Neil Young has revisited his 2006 protest song ‘Let’s Impeach The President’ for the latest edition of the Living With War archive collection, keeping the original performance intact while reframing the presentation to draw parallels between the George W. Bush and Donald Trump eras.
by Paul Cashmere
Neil Young has returned to one of the most politically charged recordings of his career, updating the presentation of his 2006 song Let’s Impeach The President for the newly released Living With War archive collection. Rather than recording a new version, Young has retained the original live performance, while reworking the mix and incorporating audio and imagery that places former United States President George W. Bush alongside current President Donald Trump, giving the song renewed contemporary relevance.
The release represents a fresh perspective on one of Young’s most outspoken political works rather than a rewrite. According to the musician, the performances throughout the archive edition remain unchanged, with only minor adjustments made to some songs. The most significant change is a remix that places greater emphasis on the album’s large choir, bringing new weight to the record’s themes nearly two decades after it was first released.
Young explained the thinking behind the updated presentation.
“In the archives collection of LWW, the performances are all original. There are small changes within some songs. The mix is refocused on now. The choir is huge and has a band. The hundred voices add incredible depth to the stories of Living With War.”
The revised mix highlights the album’s approximately 100 voice choir, an element that was always central to the project but now occupies a more prominent place in the soundscape. The song’s lyrics themselves remain unchanged, beginning with the opening lines:
“Let’s impeach the President for lyin’
And misleading our country into war
Abusing all the power that we gave him
And shipping all our money”
Although written specifically in response to the Bush administration and the Iraq War, the unchanged lyrics take on a different resonance when presented alongside imagery and audio connected to Trump. The effect is to invite listeners to draw their own comparisons between two political eras without altering the original composition.
Released on 2 May 2006, Living With War stands as Young’s twenty ninth studio album and remains arguably his most overtly political work of the 21st century. The project was written and recorded at remarkable speed over just nine days during March and April 2006, reflecting the urgency Young felt at the time.
The catalyst came while Young was visiting his daughter at college in Gambier, Ohio. Seeing a front page photograph in USA Today depicting seriously wounded American soldiers being flown from Iraq profoundly affected him. Young later recalled that the image inspired a burst of songwriting that included Families, Restless Consumer and several other songs that ultimately became Living With War. He has also spoken of the emotional toll the writing process took, recalling breaking down in tears shortly after completing the material.
Musically, Young described the album as “metal folk protest music”, combining the direct political tradition of artists such as Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs with heavy rock instrumentation. At the time, he said he had hoped younger musicians would respond to the political climate through song but felt compelled to do it himself when that did not happen.
The album was nominated for Grammy and Juno Awards and generally received favourable reviews, earning praise for its urgency while also attracting criticism from political opponents before its release. Young consistently rejected suggestions that the album was driven by party politics, arguing instead that it was directed at government policy. He even suggested that removing Bush from office would ultimately benefit Republicans by allowing them to rebuild their political standing.
Living With War also occupies an important place within Young’s catalogue alongside politically engaged recordings such as Ohio and Freedom. Songs from the album were performed during Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s 2006 Freedom Of Speech Tour, with performances later documented on the 2008 live album Déjà Vu Live. Later in 2006, Young also released Living With War: In The Beginning, a stripped back version that removed much of the original orchestration and choir.
By revisiting Let’s Impeach The President through the archive collection, Young demonstrates how protest music can evolve without rewriting history. Instead of changing the lyrics, he has reframed the context, allowing listeners to hear a song written for one presidency through the lens of another. Whether audiences agree with Young’s political perspective or not, the updated presentation reinforces the enduring role of protest music in documenting moments of political division and ensuring those works continue to generate discussion long after their original release.
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