Role Model gives another preview of 'Chuck Timely & The Hourglass' with 'Joy'•
Erin LeCount is hosting a free songwriting and production masterclass at Abbey Road•
Nia Archives has recruited Jorja Smith for her new single 'Get Me Down'•
The Linda Lindas' next album is called 'GOTTA GET OUT', and Hayley Williams is on the new single
•
Nell Mescal has released new single 'Settles' ahead of an intimate London pop-up show•
Jacob Alon has announced 'Live From The Roundhouse' and shared a cover of Nirvana's 'All Apologies'•
Frost Children have released their new EP 'Tweaker Poem' and shared a video for 'Creep'•
The Last Dinner Party have shared 'Knocking At The Sky' and its Hollywood-inspired video•
Lucy Dacus celebrates Richmond in her self-directed ‘Planting Tomatoes’ video•
Alessi Rose has shared vulnerable new single 'Dependent' ahead of her summer festival run•
KATSEYE are bringing new film 'WILD HEARTS' to cinemas worldwide•
Little Grandad have shared new 1940s-inspired single ‘Babe, We’ve Run Out Of Time’ and announced their biggest London headline show yet•
Gilla Band have announced their new album ‘Pugnello’ and two intimate UK shows•
Violet Grohl has upgraded her Manchester show and added a new Brighton date•
Beyoncé is celebrating 'B'Day' with her first new song in two years, ‘Morning Dew (Donk)’•
Audrey Hobert has unveiled a new video for 'Sex and the City' as she begins her headline tour•
The Dork 2025 Readers' Poll nominations are in, featuring CMAT, Turnstile, Wolf Alice, Djo, Hayley Williams and loads more•
flowerovlove has released her first-ever first Christmas track, 'wishlist'•
Mighty Hoopla and Olly Alexander have announced Trans Mission, a concert for trans solidarity•
JADE has announced a deluxe edition of her debut album, 'THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY! THE ENCORE'•
Role Model gives another preview of 'Chuck Timely & The Hourglass' with 'Joy'•
Erin LeCount is hosting a free songwriting and production masterclass at Abbey Road•
Nia Archives has recruited Jorja Smith for her new single 'Get Me Down'•
The Linda Lindas' next album is called 'GOTTA GET OUT', and Hayley Williams is on the new single•
Nell Mescal has released new single 'Settles' ahead of an intimate London pop-up show•
Jacob Alon has announced 'Live From The Roundhouse' and shared a cover of Nirvana's 'All Apologies'•
Frost Children have released their new EP 'Tweaker Poem' and shared a video for 'Creep'•
The Last Dinner Party have shared 'Knocking At The Sky' and its Hollywood-inspired video•
Lucy Dacus celebrates Richmond in her self-directed ‘Planting Tomatoes’ video•
Alessi Rose has shared vulnerable new single 'Dependent' ahead of her summer festival run•
KATSEYE are bringing new film 'WILD HEARTS' to cinemas worldwide•
Little Grandad have shared new 1940s-inspired single ‘Babe, We’ve Run Out Of Time’ and announced their biggest London headline show yet•
Gilla Band have announced their new album ‘Pugnello’ and two intimate UK shows•
Violet Grohl has upgraded her Manchester show and added a new Brighton date•
Beyoncé is celebrating 'B'Day' with her first new song in two years, ‘Morning Dew (Donk)’•
Audrey Hobert has unveiled a new video for 'Sex and the City' as she begins her headline tour•
The Dork 2025 Readers' Poll nominations are in, featuring CMAT, Turnstile, Wolf Alice, Djo, Hayley Williams and loads more•
flowerovlove has released her first-ever first Christmas track, 'wishlist'•
Mighty Hoopla and Olly Alexander have announced Trans Mission, a concert for trans solidarity•
JADE has announced a deluxe edition of her debut album, 'THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY! THE ENCORE'•
Dork
News
Features
Reviews
Magazine
Shop
Listings
Directory
Festivals
Hype-THE BEST NEW NAMES, FIRST
Upset-DORK'S HOME FOR ALL THINGS LOUD
Festival Guides-YOUR ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL COMPANION
Hype-THE BEST NEW NAMES, FIRST
Mixtape-DORK'S BEST NEW TRACKS
Play-DORK'S NEW MUSIC FRIDAY EDIT
Upset-DORK'S HOME FOR ALL THINGS LOUD
Playlist Covers
Playlist Directory
Recommender
Before Doors-LIVE SESSIONS
Music Video Directory
Down With Boring-THE DORK PODCAST
Chart Attack-UK NUMBER ONES, DISSECTED
Dork Live
Dork Radio
Live
Live 24/7
Dork Radio
Dork
Down With Boring

