Neil Young has been openly critical of President Donald Trump this year, and that criticism continued on Wednesday night, when Young and his band the Chrome Hearts performed in Chicago.
Young performed a brand-new song called “Big Crime,” concerning Trump’s use of the National Guard in Washington, D.C. He posted audio of the soundcheck version of the song on his Neil Young Archives website, along with the lyrics.
“Don’t need no fascist rules/ Don’t want no fascist schools/ Don’t want soldiers on our streets,” Young sings. “There’s big crime in DC at the White House.”
“No more money to the fascists/ the billionaire fascists/ Time to blackout the system,” he added. In his transcription of the lyrics, he put “Time to blackout the system” in all caps and italicized the repetitions of “Don’t want soldiers on our streets.”
Earlier this year, Young speculated that as a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, if he was critical of Trump, he might be “barred” from reentering the country, should he leave. He also called out Trump’s attacks on Bruce Springsteen and other musicians who have been critical of him.
He wrote, “STOP THINKING ABOUT WHAT ROCKERS ARE SAYING. Think about saving America from the mess you made. Taylor Swift is right. So is Bruce. You know how I feel.”
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