# Song lyrics that pertain to freedom? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 27, 2005, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183 "2005-02-27T21:09:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DadWagonDriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/1 "2005-02-27T21:09:29Z")
I’m hoping some of you can help me out here. I’m teaching a unit on freedom and responsibility to my 9th graders for my internship. Being an English class, I try to incorporate music and poetry into as many things as I can. What are some songs that deal with the concepts of freedom or responsibility? I have “Free Will” from Rush already, but I’d like to pull in some hip-hop lyrics, since I teach in an urban district, and that’s what the majority of my students listen to. Poetry works, too. I have “Still I Rise” from Maya Angelou and “To America” from James Weldon Johnson so far. Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/2 "2005-02-27T21:17:24Z")
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/3 "2005-02-27T21:30:21Z")
[http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bruce-springsteen/25020.html](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bruce-springsteen/25020.html) > [@](#): > > Wendy let me in I wanna be your friend > I want to guard your dreams and visions > Just wrap your legs round these velvet rims > And strap your hands across my engines > Together we could break this trap > We’ll run till we drop, baby we’ll never go back > Will you walk with me out on the wire > `cause baby I’m just a scared and lonely rider > But I gotta find out how it feels > I want to know if love is wild, girl I want to know if love is real ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/4 "2005-02-27T21:44:37Z")
> [@](#): > > I’d like to pull in some hip-hop lyrics Probably a little risky to use while you’re an intern, but -[Freedom of Speech:](http://www.lyricsxp.com/lyrics/f/freedom_of_speech_ice_t.html) > [@](#): > > Freedom of Speech, that’s some motherfuckin’ bullshit > You say the wrong thing, they’ll lock your ass up quick > The FCC says “Profanity - No Airplay”? > They can suck my dick while I take a shit all day > Think I give a fuck about some silly bitch named Gore? > Yo PMRC, here we go, raw ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/5 "2005-02-27T22:51:00Z")
That classic country song: > [@](#): > > Freedom isn’t free > It costs folks like you and me > And if we don’t all chip in > We’ll never pay that bill > Freedom isn’t free > No, there’s a hefty fuckin’ fee. > And if you don’t throw in your buck 'o five > Who will? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/6 "2005-02-28T00:35:54Z")
“Come on everybody it’s easy to see People everywhere just got to be free.” – The Rascals, “People Got to Be Free.” “I’m Free. I’m Free. And freedom tastes of reality” – The Who, “I’m Free” “Many a Mile to Freedom” and “Freedom Rider” – Traffic ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/7 "2005-02-28T01:20:21Z")
Philadelphia Freedom by Elton John/Bernie Taupin ---
**Author:** ![AuntPam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@AuntPam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntPam)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/8 "2005-02-28T01:21:54Z")
Here’s some: As I was walkin’ I saw a sign there And on that sign It said “No trespassing.” But on the other side, It didn’t say nothing— That side was made for you and me! That’s a verse they don’t usually teach kids from “This Land is Your Land” (Woody Guthrie) You might also like to make them think about what is really happening in “The Star Spangled Banner” (Francis Scott Key) Oh, say, can you see Through the dawn’s early light What so proudly we hailed At the twilight’s last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous night, O’er the ramparts we watched Were so gallantly streaming. And the rockets’ red glare, The bombs bursting in air, Gave proof theough the night That OUR FLAG was still there Oh say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave Over the land of the free and the home of the brave? Why was the song’s author watching over ramparts? Why were bombs bursting in mid-air? Why waws the night perilous? Who were the brave and free people we sing about? How about: We will walk in freedon We will walk in freedom We will walk in freedom Some day. Deep in my heart I do believe That we will walk in freedom some day. One of the later verses in “We Shall OVerome” How about: “Follow the Drinking Gourd!” That’s about as literal a song about finding freedom as one you could find. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/9 "2005-02-28T04:05:33Z")
“There is freedom within There is freedom without …” _Don’t Dream It’s Over_ - **Crowded House** ---
**Author:** ![UnwrittenNocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6de8d8/32.png) [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/10 "2005-02-28T04:40:27Z")
I can think of plenty by punk group **Crass** (and a lot of other punk bands) but am really not sure they are appropriate for 9th graders ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/11 "2005-02-28T12:52:27Z")
Does it have to inculde the word ‘freedom’ ? How about “Something Inside so Strong” - I can’t remember the original artist but here’s [a version](http://pgoh.free.fr/something_inside.html) The music is a tad ‘last millenium’ but the lyrics are clear- IIRC it was about the apartheid struggle, or rather the anti-apartheid struggle, in SA. The opening line says it for me everytime **The higher you build your barriers** **The taller I become** ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/12 "2005-02-28T13:30:13Z")
