Van Morrison is a certified rock legend, but Twitter users aren’t exactly singing the praises of his newest compositions.
The 75-year-old singer is about to release three new songs protesting coronavirus lockdowns and accusing the British government of “making up crooked facts” to “enslave” its citizens, according to the BBC.
Morrison’s pandemic pop songs don’t pull any punches, especially “No More Lockdown.”
No more lockdown
No more government overreach
No more fascist bullies
Disturbing our peace
No more taking of our freedom
And our God given rights
Pretending it’s for our safety
When it’s really to enslave
You can see the full lyrics to the new songs in the tweet below.
The songs are attracting a lot of attention, but it may not be the kind that usually helps records fly up the sales charts.
Northern Ireland’s minister of health, Robin Swann, told the BBC that the new songs were “dangerous.”
“I don’t know where he gets his facts,” Swann said. “I know where the emotions are on this, but I will say that sort of messaging is dangerous.”
Other Twitter users had their doubts as well.
Others imagined how Morrison might update his more well-known songs such as “Brown Eyed Girl.”
Another person pointed out the many prominent musicians who have died from the coronavirus.
One man said that Morrison has written songs about diseases before so the new ditties aren’t totally unprecedented.
But one tweeter managed to put the proper perspective on Morrison’s new songs.