Join thousands of music lovers getting the best new tracks, exclusive interviews, and breaking news delivered straight to your inbox every week.

In print now

August 2026

Latest issue variants

View archive
Dork, August 2026 (Fat Dog cover)

Fat Dog

Dork, August 2026 (Ravyn Lenae cover)

Ravyn Lenae

Dork, August 2026 (Yard Act cover)

Yard Act

Advertise
|
Support|
About Dork|
Privacy Policy|
Genres|
Years|
Sitemap|
RSS|
Cookie settings
© 2026 The Bunker Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.
Powered by PlaywireAdvertise on this site.
  1. Tracks
  2. Tems
  3. For Broken Ears
  4. Free Mind
Free Mind by Tems

TRACK

Tems

Free Mind

Release date: 24th September 2020

From For Broken Ears
Track 3
4:08
AltéMusicAfrican
Spotify Apple Music More on Tems

About This Track

Tems wrote and produced 'Free Mind' alongside co-producer Omeiza, a meditation on the weight of intrusive thought. The track opens with the image of waking at five in the morning to work, fear already present, and spirals into an account of a mind that won't settle, that burns and wanders and fights against itself. The chorus is a plea: "I really need a free mind now", repeated with the insistence of someone who has asked for the same thing many times before. What emerges is a song about the distance between wanting peace and being able to reach it. Tems moves between the specific struggle of her own thoughts and something more universal, invoking prayer and the idea that some kinds of peace cannot be bought or manufactured. The production holds space for her voice to sit with the weight of these lines, never rushing toward resolution. This is introspection without false comfort, an honest account of what it means to live inside your own head when that head has become a difficult place to be.

"Free Mind" is a track by Tems, from the album For Broken Ears, released 24th September 2020. The track is 4:08 long. It's filed under Alté. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 9 articles about Tems.

About the Artist

Tems

Tems

Lyrics

Free Mind

Yeah, yeah my mind
Yeah, yeah my mind

I said, "Five in the morning"
I wake up to fight for my earnings
The fear in my mind is a warning
Praying to the one you rely in
I've been wandering all day
I try to be fine but I can't be
The noise in my mind wouldn't leave me
I try to get by but I'm burning

And behind my mind it runs
All these thoughts have troubled me
Fighting to give up my pain
Fighting to be on my lane
My mind running to the other side
When it's time to live my life
Then it tries to take me out
Tell you what I need right here

I really need, I really need timе now
I really need, I need a free mind now
I really need, I really need minе now
I really need, I need to free my mind now
I really need, I really need time now
I really need, I need a free mind now
I really need, I really need my mind now, oh yeah

This is the peace that you cannot buy
Send me a love that you cannot mix
One is the joy that you cannot waste
And the other one price that you cannot fix
This is the peace that you cannot buy
Finding a way when you cannot see
Man will desist if he cannot pray
I need to find release

But behind my mind it runs
All these thoughts have troubled me
Fighting to give up my pain
Fighting to be on my lane
My mind running to the other side
When it's time to live my life
Then it tries to take me out
Tell you what I need right here

I really need, I really need my mind now
I really need, I need a free mind now
I really need, I really need time now
I really need, I need to free my mind now
I really need, I really need time now
I really need, I need a free mind now
I really need, I really need time now, oh yeah

To set me free
Freer than the open mind
Farther than the eyes can handle
Freer than the ocean now yeah, yeah
So set me free
Now I need to find release
Set me to the open sky
Now I need to free my mind yeah, yeah

