"No Freedom" is a song by English recording artist

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...

. The song was released on 18 January 2013 as the lead single from her fourth studio album ''

Girl Who Got Away ''Girl Who Got Away'' is the fourth studio album by English recording artist Dido, released in Europe on 4 March 2013, and in North America on 26 March 2013 by RCA Records. The album serves as the follow-up to 2008's ''Safe Trip Home''. Recording ...

'' (2013). The song was written and produced by

Dido Armstrong Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong when asked to say her real name. (born 25 December 1971), known professionally as Dido ( ), is an English singer and songwriter. She attained international success with her debut album ''No Angel ...

and

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is an American songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and arranger. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists Rollo Armstrong Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong (born 8 May 1966), known professionally as Rollo, is an English music producer. He is one half of the remix/production duo Rollo & Sister Bliss and is a founding member of the electronic music group Faithl ...

co-produced it. "No Freedom" is an acoustic ballad, with

folk pop Folk-pop is a musical style that may be 1) contemporary folk songs with large, sweeping pop arrangements, or 2) pop songs with intimate, acoustic-based folk arrangements. Recording production values created a unblemished style that appealed to ...

influences. Lyrically, the song reflects on the necessity of allowing people to have freedom within the confines of a relationship. "No Freedom" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who praised the smooth, simple, but gorgeous sound. The song has peaked to number 51 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, the song has also charted in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Background

"No Freedom" was written and produced by Dido and

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is an American songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and arranger. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists White Flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...

', while

Rollo Armstrong Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong (born 8 May 1966), known professionally as Rollo, is an English music producer. He is one half of the remix/production duo Rollo & Sister Bliss and is a founding member of the electronic music group Faithl ...

co-produced it. The song was written when Dido was pregnant at the time with her first son, Stanley, and recorded her vocals right up until the day he was born. She recorded the song in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Prior to the release of the single, snippets from the DJ COBRA Remix were leaked into the Internet. The melody is substantially different from the original. Later on, Dido explained on her official Twitter account that DJ Cobra - Peter Agyagos - was mistakenly sent an old demo to remix instead the final cut of the song. Lyrically, "No Freedom" talks about a painful story of heartbreak. According to Dido, it is more about love in general, in all its forms. The refrain, "No freedom without love", has been adopted by rebel groups in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. Dido told BBC News that after its release, she was getting many "letters from people who are in the middle of a war." The song is a folky, acoustic guitar-based,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

tinged, midtempo song, featuring Dido's sleepy vocals.

Critical reception

Critical reception was largely positive. Bernard Perusse of ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'' called it "simple, but gorgeous." Elliot Robinson of ''So So Gay'' wrote that the song represents the album as a whole, calling it "pleasingly catchy and enjoyably smooth." Caroline Sullivan of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' was more negative, writing that "Guitars strum gently, the tempo is mid, and Dido has never sounded more listless as she wanly informs her man that their relationship can't flourish unless she's free to wander." Chuck Campbell of ''Knoxville.com'' praised "Dido’s knack for gorgeous melody," writing that the song is a "simple, acoustic-driven opening track, that rolls out under her deliberate restraint as she sings." Nick Levine of ''

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...

'' called it "an odd soporific song." Tim Ferrar of ''Recording Connection'' called it "one of the most subdued tracks on the record."

Chart performance

On 3 March 2013 the song entered the

at number 69 and climbed 18 places to number 51 the following week. On 10 March 2013 the song entered the

Swiss Singles Chart The Swiss Hitparade (german: link=no, Schweizer Hitparade) is Switzerland's main Record chart, music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland. The Swiss charts include: * ...

at number 47, climbing to number 28 in its second week. On 16 March 2013 the song entered the

French Singles Chart French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

at number 64. The song entered the

German Singles Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...

at number 64, climbing to number 59 the following week. On 9 March 2013 the song entered the

Dutch Singles Chart The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...

at number 98, dropping to number 100 the following week. The song has also charted in

Music video

Background

A music video to accompany the release of "No Freedom" was first released onto YouTube on 4 March 2013 at a total length of three minutes and fifteen seconds. The music video was directed by Ethan Lader and filmed in downtown

on 9 December 2012. She is wearing a turquoise leather coat.

Synopsis

The video shows Dido standing on an empty city street surrounded by confetti. The video also features montage of old-fashioned footage from the United States and Dido sitting in the back of a vintage Chevrolet Bel Air convertible.

Live performances and cover versions

In February 2013 she performed the song live on American late-night talk show ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...

'', where she also performed "

White Flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...

". On 1 March 2013 she performed the song live on Norwegian-Swedish television talk show

Skavlan ''Skavlan'' was a Norwegian-Swedish television talk show hosted by Norwegian journalist Fredrik Skavlan. It premiered in Sweden on Sveriges Television (SVT) in January 2009, and the first guests to appear on the show were former Prime Minister o ...

. On 7 March 2013 she performed the song live on British daytime television programme '' This Morning''. On 3 October 2017

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

and

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...

performed the song live on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' as a tribute for the

2017 Las Vegas shooting On October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old man from Mesquite, Nevada, opened fire on the crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in . From his 32nd-floor suites in the Mandalay Bay hotel, he fired ...

victims.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

* Written by

and

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is an American songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and arranger. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, The Green Building,

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

, Ark Studios * Vocals by Dido * Guitar and keyboards by Rick Nowels * Programming by Rollo * Additional drum programming by UTRB * All strings arranged and performed by Davide Rossi * Mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound Credits adapted from ''Girl Who Got Away'' album liner notes.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2013 singles 2013 songs Dido (singer) songs Songs written by Dido (singer) Songs written by Rick Nowels Song recordings produced by Dido (singer) Song recordings produced by Rollo Armstrong Song recordings produced by Rick Nowels 2010s ballads Songs about heartache Pop ballads