The Free Software Song is a

filk Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-1970s. Etymology and defin ...

song by

Richard M. Stallman Richard Matthew Stallman (; born March 16, 1953), also known by his initials, rms, is an American free software movement activist and programmer. He campaigns for software to be distributed in such a manner that its users have the freedom to u ...

about

free software Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, no ...

. The song is set to the melody of the

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

Sadi Moma Sadi Moma ("A Girl Plants") is a Bulgarian folk song. The song, like many Bulgarian and other traditional Eastern European folk songs, is in an uneven meter: 7/8, counted as slow-quick-quick (SQQ). There is a Bulgarian folk dance traditionally a ...

". A version of this song is also performed by a band (the GNU/Stallmans) during the credits of the documentary ''

Revolution OS ''Revolution OS'' is a 2001 documentary film that traces the twenty-year history of GNU, Linux, open source, and the free software movement. Directed by J. T. S. Moore, the film features interviews with prominent hackers and entrepreneurs incl ...

''. In 1998, Matt Loper recorded a

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

version of the song.

Jono Bacon Jonathan Edward James Bacon is a writer and software engineer, originally from the United Kingdom, but now based in California. He works as a consultant on community strategy. History Bacon started his work with the Linux community when he ...

also recorded a heavy metal version of the song, and the band Fenster recorded a rhythmic version. In addition, there is a Spanish

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

version recorded by ALEC, and a

Rick Astley Richard Paul Astley (born 6 February 1966) is an English singer, songwriter and radio personality, who has been active in music for several decades. He gained worldwide fame in the 1980s, having multiple hits including his signature song "Ne ...

mashup,
Never Gonna Give GNU Up
. A version is used in the free software

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

Sinatra.Sinatra Homepage

Lyrics

:Join us now and share the software; :You'll be free, hackers, you'll be free. :Join us now and share the software; :You'll be free, hackers, you'll be free. :Hoarders can get piles of money, :That is true, hackers, that is true. :But they cannot help their neighbors; :That's not good, hackers, that's not good. :When we have enough free software :At our call, hackers, at our call, :We'll kick out those dirty licenses :Ever more, hackers, ever more. :Join us now and share the software; :You'll be free, hackers, you'll be free. :Join us now and share the software; :You'll be free, hackers, you'll be free. The lyrics have been placed in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

References

External links

The Free Software Song
at the official

GNU Project The GNU Project () is a free software, mass collaboration project announced by Richard Stallman on September 27, 1983. Its goal is to give computer users freedom and control in their use of their computers and computing devices by collaborati ...

Website * * A
SATB choir version
on the

Choral Public Domain Library The Choral Public Domain Library (CPDL) is a sheet music archive which focuses on choral and vocal music in the public domain or otherwise freely available for printing and performing (such as via permission from the copyright holder). It is a ...

an
the same arrangement
at the

International Music Score Library Project The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public-domain music scores. The project, which uses MediaWiki software ...

{{Authority control Filk songs Free software culture and documents Works about intellectual property law Public domain music American songs Bulgarian songs Propaganda songs Hacker culture 1993 songs