"Rockin' in the Free World" is a song by Canadian-American

singer-songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk- acoustic tradition with a guitar, although this role has ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

, released on Young's seventeenth studio album ''

Freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

'' (1989).Buckley, 1206 Two versions of the song bookend the album, similarly to " Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" from Young's ''

Rust Never Sleeps ''Rust Never Sleeps'' is the tenth album by Canadian American singer-songwriter Neil Young and his third with American band Crazy Horse. It was released on June 22, 1979, by Reprise Records and features both studio and live tracks. Most of the ...

'' album, one of which is performed with a predominantly acoustic arrangement, and the other predominantly electric. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine ranked "Rockin' In the Free World" number 214 on its "

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

Context

Young wrote the song while on tour with his band The Restless in February 1989. He learned that a planned concert tour to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

was not going to happen and his guitarist Frank "Poncho" Sampedro said "we'll have to keep on rockin' in the

free world The "Free World" is a propaganda term, primarily used during the Cold War from 1945 to 1991, to refer to the Western Bloc and aligned countries. It was originally coined in the 1930s and used in the Second World War. The term refers more bro ...

". The phrase struck Young, who thought it could be the hook in a song about "stuff going on with the Ayatollah and all this turmoil in the world.” He had the lyrics the next day. The lyrics criticize the

George H. W. Bush administration George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

, then in its first month, quoting Bush's famous " thousand points of light" remark from his 1989 inaugural address and his 1988 presidential campaign promise for America to become a "kinder, gentler nation". The song also refers to Ayatollah

Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

's proclamation that the United States was the "

Great Satan "Great Satan" () is a derogatory epithet used in some Muslim world, Muslim-majority countries to refer to the United States. Alongside the "Death to America" slogan, it originated in Iran during the Iranian Revolution, Islamic Revolution. While ...

" and

Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American Civil rights movements, civil rights activist, Politics of the United States, politician, and ordained Baptist minister. Beginning as a ...

's 1988 campaign slogan, "Keep hope alive". The song was first performed live on February 21, 1989, in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

with The Restless, without the band having rehearsed it. The song is included on Young's ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' (2004) release. It reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'''s

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

chart.

''Saturday Night Live''

Young performed the song live in September 1989 for the television show ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

''. For the performance, Young played with Poncho Sampedro, Charley Drayton and Steve Jordan. In concert, Young would typically play the song well into the set, when the band's energy is at a high. To achieve the same level of energy, Young worked out with his trainer 30 minutes prior to the performance. He explained to author Jimmy McDonough: Comedian and former ''SNL'' cast member

Dennis Miller Dennis Michael Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American political commentator, stand-up comedian, talk show host, writer, actor and former sportscaster. Miller was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' fro ...

would later say that "Rockin' in the Free World" was the single greatest performance on the show in its history.

Charts

Cover versions

"Rockin' in the Free World" has been recorded by numerous other artists. A version by

The Alarm The Alarm are a Welsh rock band that formed in Rhyl, Wales in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, the Toilets, in 1977 under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the group soon embraced arena rock and included marked influences from Welsh language ...

appears on their album ''Raw'' (1991).

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

, joined by Neil Young, performed the song at the

1993 MTV Video Music Awards The 1993 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 2, 1993, honoring the best music videos from June 16, 1992, to June 15, 1993. The show was hosted by Christian Slater at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. This would be Kurt Coba ...

and frequently perform it live in concert.

Justin Sullivan Justin Edward Sullivan (born 8 April 1956) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is also the lead vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter of English rock band New Model Army (band), New Model Army, which he formed in 1980 togeth ...

in 1994 did it not with his

New Model Army The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 t ...

line up but recording with the lead guitarist at the time Dave Blomberg touring in a series of duo presentations which it was known as Big Guitars in Little Europe.

