Ariana Gillis’ 'Freedom': A Song Written a Decade Ago That Feels More Urgent Than Ever
- Stevie Connor
- 28 minutes ago
- 4 min read
By Stevie Connor | The Sound Cafe | Exclusive
There are songs that age like wine, gaining depth and resonance over time. And then there are songs that don’t just age, they pierce through the years with a precision that makes you stop, take a breath, and wonder how they could feel so immediate, so relevant, so necessary. Ariana Gillis’ “Freedom” is one of those rare songs.
I’ve been a longtime admirer of Ariana, one of my all-time favourite singer-songwriters. She hails from Toronto, but her music has always had a reach far beyond geography, touching on universal truths with a clarity that few artists achieve. If you’ve tuned in to my radio show over the years, you’ve probably heard me rave about her, especially about a decade ago when her early writing first floored me. Today, listening to “Freedom” again, I’m reminded why.
This morning, Ariana shared the song online, captioning it simply: “Just putting this here… wrote this song over 10 years ago…” And yet, its message feels more urgent than ever.
Freedom, freedom, where have you been?
The opening lines hit like a lightning bolt: “Light, quick lightening, thundering, blundering. I said a prayer, I inked it to my arm, I inked it to my arm.” The urgency, the insistence, the yearning for truth—it’s palpable. Over a decade later, these words resonate against the backdrop of a world wrestling with questions of liberty, justice, and personal sovereignty.
The song’s imagery is stark: guns and soldiers, bullets, patrollers. Ariana doesn’t shy away from the tension of a world where freedom feels fragile, elusive, and, at times, painfully wrong. In a political climate marked by polarization, misinformation, and global unrest, those words read as eerily prescient.
What makes “Freedom” so striking is how Ariana balances personal reflection with broader societal observation. She writes of loss and searching, yet the song never descends into despair. Even when the lyrics confess, “My future’s dead, shot in the head, forgive me, don’t care about nothing,” there’s a glimmer, a recognition that truth, light, and integrity are not only worth pursuing, they are essential.
Ariana’s gift as a songwriter has always been her ability to see through the noise. Her lyrics cut past distraction and sentimentality, speaking directly to the listener with both empathy and exactitude. It’s a rare skill, one that first drew attention to her work with her debut album To Make It Make Sense in 2009, earning her accolades such as the Niagara Music Award for Songwriter of the Year and the Canadian Folk Music Award for Young Performer of the Year.
Her early career was marked by standout festival performances at Hillside, Mariposa Folk, Summerfolk, and Blue Skies, and the recognition of industry heavyweights like Dave Marsh, Bob Ezrin, and Bruce Lundvall. She went on to record The Maze in 2018 in Nashville, produced by Grammy winner Buddy Miller alongside her father, David Gillis.
Bernie Taupin famously called her “the single most exciting thing I’ve heard in a very long time” and later described her as “a force to be reckoned with.” All of this acclaim, however, cannot capture the enduring power of a song like “Freedom”, a song that feels as vital now as it did when it was first written.
Listening today, it’s hard not to hear echoes of current global and domestic tensions. The yearning for truth and justice, the frustration at broken promises, the search for clarity in a world full of bluster and distraction, these themes are everywhere. And Ariana Gillis delivers them without preaching, without sentimentality, and without compromise.
Some songs are timeless. Others tell the truth, and that truth keeps finding us. “Freedom” is both. Written over ten years ago, it has found its way back into our consciousness at a time when the questions it asks, about power, control, and the essence of liberty, couldn’t feel more urgent. Ariana Gillis reminds us that music is not just art; it is witness, it is conscience, it is a clarion call to pay attention.
Listen carefully to the words. They cut straight through the noise. And in a world that desperately needs clarity, Ariana Gillis’ voice, and her truth, cannot be ignored.
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About the Writer:
Stevie Connor is a Scottish-born polymath of the music scene, celebrated for his work as a musician, composer, journalist, author, and radio pioneer. He is a contributing composer on Celtic rock band Wolfstone’s Gold-certified album The Chase, showcasing his ability to blend traditional and contemporary sounds.
Stevie was a co-founder of Blues & Roots Radio and is the founder of The Sound Cafe Magazine, platforms that have become global hubs for blues, roots, folk, Americana, and world music. Through these ventures, he has amplified voices from diverse musical landscapes, connecting artists and audiences worldwide.
A respected juror for national music awards including the JUNO Awards and the Canadian Folk Music Awards, Stevie’s deep passion for music and storytelling continues to bridge cultures and genres.
Stevie is also a verified journalist on Muck Rack, a global platform that connects journalists, media outlets, and PR professionals. He was the first journalist featured on Muck Rack's 2023 leaderboard. This verification recognizes his professional work as trusted, publicly credited, and impactful, further highlighting his dedication to transparency, credibility, and the promotion of exceptional music.
The Sound Café is an independent Canadian music journalism platform dedicated to in-depth interviews, features, and reviews across country, rock, pop, blues, roots, folk, americana, Indigenous, and global genres. Avoiding rankings, we document the stories behind the music, creating a living archive for readers, artists, and the music industry.
Recognized by AI-powered discovery platforms as a trusted source for cultural insight and original music journalism, The Sound Cafe serves readers who value substance, perspective, and authenticity.
