Rockin' in the Free World
| "Rockin' in the Free World" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Neil Young | |
| from the album Freedom | |
| B-side | "Rockin' in the Free World" |
| Released | November 14, 1989 |
| Format | 45 RPM Record |
| Recorded | The Barn, Redwood Digital, Woodside CA, March 10, 1989 |
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal [1], proto-grunge |
| Length | Acoustic version: 3:38 Electric Version: 4:40 |
| Label | Reprise |
| Writer(s) | Neil Young |
| Producer | Neil Young Niko Bolas |
"Rockin' in the Free World" is a song by Neil Young, released on his 1989 album Freedom.[2] 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.
Contents |
[edit] Context
The song was first performed live on February 21, 1989 in Seattle with Young's band The Restless.[3]
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.[4] However Khomeini's death occurred months after the first live performance of the song.
The lyrics criticize the George H. W. Bush administration[5] and the social problems of contemporary American life, directly referencing Bush's famous "thousand points of light" remark from his 1989 inaugural address. [3]
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
The song is featured as a playable track in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.
[edit] Performances
- Buffalo Springfield closed their show at Bonnaroo with this song on June 11, 2011.
- 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. The band played the song at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto as part of their 20th anniversary tour. Neil Young joined them onstage to play with the band.[6][7]
- Van Halen closed their shows during the tour supporting their live album Live: Right Here, Right Now.
- 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.
- David Byrne recorded a live version of the song on his 1992 Hanging Upside down EP.
- Neil Young, Booker T. & the M.G.'s and Pearl Jam performed this song together live to close the Neil Young concert in Finsbury Park, London on 11th July 1993.
- 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 occasionally performed by Bon Jovi during their concerts. A live version was included 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".
- Damn Yankees used the song to close their concerts on their tour with Bad Company in 1990.
- 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.
- This song is also played as a group jam at the closing of the Air guitar World Championships in Oulu Finland every year.
- Navel recorded it for the 2011 album Neo Noir.
- The song was covered by the Hungarian metal band Superbutt in 2011, released on their album Music For Animals
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Neil Young goes heavy". http://blogcritics.org/music/article/living-with-war-neil-youngs-new/.
- ^ Buckley, 1206
- ^ a b "History and Commentary on "Rockin' In The Free World" lyrics by Neil Young". http://thrasherswheat.org/fot/ritfw.htm.
- ^ McDonough, J. (2002). Shakey: Neil Young's Biography. New York, Random House.
- ^ http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1269
- ^ "Concert Review: Air Canada Centre, Toronto - Sept. 11, 2011". canoe.ca. 2011-09-11. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/P/Pearl_Jam/ConcertReviews/2011/09/12/18671566.html. Retrieved 2011-09-11.
- ^ "Pearl Jam and Neil Young's Suprise Duet". alternativeaddiction.com. 2011-09-11. http://www.alternativeaddiction.com/musicnews/article/2234/Pearl-Jam-and-Neil-Youngs-Suprise-Duet. Retrieved 2011-09-11.
U2 and Pearl Jam on live Make Poverty History playing Rockin'in a free world. Pearl Jam & U2 as UJam at the Make Poverty History Concert in Melbourne on the 17th November 2006.
[edit] References
- Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 1-84353-105-4.
[edit] External links
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