Neil Young has gone into full trump attack mode with his latest salvo in the world of protest music. “Big Crime” hits with the fury of a veteran rocker who knows his voice still matters.
Debuting spontaneously during a soundcheck in Chicago, Young delivered Big Crime with his band, the Chrome Hearts, channeling outrage through blistering guitar and raw lyricism. The refrain strikes straight: “There’s big crime in DC at THE White House”, a biting commentary on Donald Trump’s recent declaration of a “crime emergency” in Washington, D.C., despite statistics showing crime at a historic low.
The lyrics abandon subtlety:
Don’t need no fascist rules
Don’t want no fascist schools
Don’t want soldiers on our streets …
No more money to the fascists
the billionaire fascists
TIME TO BLACKOUT THE SYSTEM
No more great again…
It riffs cynically on Trump’s “Make America Great Again” while demanding nothing less than a wholesale cleansing of the White House.
Young’s frustration with Trump isn’t new. He famously objected to the unauthorized use of his music at Trump rallies, even suing (and later dropping the suit) and updated his 2006 protest song “Lookin’ for a Leader” with fresh Trump-focused lyrics in 2020. He has never shied from controversy, even admitting that his outspoken views might make it difficult to re-enter the United States.
Young’s rampage against fascism in Big Crime is deeply rooted in a legacy stretching back decades.
“Ohio” (1970) — Written in the immediate aftermath of the Kent State shootings, Young captured the national shock in lines like “Tin soldiers and Nixon coming … Four dead in Ohio”. Released with staggering speed by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, it remains one of rock’s most iconic protest songs.
“Living with War” (2006) — As the Iraq War raged on, Young slammed George W. Bush in an album bristling with direct hits. “Let’s Impeach the President” rails unapologetically at Bush’s administration, using raw, choral-backed fury to drive home its message.
These songs frame Big Crime as the latest chapter in a lifelong battle to call power to account.
Young released Big Crime via YouTube and the Neil Young Archives, cutting through the mainstream with immediacy.
Neil Young remains undimmed. Big Crime is a propagation of protest spirit, delivered with guitars raised high. Through decades and administrations, Young has never stopped insisting that the revolution begins with music.
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