2003 Soap Box Archives

Scoping Southern Style 07/25/03

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.

Pray for our troops.

What do you think?

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels

 

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