Posted by
Pscyclone on Tuesday, July 03, 2007 10:12:39 AM
Ragged Old Flag
Johnny Cash, 1974
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 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 though.
“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 a time or two.
"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.”
=====
For one, I am thankful to the Sailors and Soldiers, their kith and kin, in our past and present who have faithfully stood the watch these last two hundred thirty-one years to ensure that me and my family are safe, and also for those to come who will do the same. I'm also thankful for the fathers and mothers who take the time and effort to instill in their children the tenents and history that made this great nation a "shining city on a hill."
Happy Birthday, America.