Neil young rockin in the free world meaning

Q: Who wrote Keep on Rockin in the Free World?

Neil YoungRockin in the Free World / Composernull

Protest music is scant these days, but that doesn't mean we don't need it

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Who wrote Keep on Rockin in the Free World?

We’re in the midst of stressful times, as powers of various kinds — authoritarian, economic, reactionary, and religious — attempt to constrain humanity in cages of various designs.

In previous times, protest music was an important element shaping the responses to insults, corruption, and inequities.

These days, lounge music and vocal/producer collaborations dominate popular music, with little room for protest songs of the caliber of Neil Young’s 1989 classic, “Rockin’ in the Free World.”

Written in response to the first Bush Administration, the lyrics mock trite political slogans of that era, with “thousand points of light” and “kinder, gentler” woven in.

Young wrote the song in response to the problems in the world, with the title inspired after a Russian promoter absconded with money intended to promote a cultural exchange concert between the US and Russia. Dealing with the news of the theft that would prevent Young and his band from traveling to Russia, one member said, “Well, I guess we’ll just have to keep rockin’ in the free world.”

Released a few months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the song became an anthem as freedom spread across Eastern Europe.

Pearl Jam has performed the song live numerous times, as Young has been the band’s long-time protege, first performing with them in 1993 at the MTV Video Music Awards, where the song “Jeremy” ruled the night.

The song was originally recorded in E and played at a fast tempo of 132 bpm. Blistering guitar solos are a hallmark of any live performance.

The version below was performed in Grote Markt, Haarlem, in the Netherlands in May 2016. It captures the song’s worldwide popularity among all ages.

Enjoy!

And keep on rockin’ in — and for — a free world!

It’s no surprise that 1989 saw Neil Young’s transformation from folk-rock legend to a growling, snarling pre-grunge harbinger of Nirvana and Pearl Jam’s impact on music. “Rockin’ In The Free World” is filled with anger at an increasingly conservative, backward-looking American culture and laid the foundation for the rock music genre that would change the industry by 1991.

Written during February of 1989 while Neil Young was touring the Pacific Northwest, “Keep On Rockin’ In The Free World” offers listeners a scathing commentary on the era. It was released a few months before the fall of the Berlin Wall and became an anthem as democracy spread throughout Eastern Europe.

Crazy Horse guitarist, Frank “Poncho” Sampedro recalled to Mojo Magazine in a 2018 interview that there was supposed to have been a cultural exchange between Russia and the United States. “Russia was getting Neil Young and Crazy Horse and we were getting the Russian ballet! All of a sudden, whoever was promoting the deal, a guy in Russia, took the money and split. We were all bummed, and I looked at Neil and said, ‘Man I guess we’re just gonna have to keep on rockin in the free world. He said, ‘Well, Poncho, that’s a good line. I’m gonna use that, if you don’t mind.'”

This song, like Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A., is sometimes used as a pro-America anthem, which completely ignores many of the ironic overtones of the lyrics. While the chorus does seem to celebrate the United States, it’s laced with grim verses that paint an alarming picture of life in modern America. Some lyrics mock Bush era campaign speeches: “We got 1,000 points of light, for the homeless man,” and “We got a kinder, gentler machine gun hand” – a paraphrase of the famous line “I want a kinder, gentler nation” from Bush I’s nomination acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in 1988.

The video attached is as close to a Time Capsule as we can get; It’s not a simpler time considering the global changes going on during the period, but perhaps it was a time when we were more connected and centered in our collective goals? As the camera pans the crowd, there are a lot of different faces, and all walks of life represented during this memorable performance. I’ve felt this collective, positive, life-affirming energy in these same situations and hope you keep Rockin’ In the Free World. Remember, America is a beacon of light in the darkness. Hold on to that, and don’t let it go.

Neil Young, “Keep On Rockin’ In The Free World”

There’s colors on the street
Red, white and blue
People shufflin’ their feet
People sleepin’ in their shoes
But there’s a warnin’ sign
on the road ahead
There’s a lot of people sayin’
we’d be better off dead
Don’t feel like Satan,
but I am to them
So I try to forget it,
any way I can.

Keep on rockin’ in the free world,
Keep on rockin’ in the free world
Keep on rockin’ in the free world,
Keep on rockin’ in the free world.

I see a woman in the night
With a baby in her hand
Under an old street light
Near a garbage can
Now she puts the kid away,
and she’s gone to get a hit
She hates her life,
and what she’s done to it
There’s one more kid
that will never go to school
Never get to fall in love,
never get to be cool.

Keep on rockin’ in the free world,
Keep on rockin’ in the free world
Keep on rockin’ in the free world,
Keep on rockin’ in the free world.

We got a thousand points of light
For the homeless man
We got a kinder, gentler,
Machine gun hand
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.

Keep on rockin’ in the free world,
Keep on rockin’ in the free world
Keep on rockin’ in the free world,
Keep on rockin’ in the free world.

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What did Neil Young mean by heart of gold?

Neil Young live in 1971. Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot. Neil Young's “Heart of Gold” is a classic song about the search for true love and companionship in life, with the acknowledgement that the search truly begins within the self.

When did Neil Young wrote Rockin in the Free World?

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