Neil Young Gave Tim Walz Permission to Use "Rockin' in the Free World" at the DNC

In 2020, the songwriter sued Donald Trump for using that song at his events

Photo: Takahiro Kyono

BY Megan LaPierrePublished Aug 22, 2024

When midwest princess Minnesota governor Tim Walz accepted the Democratic Vice Presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) last night (August 21), he walked off to Neil Young's 1989 hit "Rockin' in the Free World." As CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports, the songwriter personally granted the Harris-Walz campaign permission to use the song — four years after he sued Donald Trump for playing it and "Devil's Sidewalk" at numerous political events in 2020.

A campaign official told Collins that Walz had personally selected "Rockin' in the Free World," as it's one of his favourite songs. It's also a beautiful "fuck you" to Trump, despite the fact that Young withdrew his lawsuit against the former president's campaign. As of yesterday, Beyoncé has threatened the convicted felon with a cease-and-desist for using her song "Freedom" in a campaign video almost a month after giving Kamala Harris permission to use the same Lemonade track at rallies.

The DNC has proven to be quite entertaining this year, with Lil Jon crashing the party. (Turn down for what? Democracy!) Watch Walz walk off to the anthemic "Rockin' in the Free World" at the end of his speech below. 

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