"Rockin' in the Free World" is a song by Neil Young, released on his 1989 album Freedom.[1] Two versions of the song were released, similar to the song "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" of Young's Rust Never Sleeps album, one of which is performed with a predominantly acoustic arrangement, and the other with a predominantly electric arrangement.
The song was first performed live on February 21, 1989 in Seattle with Young's band The Restless.[2]
The book Shakey by Jimmy McDonough claims the song originated when Young was on tour in the late 1980s. He and Frank "Poncho" Sampedro saw newspaper photos of the Ayatollah Khomeini's body being carried to his grave as mourners were burning American flags in the street. Sampedro commented, "Whatever we do, we shouldn't go near the Mideast. It's probably better we just keep on rockin' in the free world." Young asked if Sampedro intended to use this idea as the basis of a song and when Sampedro said no, Young said that he would do so instead.[3] However Khomeini's death occurred months after the first live performance of the song.
The lyrics criticize the George H. W. Bush administration[4] and the social problems of contemporary American life, directly referencing Bush's famous "thousand points of light" remark from his 1989 inaugural address. [2]
An edited version of the song accompanies the end credits of Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11; the phrase "That's one more kid that’ll never go to school / Never get to fall in love, never get to be cool," which originally referenced the second verse's abandoned child, now appears to reference a US soldier killed in Iraq.
The song is rated number 214 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
- Pearl Jam regularly covers this song in concert, playing it along with "Yellow Ledbetter" as the closer. The band played the song as part of the 1992 MTV Unplugged performance and also alongside Young at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards.
- Xavier Rudd, Australian born reggae/rock artist, regularly performed the song during his North American tours.
- The Alarm recorded a version of the song on their album Raw and a Welsh Language version on their album Tân.
- Queensrÿche performed the song as the closing song of their performance on MTV Unplugged.
- Maroon 5 performed it at Live 8, while the Canadian performance of Live 8 in Barrie closed with a group performance of the anthem.
- The song is often performed by Bon Jovi during their concerts. A live version was included it on their album One Wild Night Live 1985–2001.
- Indigo Girls and K's Choice recorded a live version of the song as a B-side.
- Drivin N Cryin also recorded a version which they used as a B-side.
- Big Country have released the song twice as a B-side; a live version on the "Beautiful People" CD single, and a studio version backing "Alone".
- Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Yngwie Malmsteen recorded two live versions of this song while on the G3 '03 tour. One version is included on the G3 Live in Denver video/DVD, and the second is on "Rockin' in the Free World", a recording of a different concert on the tour.[1] Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and John Petrucci performed the song several times in Australia and Argentina in late November and early December 2006.
- In November 2006, Pearl Jam performed the song with U2's Bono and The Edge, under the moniker "U-Jam" for the Make Poverty History Concert in Melbourne, Australia.
- The Leningrad Cowboys performed a version of the song on the album Global Balalaika Show.
- Hayseed Dixie included a version on the 2005 album A Hot Piece of Grass.
- Polish band Pidżama Porno recorded a version for the 2004 album Bułgarskie Centrum.
- Jeffrey Walker of Carcass included a version on his solo album Welcome to Carcass Cuntry.
- The song is used as the signature song for Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein's band Trauser, who perform it at all their concerts.
- The Almighty recorded the song in 1992 as a B-side and later included it on their compilation Wild and Wonderful.
- Atomic Garden recorded an acoustic cover for the compilation Gasoline Rainbow.
- Suzi Quatro recorded it for the 2006 album Back to the Drive.
- Simple Minds recorded it for the 2009 studio album Graffiti Soul.
- The Joe Perry Project used it to close the first concert of their 2009 tour.
- New Model Army performed it at the Sziget Festival in Budapest.
History and Commentary on "Rockin' In The Free World" lyrics by Neil Young
by Thrasher
[Note: This is one of a series of articles which provide an explanation of the meaning of Neil Young's classic song "Rockin' In The Free World". While the interpretation of lyrics presented here is composed of several viewpoints, there is little consensus on the exact meaning of Neil's songs. The themes and symbolism of Young's songwriting provide a rich tapestry on which to project various meanings and analysis.]
Neil Young's song "Rockin' In The Free World" from the album Freedom is one of his most popular, important and prophetic songs.
The song has become an iconic anthem and it's status continues to rise as more and more artists cover the song. Young's lyrics are considered to be an indictment of the politics of the 1980's. In today's post-9/11 world, the lyrics seem prophetic and even more meaningful than when originally written on the eve of the '90's.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine selected "Rockin' in the Free World" as one of the 500 greatest songs of all times.
"Rockin' In The Free World" was first performed live in concert on February 21, 1989 at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, WA with Neil Young's band The Restless (review of concert). Since then, the song has been performed 368 times through the Greendale tour's conclusion on March 21, 2004 at the Mullins Center in Amherst, MA according to The Neil Young Tour Statistics page.
The song is prominent in director Michael Moore's film 'Fahrenheit 9/11' where "Rockin' in the Free World" runs over the closing credits. A re-release of the song and a new music video directed by Moore is scheduled for the Summer of 2004. (See more below on the film and song.)
Analysis of "Rockin' in the Free World" Lyrics
(Listen to clip of acoustic version of "Rockin' in the Free World" and electric version.)
