Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, members of the 77th Congress:

I address you, the members of the 77th Congress, at a moment unprecedented in the history of the Union. I use the word "unprecedented," because at no previous time has American security been as seriously threatened from without as it is today. (1-3)

The opening lines aren't very famous, but they are direct. (Which is probably why they aren't all that famous.)

FDR uses a standard intro for this speech, and he abides by the rules of what a SOTU address should be. He's talking to Congress, so he addresses Congress. He isn't being rude by not addressing the rest of the country—he is just following tradition.

Examine this in relation to his SOTU address from 1935...it's almost exactly the same.

He does, however, jump right in to the serious business almost immediately. FDR had some burning topics to discuss (i.e., the craziness happening in Europe), and he wanted to get right to it.