Neil Young knows he can’t legally stop President Trump from playing his song “Rockin’ in the Free World” at rallies, but he reiterated on Tuesday (Nov. 6) that he really wishes the president would cut it out. “DT does not have my permission to use the song ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ at his appearances,” Young wrote on Election Day on his Archives website. “Legally, he has the right to, however, it goes against my wishes.”
In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s midterm election, Rhianna, Pharrell and Guns & Roses all added their names to the growing list of musicians who made it clear that they wanted the President to cease and desist from using their songs at his rallies in support of Republican candidates. Young, a Canadian citizen who cannot vote in U.S. elections, urged others to vote on Tuesday, noting that he made it “perfectly clear” after Trump played “Rockin'” at at event announcing his candidacy in June 2015 that he did not want the New York real estate baron using his music during events.
“I asked him then, in a widely shared, public letter to cease and desist,” Young wrote. “However, he chose not to listen to my request, just as he chooses not to listen to the many American voices who ask him to stop his constant lies, to stop his petty, nasty name calling and bullying, to stop pushing his dangerous, vilifying and hateful rhetoric. This man does not represent the character of the people in the USA that I have come to know and love.”