| "Redemption Song" | |
|---|---|
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| Single by Bob Marley & the Wailers | |
| from the album Uprising | |
| B-side | One Drop |
| Released | 1980 |
| Genre | Reggae, folk rock, folk |
| Length | 3:49 |
| Label | Island Records/Tuff Gong |
| Writer(s) | Bob Marley |
| Producer | Bob Marley |
"Redemption Song" is the last track on Bob Marley and the Wailers' ninth Island music album, Uprising. The song is considered Marley's seminal work, with lyrics derived from a speech given by the Pan-Africanist orator Marcus Garvey.
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At the time he wrote the song, circa 1979, Bob Marley had been diagnosed with the cancer that later was to take his life. According to Rita Marley, "he was already secretly in a lot of pain and dealt with his own mortality, a feature that is clearly apparent in the album, particularly in this song".[1]
Unlike most of Bob Marley's tracks, it is strictly a solo acoustic recording, consisting of Marley singing and playing an acoustic guitar, without accompaniment. In subsequent live performances, however, a full band is used. A full band rendition of "Redemption Song" was made available as a bonus track on the 2001 reissue of Uprising, as well as being featured on the 2001 compilation One Love: The Very Best of Bob Marley & the Wailers. However, the solo performance remains the take most familiar to listeners.
In 2004, Rolling Stone placed the song at #66 among The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song urges listeners to "Emancipate yourself from mental slavery," because "None but ourselves can free our minds". These lines were taken from a speech given by Marcus Garvey in Nova Scotia during October 1937 and published in his Black Man magazine:[2]
We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind. Mind is your only ruler, sovereign. The man who is not able to develop and use his mind is bound to be the slave of the other man who uses his mind ...[3]
| "Redemption Song" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Rihanna | ||||
| from the album Hope for Haiti Now | ||||
| Released | January 19, 2010 | |||
| Recorded | January 2010 | |||
| Length | 2:49 | |||
| Writer(s) | Bob Marley | |||
| Rihanna singles chronology | ||||
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"Redemption Song" is a charity song by singer Rihanna. It was released for the Hope For Haiti Now campaign in January 2010.
Rihanna originally sang an acoustic version on her 2006 Tour as part of her set list. She re-recorded a new version of the song in 2010. The song was released to the U.S. iTunes Store on January 19, 2010 for a limited time of 48 hours and managed to debut at #81 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4] All profits from the sales of the single will go towards the Help For Haiti campaign.
Rihanna performed the song on The Oprah Winfrey Show on January 20, 2010[5]. She said, "This song for me growing up, many times there was a really difficult situation, I always listened to this song because it was so liberating and even now I listen to it when my back is up against the wall and feel like the people of Haiti need to feel something inspiring."[6][7]
The single debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at Number 81 on downloads alone, on January 27, 2010.
| Chart (2010) | Peak |
|---|---|
| Canadian Hot 100[8] | 82 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[9] | 81 |
| Country | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| United States | January 19, 2010 | Digital download |
| Problems listening to this file? See media help. |
The song has been covered live by a wide and varied group of artists including:
Redemption Song is played during a brief scene in the 2000 film The Beach, and over the closing credits of the 2007 movie I Am Legend. James Ford (Sawyer) sings a few bars on Season 1 Episode 23 Exodus Part I on the television series LOST.
The title Redemption Song has been widely used also, mainly in a black, or African American context. For example, the Ska group Toots & the Maytals recorded a song with the same title. Mike Marqusee's book on Muhammad Ali was called Redemption Song, as was Bertice Berry's book about a book dealer who specialises in African American literature. A biography of Joe Strummer is also called "Redemption Song", as is a book about Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign by Niall Stanage.
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