Suzi Quatro Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of singles that found success in Europe and Australia, with both "Can the Can" (1973) and "Devil Gate Drive" ...

covered it on her 2005 album '' Back to the Drive''. It was also covered by Swiss hard rock band Krokus on their 2017 covers collection ''Big Rocks''. Roots rock duo Larkin Poe released a cover on their 2020 album ''Kindred Spirits''. American

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...

band

Soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

released a cover in 2022. Numerous bands and artists have covered this song live, including

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American rock music, rock guitarist, composer, and songwriter. Early in hi ...

and The New Roses.

Use of the song in US politics

An edited cut of the electric version of the song was used over the final credits of

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...

's film ''

Fahrenheit 9/11 ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' is a 2004 American documentary film directed, written by, and starring Michael Moore. The subjects of the film are the presidency of George W. Bush, the Iraq War, and the media's coverage of the war. In the film, Moore state ...

'' and the song was re-released as a single at the time of the film's release. Since its release the song has been used a number of times at different US political events. In 2015 and 2016, the song was played during

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's entrance preceding his formal announcement that he would run as a Republican candidate for the 2016 presidency. Young, a longtime supporter of

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

, said that Trump's use of "Rockin' in the Free World" was not authorized. The contention, later determined to be a licensing issue, was resolved, and Trump's campaign used the song. Young explained to ''

'' that he had no issue with the campaign using the song. Bernie Sanders also used the song at rallies for his

2016 presidential campaign This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kiri ...

. In 2020, Trump again used the song at a pre-

Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...

speech at

Mount Rushmore The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a National Memorial (United States), national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (, or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dak ...

on July 3, along with two other Young songs (" Like a Hurricane" and " Cowgirl in the Sand"). A tweet from Young from the official Neil Young Archives

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account responded to the usage of "Rockin' in the Free World” by retweeting a tweet from ''

Rapid City Journal The ''Rapid City Journal'' (formerly the ''Black Hills Journal'' and the ''Rapid City Daily Journal'') is the daily newspaper of Rapid City, South Dakota. As of 2021, it is the largest newspaper in South Dakota by total subscriptions, according ...

'' reporter Morgan Matzen that contained a video with the song playing at the Trump event with Young adding "This is NOT ok with me…". A minute later Young retweeted a second Matzen tweet, this time one showing a video of Young's song "Like a Hurricane" playing before the President took the stage, with Young adding "I stand in solidarity with the

Lakota Sioux The Lakota (; or ) are a Native American people. Also known as the Teton Sioux (from ), they are one of the three prominent subcultures of the Sioux people, with the Eastern Dakota (Santee) and Western Dakota (). Their current lands are in N ...

& this is NOT ok with me." On August 4, 2020, Young filed a lawsuit in the

Southern District of New York The Southern District of New York is a federal judicial district that encompasses the counties of New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan. Federal offices or agencies operating in the distri ...

against the Trump campaign for

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...

for its use of "Rockin' in the Free World" and "Devil's Sidewalk" after both songs had been removed from

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

's political license. On December 7, 2020, Young voluntarily dismissed the case. In May 2024, U.S. Secretary of State

Antony Blinken Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 71st United States secretary of state from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor, deputy national security advisor ...

sang and played

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

on the song with Ukrainian

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band 19.99 at a bar in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. Blinken was in the Ukrainian capital to meet

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

to discuss battlefield updates and the significance of recent U.S. military aid. This visit was the first by a

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

official since the approval of U.S. supplemental funding for Ukraine. The song was most recently used at the

2024 Democratic National Convention The 2024 Democratic National Convention was a United States presidential nominating convention, presidential nominating convention in which delegates of the Democratic Party (United States), United States Democratic Party voted on their party ...

on August 21, 2024 after

Tim Walz Timothy James Walz (; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician who has served since 2019 as the 41st governor of Minnesota. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States, vice pre ...

gave the final speech of the evening to the assembled, with Young's approval.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockin' In The Free World 1989 songs 1989 singles Neil Young songs Songs written by Neil Young Music videos directed by Julien Temple Reprise Records singles Cultural depictions of George H. W. Bush Song recordings produced by Neil Young Song recordings produced by Niko Bolas Anti-American sentiment in North America Songs about poverty Protest songs Songs about freedom Songs about the United States Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign Political party songs