Neil Young Tees Off On Trump With ‘Big Crime’

(photo: Emma McIntyre / Getty Images for SiriusXM)

Without calling Donald Trump out by name, Neil Young tees off on the U.S. government’s recent mobilization of National Guard troops into Washington, D.C., in a new song, “Big Crime,” which he debuted last night (Aug. 27) in Chicago and has since posted a soundcheck recording of on his web site.

“No more great again / there’s big crime in D.C. at the White House,” the 79-year-old Young sings atop a measured tempo and his signature ragged guitar licks. “Don’t need no fascist rules / don’t want no fascist schools / don’t want soldiers on our streets.”

Elsewhere, Young references cutting off the money supply to “billionaire fascists” and says it’s “time to black out the system.”

The rock legend has repeatedly bashed Trump in the past, and his web site includes links to numerous news stories about Trump’s policies. Young also sued Trump in 2020 when the latter’s presidential campaign utilized “Rockin’ in the Free World” without a license. At the time, he said he couldn’t “in good conscience allow his music to be used as a ‘theme song’ for a divisive, un-American campaign of ignorance and hate.”

He has since expressed solidarity with Bruce Springsteen and other musicians who have publicly criticized Trump, writing, “stop thinking about what rockers are saying. Think about saving America from the mess you made. Taylor Swift is right. So is Bruce. You know how I feel.”

Young is on tour with his band the Chrome Hearts through Sept. 15 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.