Photo credit: Bill Kelly
Last night, August 21, the Democratic National Convention continued in Chicago. On the third night of the convention, Tim Walz accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president. As he left on Wednesday, attentive listeners noticed that the politician had chosen the song: “Rockin’ in the Free World” by Neil Young. Following the event, CNN’s Kaitlin Collins addressed the use of the song on Twitter/X, writing that Young supported the campaign’s use of the political anthem.
Collins’ tweet addresses a key piece of the song’s political trivia: Young’s opposition to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s use of the song and the legal action that followed. She writes, “Neil Young personally gave the Harris-Walz campaign permission to use his song ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ as Walz left the stage tonight, a campaign official says. (Walz personally selected the song because it’s one of his favorites.) Young previously sued the Trump campaign to stop them from using it.”
Trump incorporated “Rockin’ in the Free World” into political events during his first run for office, including the official announcement of his candidacy in 2016. Young objected to its use because of his political affinity with Bernie Sanders, who inevitably incorporated the number into his rallies during the same election cycle. The Republican candidate continued to incorporate Young’s songs into his rallies, including a July 3 speech at Mount Rushmore during which “Like a Hurricane” and “Cowgirl in the Sand” were played.
Officially, the Canadian musician filed a lawsuit against the Trump campaign on August 4, 2020, claiming copyright infringement for the use of “Rockin’ in the Free World” and “Devil’s Sidewalk” after both songs were removed from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) political license. Young voluntarily withdrew the lawsuit in December of the same year.
Walz’s use of the song represents the latest political implementation of Young’s call for freedom. In the video below, “Rockin’ in the Free World” can be heard at 16:36.
Neil Young personally gave the Harris-Walz campaign permission to use his song “Rockin’ in the Free World” as Walz left the stage tonight, a campaign official said. (Walz personally selected the song because it is one of his favorites.)
Young had previously sued the Trump campaign to prevent it from using …— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) 22 August 2024
