Freedom! ’90
Producer
Freedom! ’90 Lyrics
[Intro]
I won't let you down
I will not give you up
Gotta have some faith in the sound
It's the one good thing that I've got
I won't let you down
So please don't give me up
Because I would really, really love to stick around
Oh yeah
[Verse 1]
Heaven knows I was just a young boy
Didn't know what I wanted to be
I was every little hungry schoolgirl's pride and joy
And I guess it was enough for me
To win the race, a prettier face
Brand new clothes and a big fat place
On your rock and roll TV (rock and roll TV)
But today the way I play the game is not the same, no way
Think I'm gonna get me some happy
[Pre-Chorus]
I think there's something you should know
I think it's time I told you so
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone else I've got to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Take back your singing in the rain
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man
I won't let you down
I will not give you up
Gotta have some faith in the sound
It's the one good thing that I've got
I won't let you down
So please don't give me up
Because I would really, really love to stick around
Oh yeah
[Verse 1]
Heaven knows I was just a young boy
Didn't know what I wanted to be
I was every little hungry schoolgirl's pride and joy
And I guess it was enough for me
To win the race, a prettier face
Brand new clothes and a big fat place
On your rock and roll TV (rock and roll TV)
But today the way I play the game is not the same, no way
Think I'm gonna get me some happy
[Pre-Chorus]
I think there's something you should know
I think it's time I told you so
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone else I've got to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Take back your singing in the rain
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man
[Chorus]
All we have to do now
Is take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me (Yeah, Yeah!)
Freedom!
I won't let you down (Freedom!)
I will not give you up (Freedom!)
Gotta have some faith in the sound
(You got to give what you take)
It's the one good thing that I've got, (Freedom!)
I won't let you down (Freedom!)
So please don't give me up (Freedom!)
Cause I would really, really love to stick around (You got to give what you take)
[Verse 2]
Heaven knows we sure had some fun, boy
What a kick, just a buddy and me
(What a kick, just a buddy and me)
We had every big-shot goodtime band on the run, boy
We were living in a fantasy
We won the race, got out of the place
Went back home, got a brand new face for the boys on MTV
But today the way I play the game has got to change oh yeah (Oh, yeah)
Now I'm gonna get myself happy
All we have to do now
Is take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me (Yeah, Yeah!)
Freedom!
I won't let you down (Freedom!)
I will not give you up (Freedom!)
Gotta have some faith in the sound
(You got to give what you take)
It's the one good thing that I've got, (Freedom!)
I won't let you down (Freedom!)
So please don't give me up (Freedom!)
Cause I would really, really love to stick around (You got to give what you take)
[Verse 2]
Heaven knows we sure had some fun, boy
What a kick, just a buddy and me
(What a kick, just a buddy and me)
We had every big-shot goodtime band on the run, boy
We were living in a fantasy
We won the race, got out of the place
Went back home, got a brand new face for the boys on MTV
But today the way I play the game has got to change oh yeah (Oh, yeah)
Now I'm gonna get myself happy
[Pre-Chorus]
I think there's something you should know
I think it's time I stopped the show
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone I forgot to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Don’t think that I’ll be back again
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man
[Chorus]
All we have to do now
Is take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me (Yeah, Yeah!)
Freedom
I won't let you down (Freedom!)
I will not give you up, (Freedom!)
Gotta have some faith in the sound
(You got to give what you take)
It's the one good thing that I've got (Freedom!)
I won't let you down (Freedom!)
So please don't give me up (Freedom!)
Cause I would really, really love to stick around (You got to give what you take)
I think there's something you should know
I think it's time I stopped the show
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone I forgot to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Don’t think that I’ll be back again
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man
[Chorus]
All we have to do now
Is take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me (Yeah, Yeah!)
Freedom
I won't let you down (Freedom!)
I will not give you up, (Freedom!)
Gotta have some faith in the sound
(You got to give what you take)
It's the one good thing that I've got (Freedom!)
I won't let you down (Freedom!)
So please don't give me up (Freedom!)
Cause I would really, really love to stick around (You got to give what you take)
[Bridge]
Well it looks like the road to heaven
But it feels like the road to hell
When I knew which side my bread was buttered
I took the knife as well
Posing for another picture
Everybody's got to sell
But when you shake your ass
They notice fast
And some mistakes were built to last
That's what you get, that's what you get, that's what you get
I say that's what you get
I say that's what you get
That's what you get for changing your mind
And after all this time
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man
[Chorus]
All we have to do now (Oh, yeah)
Is take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me (Yeah, Yeah!)
