"Ragged Old Flag" is a song by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

from the 1974 album of the same name.

Background

"Ragged Old Flag" was written in 1974 while Cash was in

Binghamton, New York Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the c ...

, during a time of political turbulence in the United States that had forced the resignation of President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

during the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

. Although Cash had publicly supported Nixon's candidacy, he had started to question the wisdom of Nixon-era policies concerning the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. He wrote "Ragged Old Flag" to "reaffirm faith in the country and the goodness of the American people." The song tells a story of an old man in a town square describing, to a visitor who was critical of how the flag looked, what the flag and America have been through together. "Ragged Old Flag" is typical of Cash's particular style of patriotism characterized by his appreciation for the land, people and complexities of the United States.

Critical reception

Although some considered the song too

jingoistic Jingoism is nationalism in the form of aggressive and proactive foreign policy, such as a country's advocacy for the use of threats or actual force, as opposed to peaceful relations, in efforts to safeguard what it perceives as its national inter ...

and sentimental, it was largely popular with Cash's audience. Despite its popularity during live performances, its success was short-lived and the song only reached number 31 on country music charts. It has been contrasted to country songs that espoused a more black and white view of patriotism such as

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

's "

Okie From Muskogee ''Okie from Muskogee'' is the first live album by Merle Haggard and the Strangers released in October 1969 on Capitol Records. Background The album was a recorded performance at the Civic Center in Muskogee, Oklahoma on October 10, 1969, the d ...

" and "

The Fightin' Side of Me "The Fightin' Side of Me" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in January 1970 as the first single and title track from the album '' The Fightin' Side of Me''. The song ...

". The song's popularity has increased after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. Frye Gaillard has described the song as a "poignant pledge of allegiance". ''The Sunday Herald'' has described it as "a defiant tribute to the stars and stripes". It has also been described as an "anti-flag burning" song.

Live performances

At the first Americana Music Awards in September 2002, Cash added references to

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. During live performances, Cash usually introduced the song with the following:

"I thank God for all the freedom we have in this country, I cherish them and treasure them - even the right to burn the flag. We also got the right to bear arms and if you burn my flag - I'll shoot you. But I'll shoot you with a lot of love, like a good American".

"Ragged Old Flag" is recited at events around the country. It has been played by the

West Point Band The West Point Band (also known as the U.S. Military Academy Band or USMA Band) is the U.S. Army's oldest active-duty band and the oldest unit at the United States Military Academy. An act of Congress (Military Peace Establishment Act) issued o ...

, and recited by various veterans groups at events on

Veterans Day Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with holidays in several countries, i ...

and the

4th of July Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

. The Cash version is a tradition on ''

Fox NFL Sunday ''Fox NFL Sunday'' is an American sports television program broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox television network. The show debuted on September 4, 1994, and serves as the pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL ...

'' pregame broadcasts of the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

References

{{Johnny Cash Johnny Cash songs American patriotic songs 1974 songs Songs written by Johnny Cash Recitation songs