About The Song
“I Want to Break Free” is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by their bassist John Deacon. It appears on the album The Works (1984), and was released in three different versions: album, single, and extended. The song became an anthem for the ANC in South Africa in the late ’80s when Nelson Mandela was still in jail and the white government’s apartheid policies were still in place. The official music video for the song features the band members dressed in drag, parodying the characters from the British soap opera Coronation Street. The song’s lyrics unfold a narrative of someone trapped in a relationship or situation marked by deception and dissatisfaction. This is shown by lines such as “I want to break free from your lies” and “You’re so self-satisfied, I don’t need you”.