Lyric discussion by Skeezmo 

Cover art for The Flag lyrics by Barenaked Ladies

The meaning of this song is simple. The flag represents the womans surrendering to the abusive spouse. There is no beauty in the image of the flag. This is a great song but very sad and depressing.

@Skeezmo I think this is right.

"remember when I tried to choke you? I didn't mean it," is quite clear. Then:

"When the checkered flag comes down no one has won the race", In other words, just because he got his way, he didn't win. They both lost.