Freedom! '90

I won't let you down
I will not give you up
Gotta have some faith in the sound
It's the one good thing that I've got
I won't let you down
So please don't give me up
'Cause I would really, really love to stick around, oh yeah

Heaven knows I was just a young boy
Didn't know what I wanted to be
(Didn't know what I wanted to be)
I was every little hungry schoolgirl's pride and joy
And I guess it was enough for me
(I said I guess it was enough for me)
To win the race, a prettier face
Brand new clothes and a big fat place
On your rock and roll TV (rock and roll TV)
But today, the way I play the game is not the same, no way
Think I'm gonna get myself happy

I think there's something you should know
I think it's time I told you so
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone else I've got to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Take back your singing in the rain
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man

All we have to do now
Is take these lies
And make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me, yeah, yeah

Freedom (I won't let you down)
Freedom (I will not give you up)
Freedom (gotta have some faith in the sound)
(You've got to give for what you take) (it's the one good thing that I've)
Freedom (I won't let you down)
Freedom (so please don't give me up)
Freedom ('cause I would really, really love to stick around)
(You've got to give for what you take)

Heaven knows we sure had some fun, boy
What a kick, just a buddy and me
(What a kick just a buddy and me)
We had every big-shot good time band on the run, boy
We were living in a fantasy
(We were living in a fantasy)
We won the race, got out of the place
I went back home, got a brand new face
For the boys on MTV (boys on MTV)
But today the way I play the game has got to change, oh yeah (oh yeah)
Now I'm gonna get myself happy

I think there's something you should know
I think it's time I stopped the show
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone I forgot to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Don't think that I'll be back again
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man

All we have to do now
Is take these lies
And make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me, yeah, yeah

Freedom (I won't let you down)
Freedom (I will not give you up)
Freedom (gotta have some faith in the sound)
(You've got to give for what you take) (it's the one good thing that I've got)
Freedom (I won't let you down)
Freedom (so please don't give me up)
Freedom ('cause I would really, really love to stick around)
(You've got to give for what you take)

Well, it looks like the road to Heaven
But it feels like the road to Hell
When I knew which side my bread was buttered
I took the knife as well
Posing for another picture
Everybody's got to sell
But when you shake your ass, they notice fast
And some mistakes were built to last

That's what you get (that's what you get)
That's what you get (I say that's what you get)
That's what you get (for changing your mind)
That's what you get for changing your mind
That's what you get
That's what you get (and after all this time)
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man (do not make the man)

All we have to do now
Is take these lies
And make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me, yeah, yeah

Freedom (oh)
Freedom
(My) freedom
You've got to give for what you take
Freedom (hold on to my)
Freedom
(My) freedom
You've got to give for what you take
Give for what you, give what you take, yeah
Yeah, you've got to give what you, give what you, give
May not be what you want from me
Just the way it's got to be
Lose the face now
I've got to live, I've got to live, I've got to live

Liberdade e Autenticidade em Freedom! 90' de George Michael

A música Freedom! '90, lançada por George Michael em 1990, é um hino de autoafirmação e independência. A letra reflete uma fase de transição na vida do artista, marcada por uma busca por autenticidade e uma ruptura com a imagem construída durante os anos de sua carreira, especialmente no período em que fez parte da dupla Wham!. A canção é um manifesto pessoal, onde Michael expressa o desejo de ser fiel a si mesmo, além de uma crítica à superficialidade da fama e do mundo do entretenimento.

No refrão, 'Freedom' é repetido como um mantra, simbolizando a libertação das expectativas alheias e a importância de ter fé em sua própria voz ('the sound'). A música fala sobre a necessidade de viver de acordo com os próprios termos e não ser possuído por ninguém ('I don't belong to you / And you don't belong to me'). George Michael usa metáforas como 'take back your picture in a frame' e 'sometimes the clothes do not make the man' para expressar a ideia de que a imagem pública que ele projetava não refletia quem ele realmente era.

A música também aborda as consequências de viver uma vida inautêntica, sugerindo que a fama e o sucesso podem ser efêmeros ('some mistakes were built to last'). A referência a 'rock and roll TV' e 'boys on MTV' indica uma crítica à maneira como a indústria da música promove imagens fabricadas. George Michael, com Freedom! '90, não apenas criou um clássico pop, mas também deixou um legado de honestidade e coragem para artistas e fãs, incentivando a expressão da verdadeira identidade e a celebração da liberdade individual.