75-year-old Northern Irish music legend Van Morrison has been as productive as ever lately, as he has released eight albums over the past decade. The reception those projects enjoyed was mostly warm, but his next endeavor is more likely to ruffle some feathers: He’s planning to release a series of anti-lockdown songs.
Morrison said of the songs in a statement, “I’m not telling people what to do or think, the government is doing a great job of that already. It’s about freedom of choice. I believe people should have the right to think for themselves.”
BBC reports that Morrison will be releasing three songs in the near future, with the first of them, “Born To Be Free,” arriving next week. He sings on the track, “The new normal is not normal / It’s no kind of normal at all / Everyone seems to have amnesia / Don’t need the government cramping my style / Give them an inch, they take a mile.”
Meanwhile, he says on “No More Lockdown,” “No more lockdown / No more government outreach / No more fascist bullies / Disturbing our peace.” “As I Walked Out” also features the lyrics, “Well, on the government website from the 21st March, 2020 / It said COVID-19 was no longer high risk / Then two days later / They put us under lockdown.”
Northern Ireland’s health minister Robin Swann isn’t on board with the new songs, saying, “I don’t know where he gets his facts. I know where the emotions are on this, but I will say that sort of messaging is dangerous.”
This comes about a month after Morrison slammed the “pseudo-science” behind the coronavirus, writing on his website, “I call on my fellow singers, musicians, writers, producers, promoters, and others in the industry to fight with me on this. Come forward, stand up, fight the pseudo-science, and speak up.”
