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John Prine — Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore
Album: John Prine
Avg rating:
6.9

Your rating:
Total ratings: 145









Released: 1971
Length: 2:48
Plays (last 30 days): 0
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While digesting Reader's Digest
In the back of the dirty book store
A plastic flag with gum on the back
Fell out on the floor

Well, I picked it up and I went outside
And slapped it on my window shield
And if I could find ol' Betsy Ross
I'd tell her how good I feel

But your flag decal won't get you into Heaven anymore
They're already overcrowded from your dirty little war
Now Jesus don't like killin', no matter what the reason's for
And your flag decal won't get you into Heaven anymore

Well, I went to the bank this morning
And the cashier he said to me
"If you join the Christmas club,
We'll give you ten of them flags for free."

Well, I didn't mess around a bit
I took him up on what he said
And I stuck them stickers all over my car
And one on my wife's forehead

But your flag decal won't get you into Heaven anymore
They're already overcrowded from your dirty little war
Now Jesus don't like killin', no matter what the reason's for
And your flag decal won't get you into Heaven anymore

Well, I got my window shield so filled
With flags I couldn't see
So, I ran the car upside a curb
And right into a tree

By the time they got a doctor down
I was already dead
And I'll never understand why the man
Standing in the Pearly Gates said

But your flag decal won't get you into Heaven anymore
We're already overcrowded from your dirty little war
Now Jesus don't like killin', no matter what the reason's for
And your flag decal won't get you into Heaven anymore
Comments (39)add comment
to Cal-el :cut out the religous garbage! Go to a web site that deals with that.
Posted 9 years ago by Aud    [ Reply ]

Matthew 5:43-45 (New International Version)

New International Version (NIV)
 43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor<a> and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies<b> and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Matthew 5:39 (New International Version)

New International Version (NIV)

39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

 

Isaiah 2:4 (New International Version)

New International Version (NIV)

 

 4 He will judge between the nations
       and will settle disputes for many peoples.
       They will beat their swords into plowshares
       and their spears into pruning hooks.
       Nation will not take up sword against nation,
       nor will they train for war anymore.

Joel 3:10 (New International Version)

New International Version (NIV)

 

 10 Beat your plowshares into swords
       and your pruning hooks into spears.
       Let the weakling say,
       "I am strong!"

Psalm 52 (New International Version)

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 52

For the director of music. A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: "David has gone to the house of Ahimelech." <a>
 1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man?
       Why do you boast all day long,
       you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?

 2 Your tongue plots destruction;
       it is like a sharpened razor,
       you who practice deceit.

 3 You love evil rather than good,
       falsehood rather than speaking the truth.
       Selah

 4 You love every harmful word,
       O you deceitful tongue!

 5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
       He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent;
       he will uproot you from the land of the living.
       Selah

 6 The righteous will see and fear;
       they will laugh at him, saying,

 7 "Here now is the man
       who did not make God his stronghold
       but trusted in his great wealth
       and grew strong by destroying others!"

 8 But I am like an olive tree
       flourishing in the house of God;
       I trust in God's unfailing love
       for ever and ever.

 9 I will praise you forever for what you have done;
       in your name I will hope, for your name is good.
       I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

 

Well, I guess that settles it.  Dubbya must be the Christian President.  lol

 


