When did rockin in the free world come out?

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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  Neil Young song ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ is one of the great man’s finest moments and this raw version of the track played immediately after Young conceived the number whilst on tour in 1989 is a testament to his god-given gift of songwriting.

  President George H.W. Bush had only been sworn into the Oval Office four weeks prior to Young writing this anthem, a track in which he doesn’t leave much to the imagination about his thoughts on the newly elected figure. Not a great deal of good came out of his spell as president but at least he was the man who lit a spark in Young to write ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’.

  The song was born out of a conversation that Young had with his guitarist Frank ‘Poncho’ Sampedro as the two of them chewed the fat about the state of global politics and, more specifically, the disarray they perceived the world to be in. One day after this chat, Young had conducted arguably his finest song of the entire decade which shows that the smallest things can be the biggest muse.

  “There was supposed to have been a cultural exchange between Russia and United States,” Sampedro recalled to Mojo in a 2018 interview. “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 him 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.'”

  “So we checked into the hotel in Portland,” the guitarist continued. “And we needed a song. We needed a rocker. We’d written some songs and they were good but we didn’t have a real rocker. I said, ‘Look, man, tonight, get in your room, think about all this stuff that’s going down – the Ayatollah, all the stuff in Afghanistan, all these wars breaking out, all the problems in America: ‘Keep on rockin’ in the free world’, you got that: put something together man, let’s have a song!’ And the next morning, we got on the bus to leave and he says, ‘OK, I did it!'”

  The song was then unveiled the following day at Seattle’s Paramount Theater on February 21st, 1989. The version that Young aired to the North West crowd was beautiful despite still being born a matter of hours before and he didn’t alter the track following stumbling on this version, which is almost identical to the one which would make it to his Freedom album.

  “We didn’t even rehearse it with the band,” Poncho claimed. “I was telling the chords to [bassist] Rick Rosas as we went along.” Thankfully, the concert was bootlegged and you can hear Young play the song to an audience (and his band) for the very first time. Go to 1:28:50 in the video below to enjoy ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ in all of its greatness.

  Who was the original singer of Rockin in the Free World?

  Rockin' in the Free World.

  What is the theme of Rockin in the Free World?

  “Rockin' in the Free World” is an honest look at American life and the state of the world and social commentary on poverty within the country—people sleeping in their shoes—rampant drug addiction and child welfare, and the environment.

  Is Rockin in the Free World a protest song?

  Neil Young's “Rockin' in the Free World,” a 1989 protest song criticizing President George H.W. Bush, blared from the speakers — and it generated the first of countless controversies in the businessman's bid for the White House.

  Is Keep on Rockin in the Free World anti American?

  While the chorus does seem to celebrate the United States, it's juxtaposed with grim verses which paint a haunting portrait of life in modern America - the song is sometimes interpreted as a critique of the "keep on rocking in the free world" sentiment that US citizens use to ignore global problems that don't concern ...