Spangled?

As Independence Day approaches we are all surrounded by symbols of our country: American flags, parades, fireworks, banners, hot-dogs, and music. Chances are we will sing or at least hear our National Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner. I always think it's great to hear it but I wonder sometimes if people really pay much attention to the words and think about what they mean. Do I even know what they mean?! Because really, who uses the word spangled anymore? So I took some time to study the words and decided to make my own translation:

O! Say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our Flag was still there;
O! Say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

Hey, can you see this morning what we saluted last night?
That flag that we watched from our prison with the broad stripes and bright stars? The one that was flowing so bravely in this dangerous fight?
We could still see it last night because of the rockets and explosions;
So tell me, does our flag still wave over this great country?

Here's a great fact: The first sporting event that the National Anthem was ever played at was the 1918 World Series. It was played during the seventh inning stretch. This World Series was played between the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs! (Though game one was in Chicago, it was not played at Wrigley Field, it was at Comiskey Park)