O, say can you see Through this haze of deceit The roaring crowd Leaps to their feet The illusion complete Walk in your sleep Through nightmares unseen Lost in American dreams O'er the ramparts we watched As what we fought for was lost When victory means the same as defeat It comes at too high a cost For words, our d**hs come cheaply bought But in flesh and blood they are wrought At the twilight's last gleaming Shadows fall over the sleeping Who lie content in believing their dreaming Until they wake up screaming At the twilight's last gleaming Shadows fall over the sleeping Who lie content in believing their dreaming Until they wake up screaming At the twilight's last gleaming O, say can you see That you live on your knees Blindly led, through life and to d**h For a nominal fee I'll live my life like a wolf among sheep But I will die on my feet