--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was the only free country left in the…" description: "\"“It was the only free country left in the world,\" he once said, not talking about America but about rock'n'roll in America, or anywhere else. \"No bound..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/greil-marcus-10438_free-country_it-was-the-only-free-country-left-in-the_1324302.jpg" --- # It was the only free country left in the world," he once… ![“It was the only free country left in the world," he once said, not talking about America but about rock'n'roll in America, or anywhere else. "No boundaries, no passports. There wasn't even a government.” quote by Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/greil-marcus-10438_free-country_it-was-the-only-free-country-left-in-the_1324302.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/greil-marcus-10438_free-country_it-was-the-only-free-country-left-in-the_1324302.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/greil-marcus-10438_free-country_it-was-the-only-free-country-left-in-the_1324302.jpg) > ““It was the only free country left in the world," he once said, not talking about America but about rock'n'roll in America, or anywhere else. "No boundaries, no passports. There wasn't even a government.”” [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rock music is portrayed as a realm of ultimate freedom, beyond political borders and authority. **In simple terms:** Rock is seen as a borderless, lawless freedom. Key Takeaway Embrace the liberating spirit of music. Themes freedom culture music anarchy Mood defiant energetic Type cultural musical When to use this quote - concerts - personal rebellion - creative work - social gatherings Key Concepts counterculture identity expression Questions to Reflect On - How does music shape your sense of freedom? - Can art truly exist without any boundaries? A Different Perspective Idealizing music may overlook its commercial and societal constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Free country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-country/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) ## Related quotes > [Our country has shown a lack of will to resist its own disintegration .. . 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We can't have a child run our country.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-find-the-way-the-left-comes-up-with-these-analogies-interesting/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [This is the country that we are turning over to young people, and there is going to be no country left at this rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pramila-jayapal/this-is-the-country-that-we-are-turning-over-to-young-people-and/) [Pramila Jayapal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pramila-jayapal/) > [No child should be left behind - I've heard this from President Obama. And here, we say in Latin America, no country should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-pinera/no-child-should-be-left-behind-i-ve-heard-this-from-president-obama/) [Sebastian Pinera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-pinera/) > [“hope is a knife that can cut through the foundations of the world,” said”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seanan-mcguire/hope-is-a-knife-that-can-cut-through-the-foundations-of-the-world-said/) [Seanan McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seanan-mcguire/) > [“No sooner do we come into this world,’ said Flaubert, ‘than bits of us start to fall off.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/no-sooner-do-we-come-into-this-world-said-flaubert-than-bits-of-us/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“In another world,' he said, lowering his voice; I remember... was it not in another world, in a life which was not in thrall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-nodier/in-another-world-he-said-lowering-his-voice-i-remember-was-it-not-in/) [Charles Nodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-nodier/) > [“Mrs. Lynde was complaining the other day that it wasn't much of a world. She said whenever you looked forward to anything pleasant you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/mrs-lynde-was-complaining-the-other-day-that-it-wasn-t-much-of-a/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“If only there weren't so many other people in the world,' he said lugubriously.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-only-there-weren-t-so-many-other-people-in-the-world-he-said/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [“In many parts of the world you were what you said and what you did and, also, what you read; in Turkey, as in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/in-many-parts-of-the-world-you-were-what-you-said-and-what-you-did/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“Clearly we have all the time in the world,” she said crossly. “Feel free to start way back with the dinosaurs—just as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kai-meyer/clearly-we-have-all-the-time-in-the-world-she-said-crossly-feel-free/) [Kai Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kai-meyer/) > [And then there was my mate who'd just been fitted with a brand new hearing aid. "It's the best in the world", he said.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-connolly/and-then-there-was-my-mate-who-d-just-been-fitted-with-a-brand-new/) [Billy Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-connolly/) > [“He had no place in the world, he said once, therefore he could go everywhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-a-mckillip/he-had-no-place-in-the-world-he-said-once-therefore-he-could-go/) [Patricia A. McKillip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-a-mckillip/) > [“You can win the world, she said, if you’re willing to lose your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-gladstone/you-can-win-the-world-she-said-if-you-re-willing-to-lose-your-soul/) [Max Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-gladstone/) ## More by Greil Marcus > [As I write, Johnny Rotten's first moments in "Anarchy in the U.K." - a rolling earthquake of a laugh, a buried shout, then hoary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/as-i-write-johnny-rotten-s-first-moments-in-anarchy-in-the-u-k-a/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Elvis' early music has drama because as he sang he was escaping limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/elvis-early-music-has-drama-because-as-he-sang-he-was-escaping-limits/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [You're going to react to a painting in a way that the painting demands you react.