On This Day in 1974, Johnny Cash Released This Patriotic Response to an Infamous Political Scandal

Patriotism and country music go hand in hand, with artists like Toby Keith and Trace Adkins among the most obvious modern-day examples. Johnny Cash, too, was a proud patriot, spending four years in the U.S. Air Force before kicking off his music career. However, patriotism means something slightly different to everyone, and for Cash, that meant holding the U.S. government accountable when high-ranking officials’ actions didn’t align with the best interests of the people. On this day (April 5) in 1974, the Man in Black released his 47th studio album, Ragged Old Flag, in response to the Watergate scandal two years earlier.

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Behind the Title Track

The album’s title track is a sprawling spoken-word piece centered around a narrator who meets an old man sitting in the town square near a run-down courthouse. I said, your old flagpole has leaned a little bit / And that’s a ragged old flag you got hanging on it… He said, I don’t like to brag / But we’re kinda proud of that ragged old flag.

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♬ Ragged Old Flag – Johnny Cash

Although he had supported Richard Nixon’s presidential candidacy, Johnny Cash—like many Americans—was beginning to question some of the Vietnam War-era policies.

Further eroding his faith, it came to light in 1972 that officials acting on Nixon’s behalf had broken into the Democratic National Committee headquarters and planted listening devices.

Nixon’s role in concealing his administration’s involvement in the crime eventually led to his resignation in 1974.

Looking to ““reaffirm faith in the country and the goodness of the American people”, Cash wrote “Ragged Old Flag.” Although the song only reached No. 31 on country music charts, it became a popular live staple and remains a tradition on Fox’s Super Bowl pre-game broadcasts to this day.

[RELATED: 6 Heartfelt Songs of Patriotism]

How Johnny Cash Defined Patriotism

Despite his religious upbringing and penchant for gospel music, Johnny Cash once pushed back against the notion some held of him as “a conservative country singer who lives down in the South somewhere.”

“The misconception is that I’m regional,” Cash told Steve Turner in a 1988 interview. “They might even sometimes imply that I’m a redneck. Heaven forbid, a bigot. But I’ve been everywhere, and I’ve seen almost everything.”

The “Ring of Fire” crooner cherished the United States’ prioritization of the family unit and “pioneer spirit.” Still, he didn’t shy away from criticizing the nation’s military actions.

“I spent four years in the USAF, but I’m not military-minded at all. Our government scares the daylights out of me,” he told Turner. “They swooped down and raided poor little Grenada and then Libya. We should defend ourselves in the Gulf, I guess, but that scares me, too.”

Featured image by Chris Walter/WireImage