The newspaper USA Today has called the song:
- "a savage attack on the policies of Ronald Reagan and the first President Bush ... (and) anything but a celebration of democracy."
On the contrary, a strong case can be made that the song is NOT "anything but a celebration of democracy." In fact, an argument can be made that the song is very pro-democracy and is a protest song that has advanced the argument about inequities in society. The song is clearly the work of someone who could be called a courageous patriot.
The song's lyrics contain the lines:
- We got a thousand points of light
For the homeless man
We got a kinder, gentler,
Machine gun hand
The lyrics are a direct reference to President George Bush's (#41) campaign pledge to create a compassionate citizenry volunteering to help cope with society's ills. The "thousand points of light" symbolize the American citizen's spirit and a shining example of giving selflessly to care for one another's neighbor and brother. Along with "a kinder, gentler hand", Bush believed that each American could contribute to helping make the United States -- and the world -- a better place to live and work.
The song is strongly democratic and with pro-American ideals in that it is a condemnation of the supply-side/trickle down politics of President Ronald Reagan. "Reaganomics" involved massive tax cuts in the wealthiest brackets which supporters claimed would trickle down to lower brackets. In fact, the policies led to huge federal deficits and exploding unemployment and social decay, particularly in large urban American cities.
The economic realities of the 1980's with increasing social problems -- such as homelessness and drug abuse -- made Young mock the campaign promises of President Bush as hollow rhetoric. The drug problems ("she's gonna take a hit") refer to the crack epidemic which swept large American cities during the 1980's.
The lyrics of "Rockin' In The Free World" also refer to the rampant consumerism of American culture and the rise of the disposable society based on waste and pollution.
- We got department stores and toilet paper
Got styrofoam boxes for the ozone layer
Got a man of the people, says keep hope alive
Got fuel to burn, got roads to drive.
The lyrics "Got a man of the people, says keep hope alive" refer to the Reverand Jesse Jackson's signature phrase to "Keep hope alive." Young contrasts President Bush's rhetoric and Rev. Jackson's religion as solutions to society's ills, when in actuality, they are nothing more than "feel good" slogans with little results to show.
According to Neil Young's biography Shakey, while on tour in the late 80s, Young and Frank 'Poncho' Sampedro looked at photos in a newspaper of the Ayatollah Khomeini's body being carried to his grave. These images showed mourners burning American flags in the street, which incited fear in Poncho due to the band's up coming European tour. Sampedro commented that 'whatever we do, we shouldn't go near the mideast. Its probably better we just keep on rockin' in the free world.' Then Young asked if he could make a song out of it. (source: Wikipedia)
China's Tiananmen Square Protests
On June 9, 1989, Chinese authorities confronted student protesters in Tiananmen Square, which led to the deaths of an untold number. From this event, the picture of a student standing before a line of tanks became the image that was broadcast around the world.
Neil Young, upon seeing this photo and video, began commenting before performing "Rockin' In The Free World" that the song was going out to that "Chinese boy in Tiananmen Square who stopped the tanks."
Similar to Young's '70's political protest anthem "Ohio", the song has become associated with peaceful, non-violent protest.
Saturday Night Live Performance
On Saturday Night Live in September '89, Neil served notice that he was back with a vengeance with his legendary performance of 'Rockin'. Considered to be one of the most intense live television studio performances ever, Young seemed possessed as he throttled his Les Paul guitar and shredded its strings before the audience. Wearing a Elvis Presley T-shirt, Young seemed to be bridging his 1970's classic "Hey, Hey, My, My" with the lyrics "The King [Elvis] is gone but not forgotten, this is the story of Johnny Rotten" with the end of the 1980's and the impending advent of the grunge-alternative music explosion.
Later, Young commented that he worked with a trainer before going onstage to work himself up to the encore intensity level when he normally performs the song after 2 hours on stage. Neil came on the set as if he had just performed the concert of his life and went from there. The song was selected as one of the best of Saturday Night Live musical performances of all time in broadcasts later in the 1990's for the 25th anniversary.
Critics were ecstatic about Young's return to form based on just the single broadcast and it marked a critical turning point in Neil's career. Jimmy McDonough writes in a Village Voice interview:
- "With the September 30 appearance on Saturday Night Live, Young arrested any signs of rust - at least for the moment. Backed by Charlie Drayton, Steve Jordan, and longtime sideman Frank 'Poncho' Sampedro - a new band Young's tentatively calling Young, CS&P - he was all over the stage, jumping on the drum stand, lunging out of camera range, whipping off earsplitting solos that sounded like falling power lines. It was the loudest thing I've ever heard on TV, the lyrics to 'Rockin' in the Free World' barely audible. This is easily his best band since Crazy Horse.
Just the look on his face was enough. He really seemed insane.
- YOUNG: 'Yeah, well I was. I don't like TV. Never have. It always sucks and there's nothing you can do about it. You can't just walk on and do 'Rockin' in the Free World,' or you'll look like a fuckin' idiot. To perform that song the way it's supposed to be performed you have to be at peak blood level, everything has to be up, the machine has to be stoked. To do that I had to ignore Saturday Night Live completely. I had to pretend I wasn't there.'
So Young developed 'a brand new technique for doing TV' - a half-hour before going on he worked out with his trainer, lifting weights and doing calisthenics to get himself wired. "
NEIL YOUNG / ROCKIN' IN THE FREE WORLD
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