I got an e-mail from a guy the other day which did all but accuse me of starting a war by doing a song called,”This Ain’t No Rag It’s A Flag." Now how asinine is that. If music was that powerful, John Lennon’s “Give Peace A Chance” would have ended all war.

And I got another e-mail from a guy who blamed my convictions on my ”limited southern scope.”

Limited in what way? I traveled 125,000 miles last year, visited three foreign countries, read a slew of books, ran a business, and probably keep up with what goes on in the world more than most folks.

My limited southern scope doesn’t prevent me from seeing and criticizing injustice, from having informed opinions, from believing that there should be a level playing field for all people, nor does it deter me from ordering a good bottle of wine with dinner.

I guess my limited southern scope began 66 years in a house with no running water, where I learned about stove wood, vegetable gardens , the secondary use of a Sears and Roebuck catalog, taking baths in a galvanized wash tub, and developed a healthy dislike for snakes.

I guess it continued when we moved to Valdosta, Ga. when I was seven years old and started a new school where I didn’t know one soul and had to make a whole new set of friends.

My formal education ended upon graduating from the twelfth grade and was spread out over three states and many schools, sometimes as many as three separate ones in one school year .

My limited southern scope was nurtured by manual labor and farming where I learned a great respect for a man who puts seeds in the ground and prays that the rain will fall. And working in the woods harvesting timber taught me a work ethic and common sense that stick with me to this day.

God gave me a gift of music which became a true passion and has led me down roads with deep valleys and high mountains and has taught me that you can realize your dreams and accomplish many goals with the help of God.

My limited southern scope continued to develop the day I arrived in Nashville with a wife and baby, twenty dollars in my pocket and the clutch out of our car. When my first few albums failed and a very prominent promoter made the statement that I’d never make it. It was fun working for him several times in the years to come.

I don’t think it’s a big deal but just to describe my limited southern scope, I’ve met five presidents, had conversations with some of them and even flew on Air Force One once.

I’ve lobbied congress concerning legislation which affected the music business.

I’ve given the commencement speech for a graduating college class and received the only college diploma I possess, albeit honorary. A doctor of letters degree. It doesn’t mean anything but it looks good on the wall.

I’ve seen the polar ice cap, the northern lights, the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, The Berlin Wall, The 38th Parallel, the Cuban mine fields, the destruction that war can do in Bosnia, the hustle bustle of Tokyo and the serene peace of a Swiss mountain side.

I’ve seen the Sydney Opera House, the canals of Amsterdam, the unabashed commerce of Hong Kong and enjoyed more than one trip to the Louvre and Musee d’Orsay in Paris and the Van Gogh Museum in Holland.

I’ve ridden on an Eskimo dog sled, the Concorde, trains, buses, limousines and a whole collection of clunkers.

I’ve worked with Bob Dylan and a couple of the Beatles. We’ve done shows with the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and a bunch of people you’ve probably never heard of. Some years we play for as many as a million people.

New Orleans Mardi Gras, been there, done that. New Year’s Eve in Paris, that too. The Super Bowl, World Series, National Finals Rodeo, yes. Not to mention the Black Eyed Pea Festival in Athens, Texas.

I’ve been happily married for close to four decades and raised a moral son who loves me. And I’m proud of my southern heritage.

Please don’t get the idea that I’m trying to impress you because what I’ve done and where I’ve been don’t amount to a hill of beans in the general scheme of things.

I know it ain’t much but what can you expect from a feller with a limited southern scope.

What do you think?

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels

Copyright © 2003 Charlie Daniels. Reprinted on The Tocquevillian by permission of Charlie Daniels.