Why do we only sing the first verse of the "Star Spangled Banner"?

[ozron]

I've sung the Banner a few times, and I can tell you - as much as I love the song, it's just a bitch to sing! Some of the finest voices I've ever worked with have trouble getting through one verse, let alone four.

Now, about America the Beautiful. I sang three verses of this at a moment of silence gathering the week after 9/11.

"Thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears!"

I almost lost it there...