What is Key saying in these lines from "The Star Spangled Banner"? Death and bloodshed are inevitable in war. Wars are an inescapable part of human civilization. People must always engage in war in order to be free. People who defend their freedom in war are victorious.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States based on a poem written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key after observing the British Royal Navy ships bombing at Baltimore Harbor at Fort MacHenry. What he means in that part of the poem is that the loss of lives during the battlefield is something expected during the war. According to him, wars themselves are inevitable and people must be brave enough to take part in them to gain their freedom. Because of that sublime goal, he believes people who join war are glorious.