Set Me Free
The Kinks Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Set me free, little girl
All you gotta do is set me free, little girl
You know you can do it if you try
All you gotta do is set me free, free
Free

Set me free, little girl
All you gotta do is set me free, little girl
You know you can do it if you try
All you gotta do is set me free, free
Free, free

I don't want no one
If I can't have you to myself
I don't need nobody else
So if I can't have you to myself

Set me free
Set me free

Oh set me free, little girl
All you gotta do is set me free, little girl
You know you can do it if you try
All you gotta do is set me free, free
Free, free

I don't want no one
If I can't have you to myself
I don't need nobody else
So if I can't have you to myself

Set me free
Set me free

Oh set me free, little girl
All you gotta do is set me free, little girl
You know you can do it if you try
All you gotta do is set me free, free
Free





Set me free
Oh, set me free

Overall Meaning

The Kinks's song "Set Me Free" talks about the singer's desire to be set free by a girl who he is probably in love with. The lyrics are straightforward, and the message is clear. The singer wants to be free of the hold that the girl has on him, but he is aware that he cannot do it alone. He begs her to set him free, and he believes that she can do it if she tries. The song also seems to imply that the singer wants to be with the girl alone and does not want anyone else to share her with him.


The lyrics suggest that the singer is in a difficult situation, and he is looking for a way out. He wants to be independent and free from any attachments, but he cannot achieve it without the girl's help. The song is a plea for the girl to release him from whatever is keeping him trapped. The repetitive lines, "All you gotta do is set me free, free, free," emphasize the urgency of the singer's request.


Overall, "Set Me Free" is a song about a person seeking liberation from a state that is both emotional and mental. The lyrics portray the desire to be independent, and the belief that the only way to achieve this is through someone else’s help.


Line by Line Meaning

Set me free, little girl
The singer wants the little girl to release him from something that is holding him back, maybe a toxic relationship.


All you gotta do is set me free, little girl
The singer believes that the only requirement for the little girl to do that is to let him go.


You know you can do it if you try
The singer is confident that the little girl is capable of freeing him if she puts in the effort.


All you gotta do is set me free, free
The artist implores the little girl to set him free completely and not hold him back in any way.


I don't want no one
The artist doesn't desire anyone else besides the little girl he's singing to.


If I can't have you to myself
The singer wants the little girl to be all his and not shared with anyone else.


I don't need nobody else
The singer asserts that he doesn't require anyone else besides the little girl.


Set me free
The artist repeats his request for the little girl to let him go.


Oh set me free, little girl
The artist repeats his plea to the little girl for his freedom.


Free, free
The singer implores the little girl to allow him complete freedom in every sense of the word.




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BROADWAY MUSIC CORPORATION, Kassner Associated Publishers Ltd, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RAY DAVIES

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Most interesting comment from YouTube:

R jazzmonnik

6/12/65 BILLBOARD hot 100 debut
The Kinks - Set Me Free
https://www.facebook.com/billboardhistory/

"Set Me Free" is a song by Ray Davies, released first by The Kinks in 1965.
Along with "Tired of Waiting for You", it is one of band's first
attempts at a softer, more introspective sound. The song's B-side, "I
Need You", makes prominent use of powerchords in the style of The Kinks'
early, "raunchy" sound. "Set Me Free" can be heard on the Ken Loach BBC
television drama "Up the Junction" from November, 1965, and marks the
first appearance of a Kinks song on a film or TV soundtrack.



All comments from YouTube:

Robert Cubinelli

One of their best, but underrated tunes ever !

kinkybeatle

Any Ray Davies song is better than the complete singles' charts of today. What a fine song, what a fine band.

Tresa Wadsworth

This was a world wide hit! I love loved and still do love the kinks!

SucSynched

I love that these guys have their fiercely loyal group of Kink fanatics and genuine believe they were England's greatest musical export. They are so deserving.

Tony Craddock

What a fantastic example of a period piece of classic sixties music. I don't believe we all thought at the time we would be looking back more than 50 years on wishing we were frozen in time although I do think that we realised it was a special time.

Rod Mcdonough

Excellent observation, you are right on! I started playing drums in 1965 and still play in rock bands (and gig for pay) in 2019. The garage bands I played with during the British Invasion all strived to sound like the Kinks but never quite did. The only band I played in that sounded close was in 1998 with guys my age back then. Yes, we had a hunch that this music was special and it was, as it was also when it evolved into Psychedelic Rock in 1966-67. I didn't know that any of it would be so well regarded today, or that I would still be alive to whitness that R & R did indeed "go down in history!"

kinkybeatle

Absolutely right !

Debra Hanks

Absolutely...wish i could go back to those times...start over

Nova 67

Loved this song as teenager in the sixties and still do in my own sixties. Timeless, feel good riff......!!!!!!!

Zen Guerrilla

Long live to Kinks. Legendary band.

More Comments

More Versions