The Star-Spangled Banner, one of the best-known national anthems in the world, has roots far more rowdy than patriotic, ...

Like so many famous songs of yore, "The Star-Spangled Banner" started as a poem, called “The Defence of Fort McHenry.” It was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 during the War of 1812.

The actual flag Key saw — the Star-Spangled Banner — is now housed in a climate-controlled, light-protected chamber at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Jimi Hendrix’s Star-Spangled Banner brought the sounds of Vietnam to the crowd at Woodstock. But he wasn’t the only musician to reimagine the national anthem during a time of war.

Deep within "The Star-Spangled Banner" is another famous phrase, one that many believe eventually was adopted as our national motto. "And this be our motto - 'In God is our trust,'" reads line 30.