coach at the Juilliard School, explained why the Anthem is so hard to sing.

"It's rangy, it has that [slow, connected] phrase on a high note, the climax ends on a high note with a bad vowel, and the word setting is bad at some crucial spots.” Mr. Blier also commented that "It's an awkward song to ask untrained people to belt out."

Despite the anthem’s high notes, wide range, and awkward wording, these are certainly not the only pitfalls that this “star-spangled stumbling block” possesses. Jim Hopkins, director of Gameday Operations for the Baltimore Mariners professional indoor football team, said that the most common mistake he sees anthem singers make is “not singing in the key that represents or compliments their voice the most. I hear a lot of singers really reaching for notes that are out of their range.”

He also commented that the most common places where he sees anthem singers have trouble is “The beginning and towards the end. In the beginning it is hard to get that very first initial note out. You can always hear the nerves speaking very loudly at that point. The second area of problem is ‘O'er the land of the free.’ So many singers feel the need to hit a higher octave during that point.”

While the National Anthem may be a song that not all Americans have the vocal training to sing, it is certainly a song that all Americans, no matter what their musical ability, should be familiar with, as it is one of the most important songs that one will ever hear in their life.