Van Morrison rails against COVID-19 lockdown on upcoming songs

Last month, Van Morrison made headlines when he spoke out against socially distant concerts, saying that they are "not the answer going forward" and calling on fellow musicians and industry workers to "Come forward, stand up, fight the pseudo-science and speak up." Now he's announced plans to release three new songs about the issue, as The BBC reports. "Born To Be Free" is scheduled to be released on September 25, with "No More Lockdown" and "As I Walked Out" to follow on October 9 and October 23, respectively.

According to an announcement linked on his website, Van Morrison "makes it clear in his new songs how unhappy he is with the way the Government has taken away personal freedoms." "I’m not telling people what to do or think, the government is doing a great job of that already," he says. "It’s about freedom of choice, I believe people should have the right to think for themselves."

Lyrics from the songs have surfaced from The BBC and The Telegraph, and include zingers like "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;" "No more lockdown/ No more government outreach/ No more fascist bullies/ Disturbing our peace;" and "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." Frankly, they seem like they could be right at home at a Trump rally; they certainly seem a lot more appropriate than "Fortunate Son."