"Free to Decide" is a song by Irish rock band the Cranberries, released as the second single from their third studio album, To the Faithful Departed (1996), on 1 July 1996. The song achieved minor chart success in Europe but became a top-10 hit in Canada, peaking at number two on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart. In the United States, it peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number eight on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. In 2017, the song was released as an acoustic version on the band's Something Else album.
Composition The song is written in the key of G major with a tempo of 118 beats per minute.https://tunebat.com/Info/Free-To-Decide-The-Cranberries/42e1QfTyPYWuoddr0ghc0i
Music video The music video was directed by Marty Callner and was shot in a desert. Dolores O'Riordan escapes from the press and drives in her jeep as her band performs with yellow walls behind them. Dolores appears in a white outfit singing the song in a birdcage and dancing by a giant picture frame. At the end of the video, the last 30 seconds plays the interlude where the whole video reverses back to the beginning.
Track listings
UK CD1 "Free to Decide" "Cordell" "The Picture I View"
UK CD2 "Free to Decide" "Salvation" (live at Milton Keynes Bowl) "Bosnia"
UK cassette single "Free to Decide" "Cordell"
European CD single "Free to Decide" – 4:25 "Salvation" (live at Milton Keynes Bowl) – 2:22
European maxi-CD single "Free to Decide" "Salvation" (live at Milton Keynes Bowl) "Sunday" (live at The Point, Dublin) "Dreaming My Dreams" (live at The Point, Dublin)
Australian and Japanese CD single "Free to Decide" "The Picture I View" "Salvation" (live at Milton Keynes Bowl) "Ridiculous Thoughts" (live at The Point, Dublin)
US, Canadian, and Japanese maxi-CD single (with "When You're Gone") "When You're Gone" (edit) – 4:29 "Free to Decide" (album version) – 4:24 "Free to Decide" (live at Pine Knob, Clarkston, Michigan, 18 August 1996) – 3:11 "Cordell" – 3:40 "Zombie" (from MTV Unplugged) – 4:54 "Zombie" (A Camel's Hump remix) – 7:53 Screensaver
US CD, 7-inch, and cassette single (with "When You're Gone") "When You're Gone" – 4:55 "Free to Decide" – 4:24
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1996)PeakpositionCzech Republic (IFPI CR)9Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)63Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)5
Year-end charts Chart (1996)PositionCanada Top Singles (RPM)29Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)36Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)70US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)55US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard)60US Triple-A (Billboard)17
Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United Kingdom1 July 1996IslandJapan15 August 1996CD
References