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  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

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About

Genius Annotation

This song encapsulate’s Neil Young’s angry indictment of society during the Bush Sr. Era, and to a lesser extent, the recently-ended Cold War.

The first verse is about the narrator’s every day experiences in society, ending with how they’ve affected him.

The second is him recounting one particularly disturbing example of what society has caused people to do.

The third is a general criticism of the government and society as a whole.

This is the more famous electric version of the song that closes the 1989 album Freedom. The less famous live acoustic version opens the album.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Neil Young say about "Rockin’ in the Free World (Electric)"?
Genius Answer

Quoting one of the members of his side band, “Crazy Horse” Neil Young added

‘It’s better to keep rockin’ in the free world'. It was such a cliché. I knew I had to use it.

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