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Wham! – Freedom (1984) | Track profile | Dork

Tracks
Wham!
Make It Big
Freedom

SINGLE

Freedom

Release date: 21st November 1984

From Make It Big

Track 5

5:02

Pop Music Pop/Rock Dance

Spotify Apple Music More on Wham!

About This Track

'Freedom' finds Wham! wrestling with the paradox of devotion to someone unworthy of it. The narrator knows his lover is unfaithful, hears the warnings from friends, watches the betrayals unfold, yet cannot bring himself to leave. George Michael frames this not as romantic heroism but as a kind of willing captivity: "like a prisoner who has his own key" but unable to escape. The song's real subject is not the lover's infidelity but the narrator's own complicity, his choice to forgive "just this once, twice, forever" because the alternative, separation, feels impossible. Musically, the track builds on the synth-pop formula that defined the duo's breakthrough, but the production serves the emotional argument: the chorus hits with a clean, almost defiant refrain that insists "I don't want your freedom" as if the phrase itself were a shield against reason. Michael's vocal delivery shifts between pleading and resignation, the repetition of "hurt me baby" in the final section stripping away any remaining dignity. It became a significant commercial success, reaching the upper reaches of charts on both sides of the Atlantic, and remains one of the duo's most direct examinations of romantic self-sabotage.

"Freedom" is a single by Wham!, from the album Make It Big, released 21st November 1984. The track is 5:02 long. It's filed under Pop. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 1 article about Wham!.

About the Artist

Wham!

Wham!

Lyrics

Freedom

Every day I hear a different story
People saying that you're no good for me
Saw your lover with another
And she's making a fool of you, oh

If you loved me baby, you'd deny it
But you laugh and tell me I should try it
Tell me I'm a baby and I don't understand

But you know that I'll forgive you
Just this once, twice, forever
'Cause baby, you could drag me to hell and back
Just as long as we're together and you do

I don't want your freedom
I don't want to play around
I don't want nobody, baby
Part time love just brings me down

I don't need your freedom
Girl all I want right now is you

Like a prisoner who has his own key
But I can't escape until you love me
I just go from day to day
Knowing all about the other boys

You take my hand and tell me I'm a fool
To give you that all I do
I bet you someday baby
Someone says the same to you

But you know that I'll forgive you
Just this once, twice, forever
'Cause baby, you could drag me to hell and back
Just as long as we're together and you do, oh

I don't want your freedom
I don't want to play around
I don't want nobody, baby
Part time love just brings me down

I don't want your freedom
Girl all I want right now is you

You hurt me baby
Hurt me baby
Hurt me baby
Hurt me baby
Hurt me baby

But you know that I'll forgive you
Just this once, twice, forever
'Cause baby, you could drag me to hell and back
Just as long as we're together and you do

I don't want your freedom
I don't need to play around
I don't want nobody, baby
Part time love just brings me down

I don't want your freedom
I don't want to play around
I don't want nobody, baby
Part time love just brings me down

I don't want your
(I don't want your)
I don't want your
(I don't want your)
I don't want your
(I don't want your)
I don't want your
(I don't want your)

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From Make It Big

5:021984Single

Listen

Album

21st November 1984

Track number

5

Release year

1984

1Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
3:51
2Everything She Wants
5:03
3Heartbeat
4:44
4Like a Baby
4:15

More from Wham!

Albums & EPs

The Singles: Echoes from the Edge of Heaven (Expanded)

The Singles: Echoes from the Edge of Heaven (Expanded)

Music From the Edge of Heaven

Music From the Edge of Heaven

Wham 12“ Mixes

Wham 12“ Mixes

Last Christmas - Single

Last Christmas - Single

Fantastic

Make It Big

Explore

More tracks by Wham!

