The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
This ain't comin' from no prophet
Just an ordinary man
When I close my eyes
The way this world shall be
When we all walk hand in hand
When the last child cries for a crust of bread
When the last man dies for just words that he said
When there's shelter over the poorest head
Then we shall be free, yeah
When the last thing we notice is the color of skin
And the first thing we look for is the beauty within
When the skies and the oceans are clean again
Then we shall be free
We shall be free, we shall be free
Stand straight and walk proud
'Cause we shall be free
When we're free to love anyone we choose
When this world's big enough for all different views
When we all can worship from our own kind of pew
Then we shall be free, yeah (oh, oh, oh)
We shall be free, we shall be free
Have a little faith, hold out
'Cause we shall be free
And when money talks for the very last time
And nobody walks a step behind
When there's only one race
And that's mankind, then we shall be free
We shall be free, we shall be free
Stand straight (walk proud)
Have a little faith (hold out)
We shall be free (oh, oh, oh)
We shall be free, we shall be free
(Stand straight) stand straight
(Have a little faith) walk proud
'Cause we shall be free (oh, oh, oh)
We shall be free, we shall be free
Stand straight, walk proud
'Cause we shall be free (oh, oh, oh)
(We shall be free)
Just an ordinary man
When I close my eyes
The way this world shall be
When we all walk hand in hand
When the last child cries for a crust of bread
When the last man dies for just words that he said
When there's shelter over the poorest head
Then we shall be free, yeah
When the last thing we notice is the color of skin
And the first thing we look for is the beauty within
When the skies and the oceans are clean again
Then we shall be free
We shall be free, we shall be free
Stand straight and walk proud
'Cause we shall be free
When we're free to love anyone we choose
When this world's big enough for all different views
When we all can worship from our own kind of pew
Then we shall be free, yeah (oh, oh, oh)
We shall be free, we shall be free
Have a little faith, hold out
'Cause we shall be free
And when money talks for the very last time
And nobody walks a step behind
When there's only one race
And that's mankind, then we shall be free
We shall be free, we shall be free
Stand straight (walk proud)
Have a little faith (hold out)
We shall be free (oh, oh, oh)
We shall be free, we shall be free
(Stand straight) stand straight
(Have a little faith) walk proud
'Cause we shall be free (oh, oh, oh)
We shall be free, we shall be free
Stand straight, walk proud
'Cause we shall be free (oh, oh, oh)
(We shall be free)
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Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
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This song supports gay rights, and gay marriage, so much so the song met with resistance from country radio stations and from the culturally conservative country audience.
i think its about haveing faith and being free in your own body feeling yourself! Being true to your soul!=D
I think that this song puts out a very important message. He is saying the we can never be truely be free until we treat each others as equals no matter who or what they are and when the earth is restored and unpolluted.
I agree with NomadicDragon to an extent. It seems like an idealist view of the perfect world, as unattainable as that is.
There's really only one line in the song that refers to gay rights "When we're free to love anyone we choose". Yet that one sentence caused a lot of controversy. I'm afraid it'll be a long time before see the ideal world Garth sang about.
I think this is my absolute favorite inspirational song ever. Honestly, I can't even verbalize how much I love this song. It's honest, it's to the point, yet it's optimistic. This song was released and won awards before I was even born, so I obviously don't remember the controversy, but I am glad that Garth supports gay rights in this song - sadly, not many country artists seem to do that, because, like collegeguy666 said, it's a generally conservative audience and generally conservative artists. Gay rights is a very important issue that is addressed in the song, along with other very important issues - pollution/environmental issues, freedom of speech, racism, hate crimes, etc. Country music - and music in general - needs more artists like Garth Brooks. This song provokes such deep emotion, it's probably the most stirring and emotion-filled - yet simultaneously uplifting - song I know. This song can be uplifting, and at the same time, quite saddening. Another thing great about this song is that it's completely true. When we're free of racism, greediness, world hunger, homophobia, pollution, and every other topic addressed in the song, then we'll truly be free.
BTW, the song's video is also amazing. Like the song, it's saddening, but optimistic at the same time.
Garth brooks did amazingly well with this song. I love the gospel sound it has. Its good old country mixed with the wonderful gospel sound! amazing. pure musical genius!
According to what he's said in interviews and how I've always taken The "when we're free to love anyone we choose" line is it's not just about gay rights, but about say two people of different religions, or an interracial relationship as well. It's a great idealic song. It'll be thousands and thousands of years if it ever happens imo.