I might be falling deep
I might be falling deep
I might be falling deep
I might be falling deep

Tell me now what you need
I've been going to God
When I'm all in my mind
I might be falling deep

Falling deep

I might be falling
I might be falling
I might be falling
I might be falling, yeah

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From For Broken Ears

4:082020
Listen
Album
For Broken Ears
For Broken Ears
Tems
25th September 2020
Track number
3
Release year
2020
  1. 1Interference
    2:55
  2. 2Ice T
    4:07
  3. 3Free Mind
    4:08
  4. 4Témìládè Interlude
    0:41

More from Tems

Albums & EPs

Love Is A Kingdom
Love Is A Kingdom
2025
Born in the Wild
Born in the Wild
2024
Time Swap EP
Time Swap EP
Try Me
Try Me

Explore

More tracks by Tems

  1. Crazy Tings
    3:02
  2. Love Me JeJe
    2:58
  3. 20x
  4. Avoid Things
  5. Big DaddyLove Is A Kingdom
    2:46
  6. Born in the WildBorn in the Wild
    2:16
  7. Boy O BoyBorn in the Wild
    2:52
  8. BurningBorn in the Wild
    2:55
  9. Crazy Tings
  10. Essence

Showing 10 of 50

If you like Tems

Ayra Starr

Ayra Starr

Wizkid

Wizkid

Burna Boy

Burna Boy

Odeal

Odeal

Fireboy DML

Fireboy DML

Asake

Asake

5Higher
3:16
  • 6Damages
    2:49
  • 7The Key
    2:46
  • —Free Mind (DJ Zayy Remix)
  • —Free Mind
    4:08
  • —The Key
    2:46
  • —Ice T
    4:07
  • —Damages
    2:49
  • —Higher
    3:16
  • —Interference
    2:55

    • Credits

    Production & Engineering

    Writer
    Tems
    Producer
    Omeiza, Tems
    Mastering Engineer
    Omeiza
    Mixing Engineer
    Omeiza
    READ MORE ABOUT TEMSREAD MORE ABOUT TEMSREAD MORE ABOUT TEMSREAD MORE ABOUT TEMS
    READ MORE ABOUT TEMSREAD MORE ABOUT TEMSREAD MORE ABOUT TEMSREAD MORE ABOUT TEMS
    Jorja Smith has announced her third album ‘What Are The Odds’ with Wizkid collaboration ‘Alive’
    News

    Jorja Smith has announced her third album ‘What Are The Odds’ with Wizkid collaboration ‘Alive’

    P2J produces throughout, with Devlin re-recording his 'London City' verse for 'This City'.

    2 Jul 2026 • 9:13 pm
    Michelle Obama surprised young songwriters with a little help from Tems
    News

    Michelle Obama surprised young songwriters with a little help from Tems

    Pair joined 15 high school-aged girls for a session led by teaching artist Darkhoneeey.

    25 Jun 2026 • 11:40 am
    Nia Archives has released her love-drunk new single 'Vertical'
    News

    Nia Archives has released her love-drunk new single 'Vertical'

    The producer draws on Björk and Madonna's Ray of Light era for her latest cut.

    5 Jun 2026 • 11:58 am
    Jorja Smith has enlisted AJ Tracey, Knucks and Nadia Rose for her ‘What’s Done Is Done’ video
    News

    Jorja Smith has enlisted AJ Tracey, Knucks and Nadia Rose for her ‘What’s Done Is Done’ video

    Singer teams with producer P2J and director KC Locke for new release.

    14 May 2026 • 9:07 pm
    Justin Bieber brought out five special guests during his Coachella headline slot
    News

    Justin Bieber brought out five special guests during his Coachella headline slot

    A stripped-back ninety-minute set saw Bieber search YouTube for his earliest recordings live on stage.

    13 Apr 2026 • 11:43 am
    All Points East has revealed Jorja Smith and Tems for its final 2026 headliner show
    News

    All Points East has revealed Jorja Smith and Tems for its final 2026 headliner show

    Tickets go on general sale March 13th at 10am via official website.

    10 Mar 2026 • 11:02 am