Freedom Tabs:
- Rockin' In The Free World »
- Don't Cry
- Hangin' On A Limb
- The Ways Of Love
- Someday
- On Broadway
- No More
- Too Far Gone
Rockin' In The Free World Bass Tab
Keep on rockin' in the free world (performed live acoustic by Neil Young)
Transcribed by Soenen Martijn (martijnsoenen@hotmail.com) 20:01 19/12/2000
NOTES: this is the acoustic version of the song. Neil plays it tuning his guitar
one step down (DGCFAD). I play it in standard tuning. On my guitar the song seems
the best in standard tuning. This is one of the most beautiful songs I know with
extremely good lyrics.
In the times of a commie-hater like Nixon, America seemed the promised land
and the USA was called "the free world" as a reaction against communism. But
although America wasn't a dream or the promised land. In the USA, there was
also poverty, there was a lot of hypocrisy, there was a lot of violence (certainly
by the government backed army and police). I guess this song by Neil is a quite
cynical or ironical (call it what you want) protest against the examples of the
"American Dream". Or maybe the message is just: keep on rockin' in the free world!
CHORDS used in this song:
EADGBE EADGBE
Em7 022030 Em 022000
D 000323 A x02220
C x32010 G/A x00000
G 320003
This is an example of how you can play the intro and the verse. It's hard to put this intro in tabs.
You have to find it out yourself actually. When you start to play the intro with the Em chord it
sounds good if you add your little finger (Em7) just before the chord change to D.
INTRO:
Em Em7 D C
e |----0--0--0--0--0--2--2--0--0--0--0----------------------------------------|
B |----0--0--0--3--3--3--3--1--1--1--1----------------------------------------|
G |----0--0--0--0--0--2--2--0--0--0--0----------------------------------------|
D |----2--2--2--2--2--0--0--2--2--2--2----------------------------------------|
A |----2--2--2--2--2--------3--3--3--3----------------------------------------|
E |--0------------------------------------------------------------------------| X 4
VERSES:
Em D C
e |--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0------------------2--2--2-------0--0--0--0---------------------|
B |--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0------------------3--3--3-------1--1--1--1---------------------|
G |--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0------------------2--2--2-------0--0--0--0---------------------|
D |--2--2--2--2--2--2--2--2------------------0--0--0-------2--2--2--2---------------------|
A |--2--2--2--2--2--2--2--2--------------------------------3--3--3--3---------------------|
E |---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Colors on the street
Red, white, and blue
People shuffling their feet
People sleeping in their shoes
There's a warning sign in the road ahead
There's a lot of people saying we'd be better off dead
Don't feel like Satan, but I am to them
So I try forget them any way I can
I see a girl in the night
with a baby in her hands
Under an old street light
near a garbage can
Now she put her kid away, she's gone to get a hit
She hates her life, and what she's done with it
That's one more kid, that'll never go to school
Never get to fall in love, never get to be cool
CHORUS:
G D C Em G/A
e |--3--3--3----2--2--2--2--2--2--2-------0----0--|--0--0--0--0--0--0--0------|
B |--0--0--0----3--3--3--3--3--3--3-------1----1--|--0--0--0--0--0--0--0------|
G |--0--0--0----2--2--2--2--2--2--2-------0----0--|--0--0--0--0--0--0--0------|
D |--0--0--0----0--0--0--0--0--0--0-------2----2--|--2--2--2--0--0--0--0------|
A |--2--2--2------------------------------3----3--|--2--2--2--0--0--0--0------|
E |--3--3--3--------------------------------------|---------------------------| X 4
Keep on rocking in the free world X 4
INTERLUDE: (played after each chorus goes something like this:)
A G/A A G/A A G/A
e |--0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0----0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0---0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0------------|
B |--2-2-2-2-2--0-0-0h2----2-2-2-2-2--0-0-0h2---2-2-2-2-2--0-0-0h2------------|
G |--2-2-2-2-2--0-0-0h2----2-2-2-2-2--0-0-0h2---2-2-2-2-2--0-0-0h2------------|
D |--2-2-2-2-2--0-0-0h2----2-2-2-2-2--0-0-0h2---2-2-2-2-2--0-0-0h2------------|
A |--0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0----0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0---0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0------------|
E |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
OUTRO: (Neil ends live with hitting the chords once quite hard)
e |--3~~~~~~~~------2----0---------------------------------------|
B |--0~~~~~~~~------3----1---------------------------------------|
G |--0~~~~~~~~------2----0---------------------------------------|
D |--0~~~~~~~~------0----2---------------------------------------|
A |--2~~~~~~~~-----------3---------------------------------------|
E |--3~~~~~~~~---------------------------------------------------|
Keep on rocking in the free world
keep on rocking in the free world
keep on rocking in the free world
keep on rocking in the free world
Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
|
No Picture
Manu Professional Badass |
#1 by Manu at Sep 28, 2007 at 5:26 PM EST |
| The line 'Keep on rockin in the free world' is half sarcastic and half anthemic as you'd expect it to be. It's half about America's external conflict and half about America's internal conflict. I think Higgs more or less correctly explained the reference to external conflict. It strongly questions America's social values. There's people 'shufflin there feet', when i hear this i always think of a lot of busy black shoes on their way to an office job, walking past the homeless man 'People sleepin in their shoes' The second verse raises prostitution and heroin addiction in a heart wrenching scenario. A girl putting her baby in the trash can so she can get another hit. The third verse raises environmental destruction. The song is about being free, but being free responsibly. | |
|
No Picture
justin Average |
#2 by justin tompkins at Oct 1, 2007 at 8:43 PM EST |
| just to comment on sweetarts comment above, america has been referred to as the great satan since the 70's in the middle east long before this song was written so i think that is exactly what that line is making reference too | |
|
No Picture
blake Average |
#3 by blake pratt at Oct 4, 2007 at 12:23 PM EST |
| well, actually this song was written prior to the conflicts in the middle east. but its most likely about how the US is percieved as a horrible entity in other nations. | |
|
No Picture
kostas Rhythm Player |
#4 by kostas kouveliotis at Oct 13, 2007 at 5:32 PM EST |
| i saw neil young live last year...they played this song at the very end...one of the best shows ever! | |
|
No Picture
Meaty Average |
#5 by Meaty at Oct 14, 2007 at 4:39 PM EST |
| stoolhardy: I think you need your hearing examined by a doctor or stop pirating 48 bps MP3s OpinionHead: Why? He ended "Bowling For Columbine" with a tune from the USA... I wonder why it wasn't included on the Fahrenheit 9/11 soundtrack or equivalent. | |
|
No Picture
Tavo Wanna Be |
#6 by Tavo at Oct 15, 2007 at 5:01 AM EST |
| well, actually this song was written prior to the conflicts in the middle east. but its most likely about how the US is percieved as a horrible entity in other nations. | |
|
No Picture
Jeremy Rhythm Player |
#7 by Jeremy Dosser at Oct 16, 2007 at 10:39 AM EST |
| I think this song is about living in a world where you are free to speak your mind. Whether it's the injustice of a group of people, the poor getting poorer, or fighting an unncessary war... what's great about living in a free country is our voice can be heard, and the stronger we make it, the more of an impact it has. He's saying, use that right, keep up fighting, keep on rocking in the free world. This is great especially at a time, when a war in Iraq is going on and anybody who questions Bush was called a Communist or anti-America. Don't let them get you down, America is great because of freedom of speech... so keep screaming, keep rocking in the free world. | |
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