- Album This song officially appears on the Driving Rain Official album.
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Song facts
From Wikipedia:
“Freedom” is a song written and recorded by Paul McCartney in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001. McCartney was in New York City at the time of the attacks, and actually witnessed the destruction while sitting in a plane, which was parked on the tarmac at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, where he and the rest of his former band The Beatles landed in February 1964.
McCartney, who said the attacks affected him emotionally, wrote the song the day after the attack. In the song, the narrator declares freedom to be a “right given by God” that he will “fight for.” The lyrics were thus in seeming contradiction with the antiwar sentiment associated with McCartney’s former act, The Beatles. But at The Concert for New York City where he first played the song live, McCartney explained to the crowd, “It’s about freedom. That’s one thing these people don’t understand. That’s worth fighting for.” In a later interview McCartney commented, “to me it’s a ‘We Shall Overcome.’ That’s sort of how I wrote it. It’s like, ‘Hey, I’ve got freedom, I’m an immigrant coming to America, give me your huddled masses.’ And that’s what it means to me, is, ‘Don’t mess with my rights, buddy. Because I’m now free.'”
The song was released in two versions: a single billed as a studio version (recorded in Quad Studios, New York), and a hidden track on McCartney’s Driving Rain album billed as a live version. It appeared “hidden” because McCartney halted the pressing of the album to include the track at the last minute, and the artwork had already been completed. Both versions feature Eric Clapton on lead guitar, with McCartney’s touring band backing him. The live, album version also featured studio overdubs from the sessions that produced the single version.
The single reached #97 in the Billboard Hot 100 and #20 in the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. All profits went to the Robin Hood Foundation, to aid the families of New York firemen and police. In the UK, “Freedom” was added to the single “From a Lover to a Friend“, which was released just a week before, but it was not listed on the UK Singles Chart. It has also charted at 61 in the Romanian Top 100.
The song was also featured at the Super Bowl XXXVI pregame show, with a Statue of Liberty tapestry rising up in the background as a tribute to the victims of 9/11.
McCartney performed the song on his 2002 Driving USA Tour and it appeared on the live album Back in the U.S. However, he chose not to perform it on subsequent tours, such as his 2005 The ‘US’ Tour, as he felt the song had acquired a militaristic meaning with the Bush administration’s Operation Iraqi Freedom. In an interview, McCartney stated: “And I thought it was a great sentiment, and immediately post-9/11, I thought it was the right sentiment. But it got hijacked. And it got a bit of a militaristic meaning attached itself to it, and you found Mr. Bush using that kind of idea rather a lot in [a way] I felt altered the meaning of the song.”
All songs written and composed by Paul McCartney.
Last updated on February 22, 2014
Lyrics
This is my right
A right given by God
To live a free life
To live in freedom
Talking about freedom
Talking about freedom
And I will fight
For the right
To live in freedom
And anyone
Who tries to take it away
Will have to answer
'Cause this is my life
Talkin' about freedom
Talkin' about freedom
And I will fight
For the right
To live in freedom
Officially appears on
Official album • Released in 2001
3:34 • Studio version • L1
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar, Bass, Electric guitar, Vocals
- Rusty Anderson :
- Electric guitar
- Abe Laboriel Jr. :
- Drums
- Gabe Dixon :
- Electric piano
- Eric Clapton :
- Electric guitar
- Will Lee :
- Bass
- Live recording :
- Oct 20, 2001
- Studio :
- Madison Square Garden
- Overdubs :
- Oct 23, 2001
- Studio :
- Quad Studios, New York
Official live • Released in 2002
3:18 • Live • L2
- Paul McCartney :
- Executive producer
- Performed by :
- Paul McCartney • Rusty Anderson • Abe Laboriel Jr. • Paul Wickens • Brian Ray
- David Kahne :
- Producer
- Michael Brauer :
- Recording engineer
- Ricardo Chavarria :
- Assistant engineer
Concert From the concert in Dallas, USA on May 09, 2002
Bootlegs
Driving USA Super Tree Volume 13 - Uniondale, NY 21 April 2002
Unofficial live
4:56 • Live
Concert From the concert in Uniondale, USA on Apr 21, 2002
Live at The Palace - Auburn Hills, Detroit MI May 1, 2002
Unofficial live
4:33 • Live
Concert From the concert in Detroit, USA on May 01, 2002
Live performances
“Freedom” has been played in 54 concerts and 1 soundchecks.
Latest concerts where Freedom has been played
Phoenix • America West Arena • USA
Oct 29, 2002 • Part of Back in the U.S. tour
Los Angeles • Staples Center • USA
Oct 28, 2002 • Part of Back in the U.S. tour
Las Vegas • MGM Grand Garden Arena • USA
Oct 26, 2002 • Part of Back in the U.S. tour
Anaheim • Arrowhead Pond • USA
Oct 25, 2002 • Part of Back in the U.S. tour
Oct 22, 2002 • Part of Back in the U.S. tour
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Quite interesting, but uhhh hey, what's that you're doing? What are your sources for the citations?