Van Morrison to release protest songs against COVID-19 lockdown

Van Morrison accuses the U.K. government of “taking our freedom” in three new songs bashing the worldwide lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

In “No More Lockdown,” the most on-the-nose of the three tracks, Morrison plainly lays out his thoughts: “No more lockdown/No more government overreach/No more fascist bullies/Disturbing our peace/No more taking of our freedom/And our God-given rights/Pretending it’s for our safety/When it’s really to enslave.”

In another song, according to the BBC, Morrison references a widely shared Facebook post of a screenshot from the U.K. government’s website, stating that “Covid-19 is no longer considered to be a high consequence infectious disease (HCID) in the U.K.” While it is true that Covid-19 currently does not meet the criteria for an HCID in the U.K., it is still highly infectious the world over, with a possibility of a second national lockdown in the U.K. on the horizon, according to the BBC.

Northern Ireland’s health minister Robin Swann has referred to the new trio of Morrison songs as “dangerous,” telling the BBC: “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.”

In launching a campaign to “save live music” last month, Morrison railed against what he called the “pseudoscience” surrounding the coronavirus and claimed that socially distanced live events were not viable. “I call on my fellow singers, musicians, writers, producers, promoters and others in the industry to fight with me on this,” he wrote on his website in a post that has since been deleted. “Come forward, stand up, fight the pseudo-science and speak up.”

Morrison plans on releasing the new songs in two-week intervals via “selected outlets,” according to a post on his website. “Born to Be Free” is out on Friday, September 25th, “As I Walked Out” will drop on Friday, October 9th and “No More Lockdown” will come on Friday, October 23rd. He will play the songs live at the London Palladium this fall.

“I’m not telling people what to do or think, the government is doing a great job of that already,” he said in a  statement. “It’s about freedom of choice, I believe people should have the right to think for themselves.”