Flags Lyrics – Damon Albarn

Read the full lyrics of “Flags” by Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten, Kae Tempest, War Child (Charity) from the album HELP(2). Here, we have shared the complete “Flags” Lyrics along with its music video, deeper meaning and song credits.

In the build-up to the March 6 release of HELP(2), the eagerly anticipated follow-up to War Child’s seminal 1995 charity compilation, one collaboration has already become a quiet focal point: “Flags”, the deftly titled contribution from Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten and Kae Tempest. Part of a project recorded in intense, once-a-week sessions at Abbey Road Studios, “Flags” was shaped under the guidance of producer James Ford, whose recent résumé bridges sleek indie rock and widescreen pop. Distributed by War Child’s own label, the song exists squarely as a charity single, with all proceeds directed toward children affected by conflict, yet it resists the easy sentimentality often associated with benefit releases.

“Flags” brings together three of the most distinctive lyrical voices in contemporary British music, and its thematic core reportedly circles around identity, borders, allegiance and the emotional weight carried by symbols. Albarn, whose songwriting career has stretched from Blur’s sharply observed Britpop to Gorillaz’s global, genre-agnostic narratives, has long been fascinated by the stories nations tell about themselves. Chatten, best known as the barbed poet-frontman of Fontaines D.C., adds a street-level immediacy and moral unease, while Kae Tempest’s contribution leans into their trademark fusion of spoken-word intensity and empathetic humanism. Together, the lyrics are said to question what “Flags” represent — pride, division, belonging, exclusion — and how those abstractions are experienced by individuals living in the shadow of violence.

Musically, “Flags” draws on an unusually broad pool of talent. Alongside the three lead artists, the session reportedly featured Johnny Marr and Dave Okumu on guitar, Adrian Utley contributing atmospheric textures, Seye Adelekan on bass and Femi Koleoso on drums, with additional backing vocals from figures spanning British indie and alternative music. The result is expected to be a slow-burning, emotionally dense track, sung in English, that blends art rock, post-punk restraint and moments of spoken or semi-spoken delivery rather than chasing an obvious chorus. Early descriptions point to a song that values tone and message over immediacy, allowing its words to breathe.

“Flags” is not tied to a conventional studio album but sits within HELP(2), which also includes new recordings from artists such as Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead offshoots, and emerging UK acts, all created specifically for the compilation. Trivia emerging from the sessions suggests that the title “Flags” was chosen late in the writing process, once the lyrical through-line around symbolism and borders became clear. For Albarn, the song continues a career-long engagement with political and social themes; for Chatten, it aligns with his recent solo work’s inward-looking but socially alert stance; and for Tempest, it echoes the urgent compassion that has defined their poetry, novels and previous albums.

Short, focused and purpose-driven, “Flags” stands as one of HELP(2)’s most conceptually charged moments — a collaboration that uses lyrical nuance rather than slogans to address conflict, identity and responsibility, reminding listeners that behind every flag waved or boundary drawn, there are human lives caught in between.