Posted 15 years ago by Cal-el    [ Reply ]
jpfueler wrote:
<...> Remember, according to the left: Wanting your nation to win is BAD
Sometimes it IS bad, when 'your' nation wins, my friend. The deal is to think by yourself and then to decide, whether reason, aim AND way of the war are ok or not. Should I as a German support 'my' country in case of the rise of another Hitler?
Freeing oppressed peoples is not good(otherwise they can't bemoan said peoples plights)
Freeing people is good. Better is to ask those people before you free them. And the best is to know what to do AFTER having freed the people...
Dictators aren't all that bad, no matter how many of their people they kill.(Especially if they know what the leftist talking points are and spout them)
What about those dictators that are kept on their thrones 'cause they are best friends to the leaders of 'your' country? These oppressors are accepted, though the number of killed people is as high as the Empire State Building? Try to have your own opinion and avoid to be a human lemming. //edit: Sorry folks, couldn't resist... Everybody is invited to send me an email regarding this subject. So this place can be kept for discussions about music.
Posted 16 years ago by prickelpit96    [ Reply ]
no twang!
Posted 16 years ago by Algar    [ Reply ]
Yehhaa, Yehaaa,... No, no, no, that's not RP quality!
Posted 16 years ago by Nabla    [ Reply ]
jpfueler wrote:
Remember, according to the left: Wanting your nation to win is BAD Freeing oppressed peoples is not good(otherwise they can't bemoan said peoples plights) Dictators aren't all that bad, no matter how many of their people they kill.(Especially if they know what the leftist talking points are and spout them)
When I saw this song on the playlist, somehow I just knew that ol' jp would be a-spewing something asinine. He didn't disappoint me, and yet it is so sad to hear such desperate grasps at self-justification. Jp, we all know how tough it is to admit you've been played for a sucker by people you once believe in, but the sooner you grit your teeth and get over it, the happier you'll be, and that's a promise. You dont' have to join the left, but you don't have to follow lemmings off the cliff, either. Kiss 'em goodbye, my friend, and you'll feel a hundred years younger, as the Gomez song goes. The dominant political right in this country used to have some principles and logic behind their positions. Today they are hollow, angry, amoral and adrift with nothing to hold on to but empty jingoism and frustrated finger-pointing, thriving on threats of violence and fear. I just hope they don't start another goddamned war.
Posted 16 years ago by ktnsb    [ Reply ]
Marley wrote:
So the Bible condones war. Thank you for clearing that up, that explains alot. Love this song. Still appropriate today. I'd like to dedicate this to Dubya and all his followers.
The bible condones lots of nasty things. Self defence is one of those things. now get into the Old Test. and wow..God even HELPS in the wars (Jericho?)
Posted 16 years ago by jpfueler    [ Reply ]
and yet, the leftist whiners are the ones with insipid stickers all over their cars. My faves are the Fascist claims on a car that are faded. . .proving just how stupid said claim is. Remember, according to the left: Wanting your nation to win is BAD Freeing oppressed peoples is not good(otherwise they can't bemoan said peoples plights) Dictators aren't all that bad, no matter how many of their people they kill.(Especially if they know what the leftist talking points are and spout them)
Posted 16 years ago by jpfueler    [ Reply ]
radioparadisehead wrote:
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." -Matthew 10:34
So the Bible condones war. Thank you for clearing that up, that explains alot. Love this song. Still appropriate today. I'd like to dedicate this to Dubya and all his followers.
Posted 16 years ago by Marley    [ Reply ]
radioparadisehead wrote:
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." -Matthew 10:34
You got that right...a truth.
Posted 16 years ago by ppak    [ Reply ]
Grandma got runover by a reindeer... No, wait, this is worse...
Posted 16 years ago by MojoJojo    [ Reply ]
Poignant, No matter what the Twang !
Posted 16 years ago by YA_MAN    [ Reply ]
bluedot wrote:
jesus don't like killin' that's the whole point, really.
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." -Matthew 10:34
Posted 16 years ago by radioparadisehead    [ Reply ]
10 just for the message.
Posted 16 years ago by bronorb    [ Reply ]
Wow. This might as well have been written yesterday. Can I get a bumper sticker with the song title on it?
Posted 16 years ago by sirrus    [ Reply ]
Flag decals- just another "empty" gesture!
Posted 16 years ago by jadedragon    [ Reply ]
Just as relevant today
Posted 16 years ago by hippiechick    [ Reply ]
oh barf. you're playing this after a rockin song from teh pixies? and did he just call betsy ross a whore? maybe this song isn't so bad after all. oh wait yes it is
Posted 16 years ago by dreadpixie    [ Reply ]
I saw John perform this song earlier this year. He said that he had put it into retirement for years but felt the need to bring it back out again.
Posted 16 years ago by KermitDfrog    [ Reply ]
Beinte wrote:
This country tune should not be admitted to a quality rock station like RP
I don't think you listened to the words closely enough!
Posted 16 years ago by Antigone    [ Reply ]
This country tune should not be admitted to a quality rock station like RP
Posted 16 years ago by Beinte    [ Reply ]
Shaken_Bake wrote:
Neither will your "W04" sticker or fish decal (does that mean you bought your car at Jesus Chrysler Plymouth?)
In fact I think those both are now signs of the beast. Here in Texas you hardly see one without the other. Love this song. Hadn't heard it now in quite a while.
Posted 16 years ago by segueman    [ Reply ]
Posted 16 years ago by go_ski_mully    [ Reply ]
I love this song. What I do NOT love is how timely and pointed the commentary is. THIRTY SIX YEARS after its release. Some things never change, unfortunately. This latest batch of warmongers make the perpetrators of Vietnam look like heroes by comparison. Love how Robert MacNamara has recanted his actions, now that the damage has long since been done. Thanks a bunch Bob. Tell it to the wall. c.
Posted 16 years ago by cc_rider    [ Reply ]
Right on. Nationalist Fundamentalists are oxymoronic and anathema to Jesus' message.
Posted 16 years ago by kapetto    [ Reply ]
He performed this one in his recent tour. Plus ''Sam Stone.'' Both weirdly pertinent again.
Posted 16 years ago by Odyzzeuz    [ Reply ]
Holy crap, this isn't a current song? Plus ca change...
Posted 16 years ago by serinde    [ Reply ]
Reminds me of Strawberry Music Festival, just outside if Yosimite
Posted 16 years ago by wookie    [ Reply ]
PERFECT!!!!
Posted 16 years ago by hippiechick    [ Reply ]
this man tells the best stories in his songs....john prine always rates high :)
Posted 19 years ago by newfiegirl    [ Reply ]
Sing it John! Don't forget illegal smile :D/
Posted 19 years ago by Shesdifferent    [ Reply ]
jesus don't like killin' that's the whole point, really.
Posted 19 years ago by bluedot    [ Reply ]
JCEntMan wrote:
I believe that should be #-o
Hey, I was typing as fast as I could.......
Posted 19 years ago by LPCity    [ Reply ]
LPCity wrote:
Woo Whoo! First up!
I believe that should be #-o
Posted 19 years ago by JCEntMan    [ Reply ]
LOVE JOHN!! MORE STUFF please??!!
Posted 19 years ago by Tritter    [ Reply ]
Neither will your "W04" sticker or fish decal (does that mean you bought your car at Jesus Chrysler Plymouth?)
Posted 19 years ago by Shaken_Bake    [ Reply ]
Sing it John...
Posted 19 years ago by Stevo    [ Reply ]
Woo Whoo! First up! I've always loved this song!
Posted 19 years ago by LPCity    [ Reply ]
Posted 19 years ago by n4ku    [ Reply ]