Liberty And Freedom: Song Analysis

The music of the younger generation always seems to strike fear into the hearts of the older generation. One only has to think of the beginnings of Rock and Roll and how the older crowd predicted youthful promiscuity, violence and anarchy. It’s easy to see why the idea of censoring music came about and how that idea still plays out in the music of today’s youth. One only has to listen to certain songs on the radio today to find that the “bleep” of censorship is still in fashion. Oddly enough however, when one searches “songs about censorship” on the internet, one finds that there is far more information about songs that have been censored than there is about songs dealing with censorship. However, two songs that deal with the topic of censorship …show more content…
The music has a reggae sound that is catchy in its beat. The lead singers voice is raspy and pleasant but it’s the words that carry the message of the evils of censorship. In the opening lines of the song the lead singer for Rancid sings, “Out in the open, they ain't gonna hide, police state upon us, prepare to collide”. He doesn’t hide what the song is about or use allegory to get his message across. He just says straight out there is a police state upon us so get ready. This blunt assessment works well for a limited audience but does little to sway those outside who already don’t like this type of …show more content…
In “Liberty and Freedom” we are treated to an image of violence when the lead singer sings, “They’re gonna keep you down, step on your neck”. In further refrain he states, “If your ideas are suspect, now you’re in contempt. Report to the committee”. One can see shades of Orwell’s “1984” or even darker, the Nazi’s treatment of people who disagreed with their philosophy during WWII. Although these images relate a message, they are somewhat over the top. These lyrics leave one with a somewhat haunted feeling but little else. One might get angry but not have the faintest idea about one got that