"Freedom" is a song written and recorded by Paul McCartney in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001. McCartney was in New York City at the time of the attacks, and actually witnessed the destruction while sitting in a plane, which was parked on the tarmac at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport
McCartney, who said the attacks affected him emotionally, wrote the song the day after the attack. In the song, the narrator declares freedom to be a "right given by God" that he will "fight for." The lyrics were thus in seeming contradiction with the antiwar sentiment associated with McCartney's former act, The Beatles.But at The Concert for New York City where he first played the song live, McCartney explained to the crowd, "It's about freedom. That's one thing these people don't understand. That's worth fighting for.In a later interview McCartney commented, "to me it's a 'We Shall Overcome.' That's sort of how I wrote it. It's like, 'Hey, I've got freedom, I'm an immigrant coming to America, give me your huddled masses.' And that's what it means to me, is, 'Don't mess with my rights, buddy. Because I'm now free.'"In mentioning God in his lyrics, McCartney joined former Beatles bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison in writing a song referencing God.
"Freedom" is a song written and recorded by Paul McCartney in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001. McCartney was in New York City at the time of the attacks, and actually witnessed the destruction while sitting in a plane, which was parked on the tarmac at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport
McCartney, who said the attacks affected him emotionally, wrote the song the day after the attack. In the song, the narrator declares freedom to be a "right given by God" that he will "fight for." The lyrics were thus in seeming contradiction with the antiwar sentiment associated with McCartney's former act, The Beatles.But at The Concert for New York City where he first played the song live, McCartney explained to the crowd, "It's about freedom. That's one thing these people don't understand. That's worth fighting for.In a later interview McCartney commented, "to me it's a 'We Shall Overcome.' That's sort of how I wrote it. It's like, 'Hey, I've got freedom, I'm an immigrant coming to America, give me your huddled masses.' And that's what it means to me, is, 'Don't mess with my rights, buddy. Because I'm now free.'"In mentioning God in his lyrics, McCartney joined former Beatles bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison in writing a song referencing God.