Comments on: Whence "freak flag?"

Question: Whence "freak flag?"

Chrysostom — Wed, 03 May 2006 09:30:08 -0800

What's the original source of the phrase, "fly your freak flag high?"

By: wryly

wryly — Wed, 03 May 2006 09:33:25 -0800

The earliest I ever heard it: In the song "Almost Cut My Hair" by David Crosby.

Almost cut my hair
It happened just the other day
It was getting kind of long
I could have said it was in my way

But I didn't and I wonder why
I feel like letting my freak flag fly
And I feel like I owe it to someone

By: Floydd

Floydd — Wed, 03 May 2006 09:34:45 -0800

"Almost Cut My Hair" by Crosby Stills Nash & Young comes close, and is the first time I heard it.

Almost cut my hair
It happened just the other day
It's gettin kinda long
I coulda said it wasn't in my way
But I didn't and I wonder why
I feel like letting my freak flag fly
Cause I feel like I owe it to someone

By: Floydd

Floydd — Wed, 03 May 2006 09:35:34 -0800

curse you, wryly!!!

By: Doohickie

Doohickie — Wed, 03 May 2006 09:41:15 -0800

I think Crosby, Stills, Nash & somebody sang a song about something like that.

(To all of us over a certain age, this is a no-brainer.)

By: aiko

aiko — Wed, 03 May 2006 09:43:02 -0800

Hendrix's "If 6 Was 9" from 1967 had "wave my freak flag high."

By: Plutor

Plutor — Wed, 03 May 2006 10:42:31 -0800

Doohickie: "...Crosby, Stills, Nash & somebody..."

And to all of us under a certain age, that's exactly the name of the group.

By: timeistight

timeistight — Wed, 03 May 2006 11:08:01 -0800

Hendrix was first.

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Thu, 04 May 2006 11:06:14 -0800

I will now proceed to entangle the entire area

By: mediareport

mediareport — Fri, 05 May 2006 07:40:30 -0800

I'd bet the phrase appeared multiple times in the mid-60s underground press before it showed up in rock music.

By: timeistight

timeistight — Fri, 05 May 2006 15:38:44 -0800

How much?

By: mediareport

mediareport — Fri, 05 May 2006 21:32:28 -0800

It's an expression, timeistight, but you knew that. I'm making a guess based on listening to and reading about mid-late-60s underground culture, where ideas/phrases often seemed to show up in popular chart-topping radio hits *after* appearing first in smaller-circulation underground books/zines/pamphlets/etc. In my experience, giving priority to pop stars in situations like this is almost always off-base.

YMMV.