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/you-re-going-to-react-to-a-painting-in-a-way-that-the-painting/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [No failure in America, whether of love or money, is ever simple; it is always a kind of betrayal, of a mass of shadowy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/no-failure-in-america-whether-of-love-or-money-is-ever-simple-it-is/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [ “\[Listening to a song\] one could experience a freedom from one's physical body, and from one's social body - the mask you wore to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/listening-to-a-song-one-could-experience-a-freedom-from-one-s/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Records that were the sound of somebody - more often than not, a she - speaking with a voice that had never been heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/records-that-were-the-sound-of-somebody-more-often-than-not-a-she/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I never could understand - it was impossible for me to get my head around - what the furor was, what the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-never-could-understand-it-was-impossible-for-me-to-get-my-head/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [There is no pop category, let alone any infinitely gene-sliced genre name, to contain the lead in Rihanna's voice in 'Needed Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/there-is-no-pop-category-let-alone-any-infinitely-gene-sliced-genre/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I'm a fan of Oliver Stone. I like his movies, I like his excess, and I think he has a great capacity for empathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-m-a-fan-of-oliver-stone-i-like-his-movies-i-like-his-excess-and-i/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Bob Dylan continues to release odd and unsettling records, and to do odd and unsettling things on stage. So the term 'still' seems meaningless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/bob-dylan-continues-to-release-odd-and-unsettling-records-and-to-do/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [When you're writing criticism or thinking critically, to draw a very limited minor conclusion from solid evidence is really not thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/when-you-re-writing-criticism-or-thinking-critically-to-draw-a-very/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [My ideal reader is somebody who trips over a copy of my book on the sidewalk; then they pick it up and read as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/my-ideal-reader-is-somebody-who-trips-over-a-copy-of-my-book-on-the/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I don't know that there's a division between American and British, European, South American, Asian sensibilities when it comes to rock n' roll or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-don-t-know-that-there-s-a-division-between-american-and-british/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [We fight our way through the massed and leveled collective safe taste of the Top 40, just looking for a little something we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/we-fight-our-way-through-the-massed-and-leveled-collective-safe-taste/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [“Banishing the love song, people discovered what else there was to sing about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/banishing-the-love-song-people-discovered-what-else-there-was-to-sing/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) [Explore all 65 Greil Marcus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) ## More Free country quotes > [For your information, I'm staying like this, and everyone else can just get used to it! If people don't like me the way I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/for-your-information-i-m-staying-like-this-and-everyone-else-can-just/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [“Everybody else got off the train at Hell, but I figured, it’s a free country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everybody-else-got-off-the-train-at-hell-but-i-figured-it-s-a-free/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Socrates: Have you noticed on our journey how often the citizens of this new land remind each other it is a free country? Plato:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/socrates-have-you-noticed-on-our-journey-how-often-the-citizens-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Christianity in its fullness and truth has been restored to the earth by direct revelation. The restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-w-hunter/christianity-in-its-fullness-and-truth-has-been-restored-to-the-earth/) [Howard W. Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-w-hunter/) > [The fact is that many countries that call themselves free succumbed to medical dictatorship...people are sicker and less healthy...A country which mandates vaccination is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viera-scheibner/the-fact-is-that-many-countries-that-call-themselves-free-succumbed/) [Viera Scheibner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viera-scheibner/) > [If he wants to be an asshole, it's a free country. Millions before him have made the same life choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/if-he-wants-to-be-an-asshole-it-s-a-free-country-millions-before-him/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I still believe in the American Dream. I see it in terms of freedom, and a government that trusts its people to exercise freedom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-still-believe-in-the-american-dream-i-see-it-in-terms-of-freedom/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Obamacare comes to more than two thousand pages of rules, mandates, taxes, fees, and fines that have no place in a free country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/obamacare-comes-to-more-than-two-thousand-pages-of-rules-mandates/) [Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/) > [We Americans like to believe we live in a free country with the right to use the justice system to ensure that government abuses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharyl-attkisson/we-americans-like-to-believe-we-live-in-a-free-country-with-the-right/) [Sharyl Attkisson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharyl-attkisson/) > [America is still a free country - nobody is saying it isn't - but we accept that, in the face of discernible risk, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-bedard/america-is-still-a-free-country-nobody-is-saying-it-isn-t-but-we/) Patrick Bedard > [In a free country, government is a dull and onerous responsibility. It is a parent-teacher conference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/in-a-free-country-government-is-a-dull-and-onerous-responsibility-it/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [No writer in a free country should be expected to bother about the exact demarcation between the sensuous and the sensual; this is preposterous;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/no-writer-in-a-free-country-should-be-expected-to-bother-about-the/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“Aye. 'Tis a free country." Monq had come to check on Elora just as she asked that question. "Well, that kind of has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-danann/aye-tis-a-free-country-monq-had-come-to-check-on-elora-just-as-she/) [Victoria Danann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-danann/) > [Canada is probably the most free country in the world where a man still has room to breathe, to spread out, to move forward,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valentyn-moroz/canada-is-probably-the-most-free-country-in-the-world-where-a-man/) Valentyn Moroz > [The worst fear in the hearings was that you would get some evil interrogator: you could never know what might happen then. No one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diet-eman/the-worst-fear-in-the-hearings-was-that-you-would-get-some-evil/) [Diet Eman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diet-eman/) [Browse all 163 Free country quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-country/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was the only free country left in the world,\" he once said, not talking about America but about rock'n'roll in America, or anywhere else. \"No boundaries, no passports. 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