“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds
Have no fear for atomic energy
‘Cause none of them can stop the time
How long shall they kill our prophets
While we stand aside and look? Ooh
Some say it’s just a part of it
We’ve got to fulfill the Book”
More of a solo acoustic folk song than a traditional reggae song, Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” is one of the most essential tunes in the history of music. It was the concluding track of Bob Marley and the Wailers’ 1980 album, Uprising, the final album released before Marley’s death.
U2’s frontman Bono is quoted in the James Henke book Marley Legend: An Illustrated History Of Bob Marley as saying, “I carried Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’ to every meeting I had with a politician, prime minister, or president. It was for me a prophetic utterance, or as Bob would say, ‘the small ax that could fell the big tree.’”
The lyrics rally for unity and freedom and insightfully examine how buying into hateful rhetoric presents barriers to lasting change. It poses necessary questions that need to be answered to achieve lasting freedom.
Along with the more well-known solo acoustic version, a full band version was released as a B-side as well.
“Redemption Song” is now considered a timeless socially conscious standard that has been covered by several artists. One notable version was a duet with Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer, released as part of Cash’s 2003 posthumously released rarity box set Unearthed. It was an apt way to celebrate the lasting legacy of three important artists.