The Political Forum

RAGGED OLD FLAG
Johnny Cash

There was never any question that the poem for this Sunday night would be a patriotic one, in honor of this past Fourth of July weekend. I had a lot of choices, of course. I came close to using Longfellow"s "The Building of the Ship," or the excerpt from it that is usually presented under the title "Sail On, O Ship of State." Either would have been fine. Very fine, in fact.

I toyed with the idea of simply running Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. It isn't a poem, but it is as close to poetry as prose can get. I thought a little about Henry Holcomb Bennett's "The Flag Goes By." It's a nice poem. I have always liked it. And then I decided to run with the words to Katharine Lee Bates' great classic "America the Beautiful." But I became conflicted about whether it would be better to use Julia Ward Howe's wonderful poem, "The Battle-Hymn of the Republic." It is a favorite of mine, and the story behind the writing of the words is fascinating.

In the end, as you can see, I settled on Johnny Cash's "Ragged Old Flag." Johnny Cash's music has been a part of my life since I was in high school. I have listened to his records in bars all over Iowa, South Dakota, Virginia, and the good Lord only knows where else. I have listened to him while playing pool with friends and brothers-in-law, and while driving down the road alone. When my kids were little, we used to sing along to Johnny Cash tapes all the way to the beach in the summertime. I saw him live in concert twice, and couldn't believe how great it was to hear him say in his marvelous baritone voice, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." So this is my poetry project, right? Right! So why not the "Ragged Old Flag" for this year's Fourth of July poem, says I?

Johnny Cash isn't doing so well, right now. He can use your prayers. His wife June Carter Cash died recently and his own health is failing fast. For us old country music fans, it will be a sad day for America when Johnny Cash dies. But his music will live on, as will the poetry in it. In case you want to hear Johnny himself recite this piece, go to: www.alighthouse.com/flag.htm. In the meantime, enjoy this great poem by a great American.

Ragged Old Flag

I walked through a county courthouse square,
On a park bench an old man was sitting there.
I said, "Your old courthouse is kinda run down."
He said, "Naw, it'll do for our little town."
I said, "Your flagpole has leaned a little bit,
And that's a Ragged Old Flag you got hanging on it.

He said, "Have a seat", and I sat down.
"Is this the first time you've been to our little town?"
I said, "I think it is." He said, "I don't like to brag,
But we're kinda proud of that Ragged Old Flag."

"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there
When Washington took it across the Delaware.
And it got powder-burned the night Francis Scott Key
Sat watching it writing _Oh Say Can You See_.
And it got a bad rip in New Orleans
With Packingham and Jackson tuggin' at its seams."

"And it almost fell at the Alamo
Beside the Texas flag, but she waved on through.
She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee, Beauregard, and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on that Ragged Old Flag."

"On Flanders Field in World War I
She got a big hole from a Bertha gun.
She turned blood red in World War II
She hung limp and low by the time it was through.
She was in Korea and Vietnam.
She went where she was sent by her Uncle Sam."

"She waved from our ships upon the briny foam,
And now they've about quit waving her back here at home.
In her own good land she's been abused --
She's been burned, dishonored, denied and refused."

"And the government for which she stands
Is scandalized throughout the land.
And she's getting threadbare and wearing thin,
But she's in good shape for the shape she's in.
'Cause she's been through the fire before
And I believe she can take a whole lot more."

"So we raise her up every morning,
Take her down every night.
We don't let her touch the ground
And we fold her up right.
On second thought I DO like to brag,
'Cause I'm mighty proud of that Ragged Old Flag."

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