Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” is an arena-rock anthem and a grim state of the union address, as the gruff rocker saw it at the end of the 1980s. Against a guitar riff that pulsated with adrenaline, Young delineated an era of consumer comforts — of “department stores and toilet paper” with “fuel to burn” and “roads to drive” — that also left “people shufflin’ their feet” and “sleepin’ in their shoes”.
If he saw a landscape of people made disposable, he was backed by facts. Wages stagnated for most Americans in the mid-1970s. The shuttering of factories left patches of the US economically dead. Homelessness increased, and hard drugs, which make up the sad storyline in the song’s second verse, were cheaper and more available. For Young, a Canadian who had lived in and spoken truth to power in the US since the 1960s, “there was a warnin’ sign on the road ahead” to the 21st century.
The lyrics incorporated Ayatollah Khomeini’s reference to the US as “the Great Satan”, Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign slogan of “keep hope alive” and, sneeringly, new President George HW Bush’s line about American charities making up “a thousand points of light”.
It was the marquee song on Young’s 1989 album, Freedom, which included two versions: electric and acoustic (live). The album was a return to form. For years, Young had put on a new costume with each record. He was an unlikely avatar of synth-pop on 1982’s Trans, a rockabilly throwback on 1983’s Everybody's Rockin’ and country purist on 1985’s Old Ways. For him, it was escape from expectations of being Neil Young, the thinking man’s rock god. Fans were baffled and then uninterested. With “Rockin’ in the Free World,” Young shredded his way back into their consciousness.
According to several accounts, guitarist Frank “Poncho” Sampedro coined the line that became the song’s shout-along chorus after seeing coverage of the chaotic funeral procession of Ayatollah Khomeini. “Whatever we do, we shouldn’t go near the Middle East,” he reportedly told Young. “It’s probably better to keep rockin’ in the free world.” However, Young debuted the song at a show in February of 1989. The Iranian leader died in June of that year.
In another telling, Young applied for permission to stage a concert in the Soviet Union. When he was denied, Sampedro said, “I guess we’ll have to keep on rockin’ in the free world.” The song has frequented Young’s set lists since.
It has also frequented the set list of Pearl Jam, who have played the song live more than 300 times, starting with a 1992 show in Berlin, a city recently reintegrated back into the “free world”. Young’s mixture of thunderous guitars and raw emotion helped birth Pearl Jam, and the discontent that gave rise to grunge fuels “Rockin’ in the Free World”, making it sound as if the song emerges from the same primordial sludge as every other in their set.
In the 1990s, more polished arena-fillers Bon Jovi also added to their concert repertoire, alongside their more optimistic anthems of working-class grit. With the chorus and the song’s wild energy overpowering all else, it fits. Hard-rock banshee Suzi Quatro, who usually adds one cover to each album, picked “Rockin’ in the Free World” for 2006’s Back to the Drive, emphasising its anger and fire.
Perhaps because of the potential for misinterpretation, Young has been selective in licensing the song. He allowed it to be used in Michael Moore’s documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 and in The Big Short, the Hollywood movie critical of Wall Street. He permitted US Senator Bernie Sanders, his preferred presidential candidate in 2016, to play it at events.
Donald Trump also pinched it during that election. “Rockin’ in the Free World” blared as Trump descended an escalator at Trump Tower to announce his presidency and followed him at rallies across the country.
Young demanded that Trump stop using it. Right-wing politicians have often used rock songs (such as Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”), generating outrage from their liberal authors. The Trump campaign simply contended that it was legal to blast the song at events. Young conceded: “Legally, he has the right to, however it goes against my wishes.” He also accused Trump of “dangerous, vilifying and hateful rhetoric”.
Wages were still stiff, people were dying from opioids, and the rich continued to absorb most economic growth. Trump blamed immigrants, weak leaders, Mexico and China. For Young, it was a warning sign on the road ahead.
What are your memories of ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’? Let us know in the comments section below.
‘The Life of a Song Volume 2: The fascinating stories behind 50 more of the world’s best-loved songs’, edited by David Cheal and Jan Dalley, is published by Brewer’s.
Music credits: Rhino; Groove Dust; Chrysalis Records
Picture credit: Rob Verhorst/Redferns