Last Christmas (Instrumental)

ラスト・クリスマス = Last Christmas

クレジット・カード・ベイビー = Credit Card Baby

A Ray of Sunshine (mikeandtess quick edit)

Everything She Wants (Hlynur Sölvi re‐mix)

Everything She Wants (Mixed)

I'm Your Man (Acappella)

Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) (Special Club Remix)

Bad Boys (Instrumental)

Freedom (Instrumental)

Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?) (Club Mix)

Do it Right (Instrumental)

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (Instrumental)

Club Tropicana (Instrumental)

Club Tropicana (Balearic Breeze remix)

Club Tropicana (Wonderland Redux - remix)

Young Guns (Butch le Butch Re-Edit)

Last Christmas (Live at Wembley Arena, December 2006)

Everything She Wants '97

I'm Your Man '96

Bad Boys (Jim Thias Remix)

Wham Summer Fun Mega Mix / Classic Grooves

A Different CornerMusic From the Edge of Heaven

Blue (Live In China)Music From the Edge of Heaven

Last ChristmasMusic From the Edge of Heaven

Where Did Your Heart Go?Music From the Edge of Heaven

The Edge Of Heaven

Wham Rap '86Music From the Edge of Heaven

A Different CornerMusic From the Edge of Heaven

BattlestationsMusic From the Edge of Heaven

Blue (Live In China)Music From the Edge of Heaven

I'm Your ManMusic From the Edge of Heaven

The Edge of HeavenMusic From the Edge of Heaven

Last Christmas (Pudding Mix)Music From the Edge of Heaven

Where Did Your Heart Go?Music From the Edge of Heaven

The Edge of Heaven / One Hit (To the Body)

Young Guns (Go for It!) (12" Mix)

Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)Wham 12“ Mixes

I'm Your Man (Extended Stimulation)Wham 12“ Mixes

Young Guns (Go for It!)Wham 12“ Mixes

Freedom (Long Mix)Wham 12“ Mixes

I’m Your Man (Extended Stimulation)

View all tracks by Wham! →

A Different CornerMusic From the Edge of Heaven
4:28
A Different CornerMusic From the Edge of Heaven
4:30
A Ray of Sunshine (mikeandtess quick edit)
Bad Boys (Instrumental)
Bad Boys (Jim Thias Remix)
Battlestations
5:24
BattlestationsMusic From the Edge of Heaven
5:25
Blue (Live In China)Music From the Edge of Heaven
5:40
Blue (Live In China)Music From the Edge of Heaven
5:43
Cauiii

Showing 10 of 50

If you like Wham!

George Michael

George Michael

Culture Club

Culture Club

Bananarama

Bananarama

Hall & Oates

Johnny Hates Jazz

Paul Young

Paul Young

5Freedom

5:02

6If You Were There

7Credit Card Baby

8Careless Whisper

—Careless Whisper (Album Version)

2If You Were There

3Credit Card Baby

4Careless Whisper

Credits

Production & Engineering

Writer: George Michael
Producer: George Michael
Engineer: Chris Porter
Vocals: George Michael
Arranger: George Michael
Assistant Engineer: Paul Gomersall

READ MORE ABOUT WHAM!

READ MORE ABOUT WHAM!

READ MORE ABOUT WHAM!

READ MORE ABOUT WHAM!

READ MORE ABOUT WHAM!

READ MORE ABOUT WHAM!

READ MORE ABOUT WHAM!

READ MORE ABOUT WHAM!

WHAM!'s historic 1985 China tour is the subject of a new BBC documentary

WHAM!'s historic 1985 China tour is the subject of a new BBC documentary

Restored footage and new interviews chart the duo's pioneering 1985 Beijing and Guangzhou shows.

16 Jun 2026 • 2:27 pm

Wham!'s 'Last Christmas' has become the first song to top the UK Christmas charts twice consecutively

Wham!'s 'Last Christmas' has become the first song to top the UK Christmas charts twice consecutively

The 1984 Wham! hit 'Last Christmas' achieves a historic milestone.

20 Dec 2024 • 6:00 pm