How a political backlash turned “a grand old rag” into “a Grand Old Flag”...

On January 19, 1906, American composer, playwright and performer George M. Cohan copyrighted a new song he’d written titled “You’re a Grand Old Rag.”

It was one of the songs Cohan created for his upcoming Broadway musical George Washington, Jr.

The chorus of the song went like this:

      “You’re a grand old rag,
       You’re a high flying flag
       And forever in peace may you wave.
       You’re the emblem of
       The land I love. 
       The home of the free and the brave.
       Ev’ry heart beats true
       Under Red, White and Blue,
       Where there’s never a boast or brag.
       But should auld acquaintance be forgot,
       Keep your eye on the grand old rag.”

On February 6, 1906, “You’re a Grand Old Rag” was recorded as a 78 RPM single by the popular singer Billy Murray.

That same week, the musical premiered at The Herald Square Theater in New York City.

Cohan himself was the star and the highlight of the show was his rendition of “You’re a Grand Old Rag” as he marched up and down carrying an American flag.

Although George Washington Jr. and singer Billy Murray’s recording were both big hits, many critics, military veterans and groups complained to him that “You’re a Grand Old Rag” was disrespectful to the American flag. It should not, they said, be referred to as a “rag.”

This political backlash surprised and bothered Cohan.

He explained that patriotism was a main theme of the musical and that he actually got the phrase “grand old rag” from an old Army veteran.

However, he was sensitive to the criticism and ultimately decided to change the song’s name and lyrics.

Here’s how the story is explained by a page about the song on the Library of Congress website:

The original lyric for this perennial George M. Cohan favorite came, as Cohan later explained, from an encounter he had with a Civil War veteran who fought at Gettysburg. The two men found themselves next to each other and Cohan noticed the vet held a carefully folded but ragged old flag. The man reportedly then turned to Cohan and said, “She’s a grand old rag.” Cohan thought it was a great line and originally named his tune “You’re a Grand Old Rag.” So many groups and individuals objected to calling the flag a “rag,” however, that he “gave ‘em what they wanted” and switched words, renaming the song “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”

On June 2, 1906, the song was copyrighted with its new name and the sheet music was reprinted, with “old flag” in place of “old rag” in the lyrics.

“You’re a Grand Old Flag” was hugely popular and became the first song from a musical to sell over a million copies of sheet music.

Ironically, at least one critic felt that Cohan’s George Washington Jr. and the songs in it were too patriotic.

Life magazine critic James Metcalf wrote that they exuded “mawkish appeals to the cheapest kind of patriotism.”

Presumably, as Liberace once quipped about negative reviews of his music, Cohan cried all the way to the bank.

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“The Famous Quotes of October 8th,” a short film script by Robert Deis…

EXTERIOR. SMALL CAFÉ IN KEY WEST, FLORIDA – MORNING

An old, gray-haired man is sitting at one of the tables at an outdoor café in Key West, sipping Cuban coffee, reading the Key West Citizen newspaper.

A very beautiful young woman and extremely handsome young man sit down together at a table nearby.

They are wearing expensive-looking dark sunglasses and have an air of celebrity.

The old man notices a pretty waitress at the café point at the young man and hears her talking to another waitress.

WAITRESS:

“Who's that behind those Foster Grants?”

The old man recalls that question started out as an ad slogan for Foster Grant sunglasses. (According to the trademark filing for the slogan in the US trademark database, it was first used in commerce on October 8, 1959.)

The good-looking young man also overhears the waitress. He looks up at her, takes off his sunglasses, gives her a big, flirtatious grin and responds, slurring the words just enough to indicate that he’s somewhat drunk.

YOUNG MALE CELEBRITY:

“I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy,
A Yankee Doodle, do or die;
A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam,
Born on the Fourth of July.”

The old man remembers that those are lyrics from the song by George M. Cohan titled “The Yankee Doodle Boy.” (Written for the stage show Little Johnny Jones, which was first performed in Hartford, Connecticut on October 8, 1904.)

He wonders if the young man might be a Broadway star who is familiar with the famous musical or if, perhaps, he’s a movie star who has seen the classic 1942 film about Cohan, Yankee Doodle Dandy, in which James Cagney sings the song.

The young woman wearing the Foster Grants seems hurt that her male companion is flirting a bit too conspicuously with the pretty waitress. She leans over and speaks to him in a voice that’s low, but clearly intended to be loud enough for the waitress to overhear.

YOUNG FEMALE CELEBRITY:

“Keep the home-fires burning.”

The old man hears her, too, and recalls that those words come from song that was popular during World War I. (Lyrics by Lena Guilbert Ford, music by Ivor Novello. First published as sheet music under the title “‘Till the Boys Come Home” on October 8, 1914, later retitled and better known as “Keep the Home-fires Burning.”)

The handsome young man frowns and seems annoyed that someone would try to rein in his behavior and tell him what to do. He pushes his chair back, stands up a bit unsteadily, and says in an angry tone.

YOUNG MALE CELEBRITY:

“I am not a number – I am a free man!”

The old man is surprised to hear the young man quoting a line from a TV series he enjoyed in the late 1960s: The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan. (The line was used in the opening segment of each episode starting with the show’s second episode, “The Chimes of Big Ben,” which originally aired in the UK on ITV on October 8, 1967.)

The angry young man stalks off, leaving the beautiful young woman in tears.

The older man feels sorry for her and recalls a line spoken by the character Puck in William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which was entered into the Stationers’ Register (England’s early version of a Copyright Office) in London on October 8, 1600.

We hear what the old man is thinking as a voiceover.

VOICEOVER:

“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”

FADE OUT.

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