<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section may contain indiscriminate, excessive, or irrelevant examples . Please improve the article by adding more descriptive text and removing less pertinent examples . See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for further suggestions . (November 2012) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section may contain indiscriminate, excessive, or irrelevant examples . Please improve the article by adding more descriptive text and removing less pertinent examples . See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for further suggestions . (November 2012) </Td> </Tr> <P> The song is notoriously difficult for nonprofessionals to sing because of its wide range--a 12th . Humorist Richard Armour referred to the song's difficulty in his book It All Started With Columbus . </P> <P> In an attempt to take Baltimore, the British attacked Fort McHenry, which protected the harbor . Bombs were soon bursting in air, rockets were glaring, and all in all it was a moment of great historical interest . During the bombardment, a young lawyer named Francis Off Key (sic) wrote "The Star - Spangled Banner", and when, by the dawn's early light, the British heard it sung, they fled in terror . </P>

Land of the free and home of the brave who said it