"Cry for Freedom" is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

song by American/Danish

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music, heavy metal that features pop music, pop-influenced Hook (music), hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat arena rock, rock anthems, and slow Sentimental ballad#Powe ...

band

White Lion White Lion is an American glam metal band that was formed in New York City in 1983 by Danish vocalist Mike Tramp and American guitarist Vito Bratta. Mainly active in the 1980s and early 1990s, they released their debut album ''Fight to Survive ...

. The song was released as the third single for their 1989 album '' Big Game'' which peaked at number 19 on

The Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a recordi ...

. The song was released in 1990 and charted at #19 on the Dutch singles charts.

Background

"Cry for Freedom" is a political song about apartheid in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and was one of many songs from the band that addressed social or political issues such as uprising to oppression. The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

opens with black and white shots of a prison and its barred windows and then follows through a cemetery.

Versions

In 2001, Russian heavy-metal band Ария (Aria) covered the song for their EP ''

Tribute to Harley-Davidson II A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state conq ...

'' with translated lyrics. In 2023 Mike Tramp re-recorded "Cry for Freedom" for the "

Songs of White Lion ''Songs of White Lion'' is a trilogy of albums by Mike Tramp's White Lion featuring new re-recorded versions of White Lion songs, released via Frontiers Music. Volume 1 was released on 14 April 2023, Volume 2 was released on August 23, 2024 and ...

" album, the song was released as the lead single.

Track listing

7" single #"Cry for Freedom"- 6:08 #"Dirty Woman"- 3:27 12" maxi-single #Cry for Freedom - 6:08 #Dirty Woman - 3:27 #Wait - 3:51

Personnel

Mike Tramp Michael Trempenau (born 14 January 1961), better known as Mike Tramp, is a Danish singer songwriter and musician best known for his work with the glam metal band White Lion. In 1996, Mike Tramp launched his solo career, interrupted from 2004 to ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

Vito Bratta Vito Bratta (born July 1, 1961) is an American guitarist and the former co-songwriter for the glam metal band White Lion. He co-founded White Lion with lead singer Mike Tramp in 1983 and played with the band until 1991. Bio Bratta began playing ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

s * James Lomenzo -

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

Greg D'Angelo Greg D'Angelo, (born December 18, 1963) is an American drummer most famous for his work in the bands White Lion, Anthrax, and Pride & Glory. Career Early career (1981–1984) Between 1981 and 1983, D'Angelo was a member of Anthrax. He appea ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Charts

References

{{authority control White Lion songs 1989 songs 1990 singles Rock ballads Songs written by Vito Bratta Songs written by Mike Tramp Atlantic Records singles