Reprise RecordsNeil Young has officially released his updated live acoustic version of his politically charged 2006 song “Lookin’ for a Leader.”
The new rendition, which features lyrics that take aim at current U.S. president Donald Trump and call for him to be voted out of office, can be heard and viewed at the folk-rock legend’s Neil Young Archives website. The track also is available via various digital service providers and at Neil’s official YouTube channel.
Young’s performance of “Lookin’ for a Leader 2020” comes from the latest installment of his “Fireside Sessions” livestream series, which was dubbed the Porch Episode. As the name suggests, the entire episode features Neil singing songs from his porch.
In one of the song’s verses, Neil sings, “Just like his big new fence, this president’s goin’ down/ America’s movin’ forward, you can feel it in every town/ Scared of his own shadow, building walls around our house/ He’s hidin’ in his bunker; something else to lie about.”
The original version of “Lookin’ for a Leader” appeared on Young’s 2006 album, Living with War, and focused on the then-current president, George W. Bush.
All six “Fireside Sessions” episodes can be viewed at the “Hearse Theater” section of Young’s website. All the installments have been shot by Neil’s wife, Daryl Hannah, at their Colorado residence while in lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Matt Friedlander
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