Lyrics to
I Want Freedom

This version of I Want Freedom was released by Grand Funk Railroad in 1971.

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Mel, hit that on the second intro.

Yeah, I think it sounds better to stop it quick.

Yeah.

Okay, like you did, (noise) like you did, (noise) like you did, I’ll stop my cymbal quick, then, on the second intro.

Alright, alright.

The tape is rolling.

Here we go. This is Grand Funk Railroad and here comes the count. One, …
Get on with it!
One, two, three, four …

Cut! Why did you stop that? Let all of them ring. The second intro, the second time he goes … you know, in the song, when we go back into this part?
Yeah.
That’s what I mean. The first …

You know, like we’re coming out of … we’re coming out of: da, dum, da; da, dum, da; da, dum, da, dum, da, da, da, da, da … da … dratum, bap! Stop that one.

That’s the only one.

Just that one, let the rest of them ring. Okay. Here we go again, Grand Funk Railroad. Here we are … Buddy R. Review, right here on … on … Want me to get on with it?
Get on with it!
One, two, Tape is rolling? Okay … here we go … One, two, three, four …

…

Just let me take it, my mind can’t make it without …
I can’t take it, said I just can’t make it.
Just let me take it, my mind can’t make it without …
I can’t take it, so you best not take it.

I’ve been waitin’ for such, such a long, long time,
To tell you all about these feelings of mine.
Something tells me there just has to be a better day,
And that’s why I came here to say …

Growing up, I was free in my childhood years,
And now they tell me I can wash away my tears.
These tears explain the way, it’s the way that I feel,
Because the freedom they give me ain’t real.

I want freedom, the kind that they promised me,
Just for livin’ in this country.
I want the freedom, the kind that makes me feel strong,
But, let me tell you, something is wrong.

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Grand Funk Railroad has released many songs over the years besides I Want Freedom. Grand Funk Railroad released songs from 1969 to 1983 spanning across albums like On Time, Grand Funk, Closer To Home, Survival, E Pluribus Funk, Phoenix, We're An American Band, All The Girls In The World Beware!!, Shinin' On, Good Singin', Good Playin', Born To Die, Grand Funk Lives, and What's Funk?. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Grand Funk Railroad.

If you're a fan of 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1971 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and I Want Freedom by Grand Funk Railroad

The lyrics to I Want Freedom are just the words, phrases, verses and chorus that Grand Funk Railroad used when the song was created in 1971. The lyrics to I Want Freedom have both easy-to-spot meanings and hidden metaphors that have been discussed by the music press and fans, but only Grand Funk Railroad and any collaborators know all of the inspirations for the song.

If you like etymology or breaking apart phrases and words, it is easy to understand the lyrics to I Want Freedom by Grand Funk Railroad. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to I Want Freedom" means the words set to the music of I Want Freedom, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Grand Funk Railroad. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to I Want Freedom and the lyrics to I Want Freedom are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Grand Funk Railroad who came here looking just for the lyrics to I Want Freedom, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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