Neil Young has never minced words when it comes to world issues. Around the time "Rockin' in the Free World" was written and released, international relations and struggles at home and abroad were running rampant. The Berlin Wall had yet to fall, but tensions leading up to it were running high (per Song Facts, the track was apparently blasted from speakers across Europe following the dismantling of the German barricade on November 9 of that year). George H.W. Bush was president, and being notoriously left-leaning, Young had a few thoughts to share on the nation's current president and referenced some of his speeches in the song ("We got 1,000 points of light, for the homeless man," "We got a kinder, gentler machine gun hand."), as American Songwriter reports.
The song also addresses the animosity leveled at Iranian author Salman Rushdie after publishing his controversial novel, "The Satanic Verses." Ayatollah Khomeini, in addition to labeling the United States "The Great Satan," publicly declared that Rushdie should be killed on sight for his blasphemies, and Young sought to stand up on behalf of free speech through his song. Poverty in the U.S., the epidemic of drug abuse, and environmental hazards are also included in the track's various commentaries (via American Songwriter).
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunCFkm5wcm9fqbWmeceim52dnmK6pq3NoqWgZZKataq6w2alnqGcYsawwc2gqmaqn5i4qrqMoqVmrJiaeqe%2BxJ5ksKeiobFw