Few writers in the last century achieved the prolific output that Bob Marley did. He released fourteen studio albums in fifteen years, averaging an astonishing one album per year!
Among the amount of great songs he wrote, “Redemption Song” undoubtedly stands out as one of our favorites and a fan favorite in general. This song closes out the 1980 album “Uprising,” which also happens to be his final studio album released during his lifetime.
What sets this song apart is that it was recorded solely with Bob Marley and his acoustic guitar, yet the absence of the Wailers and the reggae vibe isn’t even noticeable.
It’s impossible not to detect a profound sense of sadness when listening to the song, and understandably so, as the Jamaican composer was battling cancer, an illness that would soon claim his life. This was Bob Marley’s last single before his death on May 11, 1981, at the age of 36.
“Redemption Song” Lyrics
Old pirates, yes, they rob I
Sold I to the merchant ships
Minutes after they took I
From the bottomless pit
But my hand was made strong
By the hand of the Almighty
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly
Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
‘Cause all I ever have
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
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
Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
‘Cause all I ever have
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our mind
Whoa! Have no fear for atomic energy
‘Cause none of them-ah can-ah stop-ah the time
How long shall they kill our prophets
While we stand aside and look?
Yes, some say it’s just a part of it
We’ve got to fulfill the book
Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
‘Cause all I ever have
Redemption songs
All I ever have
Redemption songs
These songs of freedom
Songs of freedom
Bob Marley – “Redemption Song”
Source: Genius.com
Songwriters: Bob Marley
Redemption Song lyrics © Universal Music Publishing, Inc.
Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song“: The Lyrics Meaning
This song drew from the works of the civil-rights campaigner Marcus Garvey, who in a 1937 speech said:
“We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind.“
“Redemption Song” is a quiet reinforcement of the joyous uprising that Bob Marley felt was needed and believed, optimistically, that the world sees. It sums up his life and what he stood for in his songs: freedom and redemption. Marley was a very spiritual singer who gave hope to the downtrodden in his native Jamaica, and whose message spread to the United States and all around the globe.
Bob Marley’s Cause of Death
Bob Marley died on May 11, 1981, at the age of 36. The official cause of death was acral lentiginous melanoma, a type of skin cancer that originated under one of his toenails and spread throughout his body. Unfortunately, a dark lesion under a toenail on his right foot was initially misdiagnosed as a bruise from a soccer injury.
Although doctors recommended treatment, Marley opted for alternative treatments. Despite receiving alternative therapies and traditional medical interventions, including a partial amputation of his toe and chemotherapy, the cancer had already metastasized, ultimately leading to his untimely death.
