About The Song
“I Want to Break Free” is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by their bassist John Deacon. It appears on the album The Works (1984), and was released in three different versions: album, single, and extended. The song became an anthem for the ANC in South Africa in the late ’80s when Nelson Mandela was still in jail and the white government’s apartheid policies were still in place. The official music video for the song features the band members dressed in drag, parodying the characters from the British soap opera Coronation Street. The song’s lyrics unfold a narrative of someone trapped in a relationship or situation marked by deception and dissatisfaction. This is shown by lines such as “I want to break free from your lies” and “You’re so self-satisfied, I don’t need you”.
Video
Lyrics
I want to break free
I want to break free
I want to break free from your lies
You’re so self-satisfied, I don’t need you
I’ve got to break free
God knows, God knows I want to break free
I’ve fallen in love
I’ve fallen in love for the first time
And this time I know it’s for real
I’ve fallen in love, yeah
God knows, God knows I’ve fallen in love
It’s strange but it’s true, yeah
I can’t get over the way you love me like you do
But I have to be sure
When I walk out that door
Oh, how I want to be free, baby
Oh, how I want to be free
Oh, how I want to break free
But life still goes on
I can’t get used to living without, living without
Living without you by my side
I don’t want to live alone, hey
God knows, got to make it on my own
So baby, can’t you see?
I’ve got to break free
I’ve got to break free
I want to break free, yeah
I want, I want, I want, I want to break free