Freedom! (Oh!)
Freedom!
(My) Freedom!
You got to give what you take!
Freedom!
I'll hold on to my (Freedom!)
My (Freedom!)
You got to give what you take! (You got to give what, to give what, to give what you take!)
[Outro]
Yeah!
You got to give what, to give what, to give
May not be what you want from me
Just the way it's got to be
Lose the face now
I've got to live
Well it looks like the road to heaven
But it feels like the road to hell
When I knew which side my bread was buttered
I took the knife as well
Posing for another picture
Everybody's got to sell
But when you shake your ass
They notice fast
And some mistakes were built to last
That's what you get, that's what you get, that's what you get
I say that's what you get
I say that's what you get
That's what you get for changing your mind
And after all this time
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man
[Chorus]
All we have to do now (Oh, yeah)
Is take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me (Yeah, Yeah!)
Freedom! (Oh!)
Freedom!
(My) Freedom!
You got to give what you take!
Freedom!
I'll hold on to my (Freedom!)
My (Freedom!)
You got to give what you take! (You got to give what, to give what, to give what you take!)
[Outro]
Yeah!
You got to give what, to give what, to give
May not be what you want from me
Just the way it's got to be
Lose the face now
I've got to live
About
Genius Annotation
“Freedom” (officially “Freedom ‘90”, to distinguish it from an identically-titled song by Michael’s former group Wham!) is the third single from Listen Without Prejudice, referring to George’s past success but also shows a new side of himself as a new man, who is more cynical about the music business than he had been before. It’s widely known for its music video featuring various supermodels of the early 90s, such as Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista.
As a way of reassuring his audience that he was finished with his old persona, in the music video he burnt the iconic BSA leather jacket that had become associated with his image.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Is there a live performance of "Freedom! ’90" by George Michael?
Genius Answer
- 2.Freedom! ’90
- 9.Soul Free
- 11.Freedom ’90 (Live) (Missing Lyrics)
- 12.Fastlove (Live) (Missing Lyrics)
- 17.The Strangest Thing (Live) (Missing Lyrics)
- 18.Older (Live) (Missing Lyrics)
- 19.Star People (Live) (Missing Lyrics)
- 20.Praying for Time (Live) (Missing Lyrics)
- 22.Soul Free (Special Radio Edit) (Missing Lyrics)
- 23.Freedom ’90 (Back to Reality Mix) (Missing Lyrics)
- 24.Freedom ’90 (Back to Reality Mix Edit) (Missing Lyrics)
- 25.Fantasy
- 26.Freedom ’90 (Edit) (Missing Lyrics)
- 27.Cowboys and Angels (Edit) (Missing Lyrics)
- 29.Too Funky
- 30.Crazy Man Dance
- 32.Happy
- 33.Too Funky (Extended) (Missing Lyrics)
- 34.Too Jazzy (Happy Mix) (Missing Lyrics)
- 35.Fantasy ’98 (Missing Lyrics)
Credits
Producer
Writer
Video Production Company
Label
Arranger
Recording Engineer
Video Director
Background Vocals
Electric Guitar
Acoustic Guitar
Piano
Bass
Percussion
Keyboards
Released on
October 30, 1990
Freedom! ’90 Covers
Freedom - NYE Live Version by Sam Ryder, Freedom by Anthony Callea, Freedom by Rex Rebel, Freedom! ’90 by Dua Lipa, Freedom by Cold War Kids, Freedom (Strings & Keys) by Cold War Kids, Freedom! '90 by Owen Meldon (Ft. Ryder Lippman & The University of Illinois Steel Band), Freedom by Christine and the Queens, Freedom! '90 x Cups by The Bellas & The Voice Season 13 Top 12 Contestants, Freedom! '90 by The Bellas, Freedom by Inga Kiseleva (Ft. Anastasiya Sheverenko), Freedom by Robbie Williams, Freedom by Train & Freedom by Danni Carlos
Tags
Comments
Sign Up And Drop Knowledge 🤓
Genius is the ultimate source of music knowledge, created by scholars like you who share facts and insight about the songs and artists they love.