For a totally dope hip hop song that screams freedom, try “First in Flight” by **Blackalicious** , off of their record “Blazing Arrow.” From the first verse: “FREE! Like a bird out in the wind in the night Like a 747 to LA that’s in flight FREE! Like a garden flourishing in the wind Like a student bout to do it when he’s graduatin’ FREE! From any of the energy perception Can never be defined create the definition within FREE! Just lovin life itself and never pretend to be Anything other than the man I was meant to be Travel through time and get a glimpse of the centuries To come a better day is promised remember FREE! Like my nephew in a few months about to be out the penitentiary” ---
**Author:** ![Nahk\_Ila\_Dihahs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/858c86/32.png) [@Nahk\_Ila\_Dihahs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nahk_Ila_Dihahs)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/13 "2005-02-28T14:36:40Z")
Rage Against the Machine is probably the best band for these sort of lyrics…Almost all of their songs are about freedom… Wake Up (This is their best song, IMHO) Bulls on Parade Sleep Now In The Fire Guerilla Radio Testify Freedom People Of The Sun Renegades of Funk No Shelter lots more… Some songs may have explicit lyrics, so please look up the lyrics somwhere. One plus point of their songs is the fact that RATM use a lot of historical facts in their lyrics, so your students might learn some history as well (“In fiteen hundred and sixteen, minds attacked and overseen…” - People of the Sun, RATM) RATM’s style is basically rap delivered over some of the most thunderous guitaring ever played…so the young’uns would probably love the music as well as the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/14 "2005-02-28T17:43:16Z")
This all but forgotten onr from he sixties which was revived for a coke commercial: I wish I knew how it would feel to be free I wish I could break all the chains holding me I wish I could say all the things that I should say say 'em loud, say 'em clear for the whole round world to hear. I wish I could share all the love that’s in my heart remove all the bars that keep us apart I wish you could know what it means to be me Then you’d see and agree that every man should be free. I wish I could give all I’m longing to give I wish I could live like I’m longing to live I wish that I could do all the things that I can do though I’m way overdue I’d be starting anew. Well I wish I could be like a bird in the sky how sweet it would be if I found I could fly Oh I’d soar to the sun and look down at the sea and I’d sing cos I’d know that and I’d sing cos I’d know that and I’d sing cos I’d know that I’d know how it feels to be free I’d know how it feels to be free I’d know how it feels to be free ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/15 "2005-02-28T19:43:09Z")
**Apparition #13** by Thea Gilmore; maybe not specifically about freedom so much as the struggle to achieve it. It’s much more dramatic to listen to that to just read; think Warren Zevon with a more lilting voice. The chorus: _You are missing the mark, you are sitting alone, saying “it’s a long was to Berlin for some painted stone, it’s a long a way to China where a boy once stood, and it’s a long way to Calvary for some nails and wood.”_ The line about painted stone applies equally well to the graffiti on the Berlin Wall and that left on the Reichstag by Soviet soldiers in 1945 and still preserved. (You might have a little trouble with that last line in a public school, though.) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/16 "2005-02-28T20:07:22Z")
I realize the Spanish versions may have no relationship to the English originals… but Gospel started as slave music, there’s got to be a throve there. “Sounds of Silence” is about opression - most of the people who like it have never realized what is it it talks about. The opposite, but still good for an analysis. ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/17 "2005-03-01T00:17:01Z")
It’s not hip hop, but they might like [Redemption Song](http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=8440) by Bob Marley: > [@](#): > > Emancipate yourself from mental slavery > None but ourselves can free our minds Great song. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/18 "2005-03-01T01:03:43Z")
It’s not hip hop, but my favorite song about freedom is “Peatbog Soldiers.” The way I heard it is that it was written prior to WWII in German concentration camps and spread through the whole of the German concentration camp system. Even POWs heard and used the song, and were allowed to sing it, until, as Pete Seeger put it: “the guards realized what they were singing about.” **Der Moorsoldaten** Far and wide as the eye can wander Heath and bog are everywhere Not a bird sings out to cheer us Oaks are standing gaunt and bare We are the peatbog soldiers Marching with our spades to the moor Up and down the guards are pacing No one, no one can get through Flight would mean a sure death facing Guns and barbed wire greet our view We are the peatbog soldiers Marching with our spades to the moor But for us there is no complaining Winter will in time be past One day we will cry rejoicing “Homeland dear, you’re mine at last” Then will the peatbog soldiers March no more with their spades to the moor (I’m including the full lyrics for this, as the song seems to have jumped to the traditional category, with no one claiming ownership, or authorship for it. If you feel the need to chop off the quote, feel free, and I apologize - I just don’t see how I could quote one or two lines from the song to get the full effect of it, and why it’s actually a song about freedom, not imprisonment otherwise.) ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/19 "2005-03-01T23:00:32Z")
Knowledge is power got your books go read 'em Wisdom is ignorance; Stupidity, I call freedom. Knockin’ On Mine - Paul Westerberg ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183/20 "2005-03-01T23:36:47Z")
Can’t believe I’m the first one to mention “Me and My Bobby McGee.” Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-lyrics-that-pertain-to-freedom/292183.md?page=2)