Keep the Flag Flying
1965 · Decca 31875 · New York City, New York
- Artist
- Johnny Wright
- Title
- Keep the Flag Flying
- Release
- Keep the Flag Flying / You're Over There
- Year
- 1965
- Label
- Decca # 31875
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- New York City, New York, USA
- Genre
- Country · Country
- Primary theme
- US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs
Annotation
The song "Keep the Flag Flying" (Decca Records # 31875) by Johnny Wright. Composed by Cecil Null Patriotic. Country music. Soldier's buddy is shot by a sniper's bullet. Before he died, he requested that the US flag remain flying in the US and overseas where they were fighting, presumably in Vietnam. At the end of the song we discover that it is in fact the soldier's brother who was killed, and that the remaining brother must write a letter home, informing their parents that one of their sons is dead. Featured on the 1966 album Country Music Special (Decca Records # DL-74770), which also included a cover of the "Ballad of the Green Berets". (1) It entered the Billboard chart on 25 December 1965, with the review ""Johnny Wright's 'Keep the Flag Flying' is a sure hit on the heels of his #1 smash 'Hello Vietnam'. The record is already getting heavy airplay and sales are reported brisk". (2) In fact, the Hello Vietnam single was still charting. "Keep the Flag Flying" reached # 31 on 21 January 1966. (3) "On a battlefield in another land across the sea My best pal and I were on patrol looking for the enemy Then I heard the sound of the snipers shot that took him away Just before he died…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs
The song "Keep the Flag Flying" (Decca Records # 31875) by Johnny Wright. Composed by Cecil Null Patriotic. Country music. Soldier's buddy is shot by a sniper's bullet. Before he died, he requested that the US flag remain flying in the US and overseas where they were fighting, presumably in Vietnam. At the end of the song we discover that it is in fact the soldier's brother who was killed, and that the remaining brother must write a letter home, informing their parents that one of their sons is dead. Featured on the 1966 album Country Music Special (Decca Records # DL-74770), which also included a cover of the "Ballad of the Green Berets". (1) It entered the Billboard chart on 25 December 1965, with the review ""Johnny Wright's 'Keep the Flag Flying' is a sure hit on the heels of his #1 smash 'Hello Vietnam'. The record is already getting heavy airplay and sales are reported brisk". (2) In fact, the Hello Vietnam single was still charting. "Keep the Flag Flying" reached # 31 on 21 January 1966. (3) "On a battlefield in another land across the sea / My best pal and I were on patrol looking for the enemy / Then I heard the sound of the snipers shot that took him away / Just before…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
Born 13 May 1914, Mount Juliet, Tennessee, USA. Died 27 September 2011, Madison, Tennessee, USA