Neil Young Isn’t So Mad at Donald Trump Anymore

Last June, at the event at which Donald Trump announced he was running for the Republican presidential nomination, Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” was played prominently. Young’s management said in a statement that Trump was “not authorized” to use the song and that Young supported Bernie Sanders. The next day, Young added in a Facebook post that “had I been asked to allow my music to be used for a candidate—I would have said no.” At the same time, Trump’s campaign manager told Rolling Stone that while the campaign had secured the proper licenses, it would not be using Young’s music again. In the following week, Sanders used “Rockin’ in the Free World” at his own campaign rally. Meanwhile, Trump tweeted a photo himself with Young and called the artist a ”total hypocrite,” adding of “Rockin’ in the Free World” that he “didn’t love it anyway.”

Now, Young has further explained his position on Trump’s use of the song.

Young told Reuters in a recent video interview that he doesn’t necessarily oppose Trump using “Rockin’ in the Free World,” but would have wanted to be asked first. “The fact that I said I was for Bernie Sanders and then [Trump] didn’t ask me to use ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ doesn’t mean that he can’t use it,” Young said. “He actually got a license to use it. I mean, he said he did and I believe him. So I got nothing against him. You know, once the music goes out, everybody can use it for anything. But if the artist who made it is saying you never spoke to them, if that means something to you, you probably will stop playing it. And it meant something to Donald and he stopped.”

Young also reiterated his support for Sanders. “Bernie Sanders matters, that’s what I say,” Young said in the Reuters interview. “He’s the only one talking about the issues, about issues that matter to me, the issues on my mind—problems of corporate control of democracy and everything slipping away and not being able to have six major companies owning all the media in the United States.”

Young, a Canadian citizen but longtime California resident, brushed off the idea of becoming a U.S. citizen. “Oh, that would be a big ruse,” he said. “I’m a Canadian. There’s nothing I can do about that.”

But if a citizenship change would let him vote for his preferred U.S. presidential candidate? “I vote in my own way, by making a lot of noise,” he said. “If you don’t want to listen to me, fine. If you don’t want to vote like I would, don’t. But I still have a voice.”

Read “Here’s How Candidates Can Use Songs in Their Campaigns, Even if Songwriters Don’t Like It” over on the Pitch.

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