As he finished his resounding address at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, the Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz got the crowd going once more as he bowed out to the soundtrack of Neil Young‘s classic anthem ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’.
Walz and the 1989 track seem like a match made in heaven. The politician is an avowed fan of emotionally rich guitar music, and the composition itself is steeped in politics, with Young one of the most politically active musicians of his generation.
‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ was released as the lead single from Young’s 17th studio album, Freedom, and mentions the political status quo of the era. The Canadian got the idea for the title and chorus after he was informed that a planned tour of the Soviet Union was not going ahead, and guitarist Frank ‘Poncho’ Sampedro said, “We’ll have to keep rockin’ in the free world,” a line that stuck with Young.
The singer-songwriter proceeded to pen the lyrics the following day. They criticise the George H.W. Bush administration, directly quoting the famous “thousand points of light” from his 1989 inaugural address and his campaign promise to make America a “kinder, gentler nation”. The track also draws from remarks about the country made about Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini and civil rights legend Jesse Jackson.
Since the song’s release, it has not only been deemed one of Young’s most essential tracks but also a distillation of the close relationship between rock music and the fight for progressive causes.
With Walz delivering a memorable speech, telling the DNC that “healthcare and housing are human rights,” it seemed fitting that he should choose ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ to close out what will go down as one of the Democratic highlights of this campaign trail.
As a fan of acts such as The Replacements and Hüsker Dü, two alternative rock pioneers, there’s no surprise that Walz should be a fan of Young, the man who started it all for the genre. According to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on X, the politician even personally sought the Canadian countercultural maestro’s permission to use the anthem, as it’s a favourite of his.
Trump’s unauthorised use of hit songs
In 2020, Young previously filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against the Trump campaign for copyright infringement for its use of ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ and ‘Devil’s Sidewalk’ after both songs were removed from ASCAP’s political license. In December of that year, the musician voluntarily dismissed the case.
Additionally, French singer Woodkid recently hit out at Trump on August 6th over the consistent unauthorised use of his song, ‘Run Boy Run’, at rallies.
“Once again, I never gave permission for the use of my music on that [Donald Trump] film,” Woodkid began by saying. The artist also pointed out the poignant message behind the track, noting, “Run Boy Run is a LGBT+ anthem written by me, a proud LGBT+ musician. How ironic.”
Furthermore, the estate of the late R&B star, Isaac Hayes, have threatened to sue Trump for millions of dollars over the unauthorised use of the song, ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’. In new documents shared on social media, the Hayes family claim that Trump has infringed the copyright restrictions of ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’ on 134 occasions since 2022. In addition to requesting that Trump immediately stops playing the track at public events, they are also demanding $3 million in compensation.
