Rolling Stones songs: I’m Free
*Click for MORE ROLLING STONES SONGS 1962-PRESENT

So love me, hold me, love me, hold me/ Cause I’m free any old time to get what I want…

Written by: Jagger/Richard
Recorded: RCA Studios, Hollywood, USA, July 2-12, Sept. 6-7 1965
Guest musicians: James W. Alexander (tambourine) 
*Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012

From the The Rolling Stones – All the Songs book:
This manifesto for freedom tells of the countercultural byways that the
Rolling Stones liked to take. Whereas the civil rights movement and
intellectuals in the United States were advocating an end to discrimination
—in other words, freedom for all, regardless of skin color or social status—
the London six were extolling individual liberty. So love me, hold me, love
me, hold me/I’m free to get what I want any old time, sings Jagger. “I’m
Free” may well have been triggered by the exhausting tours, long,
restrictive recording sessions, and groupies determined to pursue the
members of the band right up to their hotel rooms. However, what Jim
Morrison of the Doors was saying in “When the Music’s Over” was not so
very different: We want the world and we want it now.

This Jagger-Richards song recorded on September 6, 1965, is in the same
vein as “Gotta Get Away.” It reveals a threefold influence: the Don Covay–
style folk ballad, the folk rock of the Byrds, and the Beatles, particularly in
the writing and harmonization of the refrains (the words hold me, love me
recall “Eight Days a Week.” As far as the verses are concerned, the song is
structured around alternating C and F chords with a bass in the key of C, a
formula used in numerous songs, particularly of the country-folk type. The
Stones differ by intelligently weaving three guitars, one strummed (Brian’s
Rickenbacker 12-string?), another played with emphatic vibrato, and a third
that delivers a distinctly Byrds-like riff. In the refrains, Charlie adopts a
style similar to Ringo Starr, supported by, once again, a contribution from
James W. Alexander on tambourine. Brian also plays the organ (efficiently,
though not very audibly), while Mick sings and double-tracks a falsetto
over his vocal line. Finally, Keith overdubs a clear-sounding solo (on his
Epiphone Casino?) that cannot exactly be described as inspired.
Released as the B-side of the US single “Get Off of My Cloud” on
September 25, 1965, the Stones performed “I’m Free” live until the end of
the sixties. They later recorded an acoustic version for the album Stripped
(1995) and later still performed the number in front of Martin Scorsese’s
cameras at the Beacon Theater in New York (for the film Shine a Light,
2008).