Charlie Daniels Fights Ban on Flag Song
Management at Country Music Television, which broadcast a concert this weekend in Nashville, Tenn., held in honor of the victims of last month's terrorist attacks on the U.S., thought a song composed by country legend Charlie Daniels was too violent and might offend Muslims, so they nixed it from the program.
Instead of knuckling under, however, Daniels pulled out of the event, which had been billed, ironically, "Country Freedom."
"I felt I would spit in the face of 7,000 people who lost their lives if I would submit to that kind of political correctness," Daniels told WTN-FM Nashville radio host Steve Gill Tuesday morning.
CMT told Daniels that his song, "It Ain't No Rag, It's a Flag" -- which he wrote in response to the terrorist attacks -- didn't comport with the concert's spirit of "healing."
But Daniels told Gill that the healing spirit hadn't hit him just yet.
"There are 7,000 people dead and 7-month-old babies with anthrax ... it's a time for healing? We should put our arms around these people? Hell, no!"
The lyrics of "It Ain't No Rag" most definitely echo Daniels' fighting spirit:
"This ain't no rag, it's a flag,
And we don't wear it on our heads.
It's a symbol of the land where the good guys live.
Are you listening to what I said?
"Now we're comin' with a gun
And you know you're gonna run.
But you can't find no place to hide.
"We're gonna hunt you down
Like a mad dog hound.
Make you pay for the lives you stole.
"We're all through talkin'
And a-messin' around.
Now it's time to rock 'n' roll."
Tuesday afternoon, Daniels told nationally syndicated WABC Radio host Sean Hannity that when he showed CMT the lyrics, management told him: "You cannot do that song. We're afraid you'll offend somebody. It's too radical."
As for the line "and we don't wear it on our heads," the country star said he meant terrorists, not Muslims in general.
"It's very obvious that I'm talking about the terrorists. And I'm certainly not talking about anybody who wears a turban or anything else on their heads."
Hannity's reaction to Daniels' composition? "I think you've got a number one hit there."
