Neil Young recently seized the opportunity to deliver a thought-provoking message through his music. In a charity concert, the singer unveiled a brand new track, ‘Let’s Roll Again’, aimed explicitly at Elon Musk and his brand Tesla, with a challenging plea for America’s traditional auto manufacturers to re-engage in the automobile industry.
The melody of ‘Let’s Roll Again’ carries a direct calling to the industry giants Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. Young implores, ‘Come on Ford/Come on GM/Come on Chrysler/Let’s roll again’. The song empowers these companies to forge ahead and create something unique, something timed for the current societal requirements.
He rallies for an invention that is both safe and sustainable, with lyrics ‘Build something special that people need/Build us a safe way for us to meet/Build us something that won’t kill our kids/Runs real clean’, indicating an earnest appeal for a cleaner, more secure transport medium. His choice of words may be based on recent episodes of accidents involving Tesla self-driving cars.
Towards the tail of this musical saga, Young sharpens his arrow aimed at Musk with a chorus that drove the audience into delighted applause: ‘If you’re a fascist/Get a Tesla/It’s electric/It doesn’t matter’. This line clearly conveys his disapproval of Tesla’s current business and product strategies.
Simultaneously, Young extends his plea to the rest of America to join this clean energy race with lyrics: ‘Come on America/Let’s get in the race/Now China’s winning/They’re making clean cars’. The singer is indeed of the notion that China has taken significant strides in clean energy automobiles, putting them well ahead in the competition.
In fact, Young goes on to elaborate, ‘Over in China/They’re way ahead/That’s hard to swallow’. This further solidifies his belief in China’s progress and indirectly challenges his homeland to catch up.
Joining Young on the stage that night were various other accomplished musicians who formed a rather dynamic ensemble. Along with his new band, Young managed to put on a spectacular showcase.
Young’s knack for expressing his political ideologies through his music is far from unprecedented. From taking part in demonstrations to songwriting with underlying political tones, Young’s signature style over the years has been his outspokenness.
Such boldness was once on display when he was seen at a protest holding a placard that read ‘Hands off Canada’. This direct statement was likely targeted at certain political comments at the time.
Presidenting a strong political voice isn’t something new for Young. In the past, he entangled in a legal dispute related to the use of his song ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ for political campaign purposes.
His personal life has also faced its fair share of challenges. The singer’s spouse disclosed how Young had to jump through multiple hoops to secure American citizenship.
The process, she revealed, wasn’t short of hurdles and involved attending numerous interviews and rounds of evaluations before being granted citizenship.
Young’s political activism doesn’t just express itself in his music. The singer involved himself in a political rally just a few weeks ago, staying true to his form of blending activism and art.