SAN FRANCISCO: Hard rocker Aaron Lewis, who has harshly criticized other stars for mangling the national anthem, apologized and declared his love for the United States after doing the same at baseball’s World Series.

The frontman of the band Staind, selected to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” as is customary before sporting events in the United States, conflated the second and fourth lines of the anthem at Sunday’s fifth game of the World Series in San Francisco.

“Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light / What so proudly we hailed were so gallantly streaming,” Lewis sang.

The actual line is “what so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,” with “gallantly streaming” coming later. Soon afterward, Lewis profusely apologized in a message on his website, saying he was caught up in the “intensity” of the situation.

“All I can say is I’m sorry and ask for the Nation’s forgiveness,” he wrote.

“My nerves got the best of me and I am completely torn up about what happened. America is the greatest country in the world,” he said.

Ironically, Lewis himself had denounced pop stars who flub the national anthem after high-profile mistakes by Christina Aguilera and Cyndi Lauper.