The idea represented in the title—that thoughts are free—was expressed as early as in antiquity and became prominent again in the Middle Ages, when Walther von der Vogelweide (c.1170–1230) wrote: joch sint iedoch gedanke frî ("yet still thoughts are free").
Idéen som titlen repræsenterer — at tanker er frie — blev allerede udtrykt i middelalderen af Walther von der Vogelweide (1170-1230), som sang: "Sind doch Gedanken frei" ("Tanker er bestemt frie").