I'll be the first to admit that I don't fully comprehend this song, but I've always gotten the impression that it was commentary on Southern culture and racism. It's important to remember that Sam Beam grew up in Columbia, SC. I think so much of his music deals with the conflicted feelings of growing up in the South. He clearly loves the South.His musical stylings are born of a Southern folk tradition. His lyrics carry a very Southern flavor, i.e. "This Solemn Day" and "Calm on the Valley". Yet the things he loves about the South are inseparably coupled with blatant hypocrisy and gross injustice.
I think the "borrowed flag" mentioned in the first stanza refers to the Confederate Battle Flag, aka "the rebel flag". The Battle Flag was intended to represent the belief that the states' right of self-determination takes precedence over federal authority, but over time has been misconstrued or "borrowed" to represent racism and "redneckism" (I can't think of a better term). The line "the fear of the Black and the Jew, and blood for the camera crew" also points to racial issues.
I'll be the first to admit that I don't fully comprehend this song, but I've always gotten the impression that it was commentary on Southern culture and racism. It's important to remember that Sam Beam grew up in Columbia, SC. I think so much of his music deals with the conflicted feelings of growing up in the South. He clearly loves the South.His musical stylings are born of a Southern folk tradition. His lyrics carry a very Southern flavor, i.e. "This Solemn Day" and "Calm on the Valley". Yet the things he loves about the South are inseparably coupled with blatant hypocrisy and gross injustice.
I think the "borrowed flag" mentioned in the first stanza refers to the Confederate Battle Flag, aka "the rebel flag". The Battle Flag was intended to represent the belief that the states' right of self-determination takes precedence over federal authority, but over time has been misconstrued or "borrowed" to represent racism and "redneckism" (I can't think of a better term). The line "the fear of the Black and the Jew, and blood for the camera crew" also points to racial issues.
Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.