Redemption Song

Considered one of his seminal works, Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song,’ stands out amongst his other notable creations not just for its deviation from the usual themes of spirituality, love and remembrance that prevail in his earlier and most recognizable works, but also, and more importantly, for the peculiarity of its composition. Interestingly, the song shows no sign of the reggae style that is present in nearly all of his other music. Nor does it feature percussion or any accompaniment; rather, it is a stripped down solo acoustic recording, consisting only of his singing and strumming of an acoustic guitar, largely reminiscent of the sound and style of another Bob: Bob Dylan. Having returned to this song and to his music only now, years after my first listen, this was the first thought that came to my mind. Why did he choose for this song in particular a composition so stripped down and so unlike his usual style? A deeper reading into the song’s words, to which the lack of accompaniment shed an even greater light, may help in answering this question.

Old pirates, yes, they rob I
Sold I to the merchant ships
Minutes after they took I
From the bottomless pit

The opening lyrics to the song, depicted above, are unmistakable in their reference to the abduction of African people into slavery. Robbed of their culture, sovereignty and their families, they were taken from the ‘bottomless pit’- referring to Africa in its entirety and to its abundance of peoples, cultures and resources. He goes on:

But my hand was made strong
By the hand of the Almighty
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly

Marley’s references to God are numerous and scattered throughout his music, but here he makes mention of ‘the Almighty’ to assert the new-found pride and strength that the Black spirit has gained, and is in the process of achieving. It is a line alluding to Black power, endurance and pride, and the progressive strides that they have made in recent times as a result of their own efforts and demonstrations- the end of slavery, and the civil rights movement-, with their final goal being total freedom from subjugation. Then comes the chorus:

Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
Cause all I ever have
Redemption songs
Redemption songs

When he talks of these ‘songs of freedom’, Marley is essentially asking the listener to join his cause; that is, the fight against racism, mental slavery and subjugation, with his goal being the emancipation and redemption of the Black race, and by extension, the emancipation of all those who have been subject to oppression or subjugation of any kind. The ‘songs of freedom,’ I believe, are a reference to this cause- the cause is all ‘I’ (or rather, ‘we’) have. Then come the most eminent lines of the song:

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds!

These lines were, in fact, derived from a speech delivered by Marcus Garvey in Sydney, Nova Scotia in 1937 titled ‘The Work That Has Been Done.’ The exact line from the speech is as follows:

“We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind.”

To understand better what Marley means when he talks about redemption and this concept of mental slavery, one can refer back to the same 1937 speech, from which the following lines (albeit, re-ordered) have been taken:

“God has given you intelligence to take care of you… When God made you He made you the masters of the world, not serfs and slaves, but your mind must be developed intelligently… We are looking for the redemption and the freedom of our homeland.”
“The white man is still doing research work with his mind. It has taken him to the bowels of the earth to extract what nature placed there for him. On that same intelligence he has gone into Heaven.”

In the same way that Garvey sees the potential in the Black race for achieving everything that the white race has, Marley is urging the listener to realize that emancipation is within reach, and can come about through the consciousness of one’s self and one’s circumstance. Mental slavery, according to Marley, is the real obstacle that stands in the way of progress; the fundamental slavery from which one must free oneself.

How long shall they kill our prophets
While we stand aside and look?

The prophets being alluded to in this line are the black prophets involved in the struggle against oppression. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King are two notable examples, both of which who were singled out by the establishment and martyred by assassins, because of the threat they posed to unjust institutionalized power. Marley urges those who are listening to not let their sacrifices go in vain- that we should take up their struggle as our own, rather than passively stand by. Some readings of this line even consider Jesus to be one of the prophets that Marley is referring to.

Yes, some say it’s just a part of it
We’ve got to fulfill the book

I interpreted this line as the acceptance of, and internalization of oppression that some oppressed groups tend to give in to, believing in a divine master plan and a ‘promised’ redemption in the afterlife. It could also be referring to those who remain passive in their own oppression, delaying action until they receive a sign from some divine origin.

The song then goes back into the chorus once more, before ending on the words:

All I ever have
Redemption songs
These songs of freedom
Songs of freedom

The song has since been esteemed as ‘one of the songs that changed the world,’ and over 30 renditions of this song have been recorded since its release in 1980. It’s message of freedom, protest and positive change ring true and relevant to this day, exemplified by its prevalence in, and association with contemporary social movements and campaigns.

“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 song reminded me that freedom always comes with a cost, but for those who would prepare to pay it, maybe ‘emancipation from mental slavery’ would be our reward.”

While writing this, I realized which Bob Dylan song I was reminded of upon hearing Marley’s Redemption Song. It was The Times They Are A-Changin’. Interestingly enough, both songs are about the progressive nature of time and a changing socio-political environment. Released against the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement, Dylan’s song refers consistently to the changing nature of race relations, and the positive change that a new generation is taking upon itself to bring about- the same way that Marley sings about moving forward (triumphantly) in this generation. As hypnotic and sombre as Dylan’s music tends to be, this particular song is hopeful in its allusion to the inevitability of positive change; for Marley, this change is manifest as emancipation and redemption. Both Dylan and Marley, one could say, are prophets of the same message.