[Intro: Low fingerpicked acoustic guitar, deep humming, distant harmonica] [Verse 1] I was born beneath a flag, In a land they called the free. They said the world was mine to take, If I'd follow faithfully. Get a job and pay your taxes, Keep your money in the bank. Trust the ones who make decisions, And remember who to thank. [Pre-Chorus: Guitar rhythm slowly builds] They promised me protection, From the dangers I might face. But every time they saved me, They took another choice away. [Chorus: Powerful raspy vocals, driving acoustic strumming] I wanna be the last free man, With my feet upon the land. Not a number in a ledger, Not a servant to a plan. I don't need a world to follow, I don't need a guiding hand. Just the freedom to decide, What is worth the life I have. [Verse 2] I don't know who grows my dinner, Or who keeps the water clean. Don't know how to fix the things, That keep the lights on while I dream. Got a card to buy my freedom, Got a loan to buy my home. Got a thousand little comforts, That I cannot live without. [Pre-Chorus: Rough, restrained vocals] And the more I learn to need them, The less I learn to do. Till the day they stop providing, And I don't know what to do. [Chorus] I wanna be the last free man, With my feet upon the land. Not a number in a ledger, Not a servant to a plan. I don't need a world to follow, I don't need a guiding hand. Just the freedom to decide, What is worth the life I have. [Instrumental: Driving acoustic guitar, earthy foot stomps, raw harmonica solo] [Verse 3] So I'll learn to grow a garden, Learn to mend the things I break. Keep a little for tomorrow, Give a little more away. I'll teach my children how to build, How to question what they're told. How to stand when others won't, And how to live without the gold. I don't need to own a kingdom, Don't need riches, don't need fame. Just a place to raise my family, And the right to choose my way. [Bridge: Music drops to a single fingerpicked guitar, intimate gravelly vocals] But freedom isn't isolation, And strength is not standing alone. There's a difference between needing help, And forgetting what you've known. I would fight to keep my family, I would sacrifice for friends. I would give away my freedom, For the ones I'd still defend. And maybe that's the answer, To the question in my mind. Freedom isn't having nothing, It's knowing what is worth your time. [Final Chorus: Full acoustic arrangement, passionate strained vocals] I wanna be the last free man, With my feet upon the land. Not a number in a ledger, Not a servant to a plan. I don't need a world to follow, Or a promise from a man. Just the courage to decide, What is worth the life I have. And if the world should turn against me, If the things I've built should fall, I will stand beside the ones I love, For they're worth more than it all. [Outro: Acoustic guitar slows, harmonica fades] There's a road beyond the fences, There's a mountain past the trees. There's a life beyond the systems, That have taught us what to need. I don't need to leave the world, Or pretend that I'm alone. I just need to know that I can stand, When the things I trust are gone. [Softly spoken, weathered voice] The freest man... Isn't the one with nothing to lose. He's the one who knows... What's worth holding on to. [End: Single resonant acoustic guitar chord, natural decay]
