"This Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag" is a song by American music group

Charlie Daniels Band Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock music, rock, country music, country, blues and jazz, and was a pioneering contribution to Southern rock and p ...

and released as a bonus track on their 2001 album '' Live!''. The song was written solely by Daniels and was released in November 2001 as the first and only single from the live album. This song was written in response to 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 ...

. Its peak position was number 33 on the US Country charts. The song is his highest-charted single since 1989's " Simple Man".

Background and writing

The song first gained attention when CMT refused to allow Daniels to perform it on October 21 during the Country Freedom Concert that was staged in Nashville. The event was to raise funds for the Salvation Army's disaster relief efforts in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Daniels refused to go on the show in protest saying that "if my song would be offensive, then my presence would be offensive." Daniels told Phyllis Stark of ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

'' that the events of September 11 "hit me really hard. It really floored me. I couldn't get away from it. I wept a lot." Daniels said that people kept sending him emails asking if he was going to write a song about the attacks.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine reviewed the song favorably calling it "far more rousing than racist, this well-performed rocker is all about nationalism and our intention to kick some terrorist butt." She also states that there is "no doubt the more dovish among us will take offense, but when juxtaposed against rescue efforts that have evolved into recovery, who cares?''

'', November 10, 2001

Chart performance

"This Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag" debuted at number 51 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of November 10, 2001.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2001 singles Charlie Daniels songs American patriotic songs Songs written by Charlie Daniels Music about the September 11 attacks 2001 songs