Jack White – Freedom At 21

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  My Interpretation:Cut of the bottoms of my feet make me walk on salt...lol, take me down to the police charge with assault. That hits home with a lot of men, and it simply means that I can do what I want and there is nothing you can do about it and swallow it or there will be consequences. The song also covers the selfish behavior that that technology and feminazi agenda has spawned in traditional roles between man and woman, there is a dominatrix undercurrent in the video and how the law supports it. The video is a knock off of vanishing point a seventies movie where the driver will not stop for the police and also the era of the beginning of the feminist movement. Jacks emotional delivery style is very direct and reflects frustration with a grain of absurd humor about the whole phenomena of gender roles changing in America and how the average man thinks about the whole thing.

  Flagged hotgrtzon October 27, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:From Songfacts: White explained the song's meaning to NME: "This is about 21st mortality. There's a lot of new technology, but back in the day when the telephone was invented people were taught telephone etiquette. And I think now as new inventions are created, there's no class that goes along with this."
  
  I think there is a lot more going on here than just a reference to technology ,especially since he is using the word 'she'. Women for the first time ever have more freedoms than any other century. Also, domestic violence was not a punishable crime until about 100 years ago. (I am only speaking in terms of the U.S.) The line 'take me down to the police station and charge me assault' I believe is a reference to this. Basically, men have always ruled the world and still do but women finally have nearly as much freedom as men.

  Flagged Indie_Queenon October 13, 2012   Link

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• +1
  My Interpretation:i may be horribly wrong...but when i listened to the song on the radio i got the same interpretation as above...but after watching the video i think the song is seriously speaking about something else entirely
  
  im not a hater and really no offense but i think it's referring to the way America is "controlling" or trying to control Americans and/or the rest of the world with its own agenda...bullying them at times, with a total disregard of the effects on humanity...and all this because its a super power in the "21st centuty"
  
  there are a couple of clues in the video...the thumnail of the police woman..its an american flag...in the tunnel you can see stars on the girl..and just the very "American" highway patorl theme and JAIL..the nail color of the girl in the car at the end is also the american flag..same girl im thinking but then why was she in the cell with White...
  
  The theme of seven nation army was a bit similar i think although there we were talking about the salvation army...White is quoted as saying that this new video is about the inflitration of technology in our lives but that really doesnt go with the video...

  Flag Midaason September 02, 2012   Link

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• +1
  My Interpretation:Well after watching the video, I'd say this song is about being 20 years old and getting arrested for an underage DUI. And attributing your alcohol habit to your mixed ex-girlfriend. But that's just my situation really lol.

  Flag wolfoxon July 17, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:google freedom21, its some grass roots political group that makes tea partiers look like hippies. Their central issue seems to be removal govt intrusions of all sorts. I know jacks not often political, or at least not directly so, but the song makes sense if viewed as a retort to that group, and I agree theres a whole level of a selfish unthinking woman too. Jack usually is speraking on at least a couple levels.

  Flag wsp1013amon April 27, 2012   Link

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• +3
  General Comment:I think this is about a girl who can do whatever she wants and who doesn't care if it hurts the people around her. When he says "and she don't care what kind of things people used to do" I think this is him telling the girl the way people used to live and explaining that the way she is acting now is not something she would have been able to get away with in the past. That is also the same message from "she's got freedom in the 21st century." He is saying that she can do almost anything she wants that hurts him and get away with it because of the time we live in, but if he does anything back to her
  
  she will cut off the bottoms of my feet
  make me walk on salt
  take me down to the police
  charge me with assault
  a smile on her face
  she does what she wants to me

  Flag moulingalette_01on April 27, 2012   Link

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• 0
  General Comment:I like this song, but I disagree when people are like "its a rap". It is not a rap, the beat is hiphoppy, but singing fast is not the same as rapping.
  
  Anyway, I think it's about a girl being completely absorbed by all the technology around her and not forming proper relationships with people around her as a result.

  Flag VortexOfLanguageon April 26, 2012   Link

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