Bob Marley prophetic song – Redemption song
Bob Marley prophetic song – Redemption song: Bob Marley starts the song by making a reference to Transatlantic Slave Trade, an era in which many africans were taken from their motherland and exported to America to work in plantations as slaves. He refers to the slave traders as ‘old pirates’. Bob Marley also indirectly relates the journey our souls take throught their existence on earth
https://youtu.be/QrY9eHkXTa4
But my hand was made strong
Bu the hand of the Almighty
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly
It was indeed a terrible journey and a harsh destination in which the narrator, Bob Marley, and those like him had no hope of surviving and thriving. But still through a divine intervention he and his people are able to prosper; ‘forward…… triumphantly’. The narrator has strong affirmations that present generation is going to win and overthrow their oppressors
Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
‘Cause all I ever have
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
The narrator is asking his audience to join him in singing the songs of freedom because they give him hope. In singing songs of freedom, he wants to create an illusion where there is no more regret, no more judgement and no need for sorrow.
Bob Marley relates “redemption songs” to “songs of freedom”. And all things considered, the ‘redemption song’ reads like a reference to the Negro spirituals of old which, in their own way, helped carry black people through slavery. Indeed the Bob says that these tunes are ‘all he ever had’. And that further alludes to the notion that they, like his belief in “the Almighty”, are an act of faith. Or stated otherwise he and his people were cast into a position where they had nothing to lean in terms of being optimistic for the future. The only thing they had was their faith, which was often expressed through songs. This faith gave them hope and solace, it was the only thing that kept them going ‘forward…..triumphantly’.
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
The narrator, Bob Marley, starts the second verse with a piece of text taken from a speech entitled The Work that Has been Done, held by Marcus Garvey in the African Orthodox Church of St. Phillip in Sydney, Nova Scotia, in October 1937. From that speech comes the most robust part of Bob Marley’s lyrics “emancipate yourself from mental slavery…” Marcus Garvey was an early-20 century Black leader who lead “the largest mass movement in African-American history”.
He is also recognized as the as the founder of Rastafarianism, the religion which Bob Marley adhered to. Bob Marley’s quote centered on Garvey basically putting the onus on his people to ‘free their own minds’ as they had already been, rather-freshly, freed from physical bondage of slavery. Thus Marley is putting forth a similar idea, that it is up to them to ‘emancipate themselves’ from being held down by a detrimental mode of thinking, which can be further said to have been picked up during the days of slavery. He then goes on to address what was actually a hot topic in popular music during the early-1980s, the prospect of nuclear war.
He knows that most people are utterly and completely powerless in the face of such. But still he is telling them to “have no fear”. He is confident of this because of a prophetic idea that basically reads like ‘what will be will be’. In other words, yes, the leaders of the world may possess the wherewithal to construct world-destroying weapons. But ultimately they are just playing their role in the divine grand scheme of things.
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 fullfil the book
He then issues what would likely be a reference to Martin Luther King (1929-1968), Malcolm X (1925-1965) and other slain Black leaders – as well as perhaps Jesus himself – in terms of them being martyrs. But more to the point Bob, expresses anguish – one may even say disgust – at the idea that in the wake of their killings the people whom they served just “stand aside and look”. He then concludes the verse pointing, once again, to the divine scheme of things. And in that regard he is no longer judging the people for being passive. Rather he more or less concludes that the death of such individuals, as well as the (lack of) reaction of the people, is also the fulfillment of prophecy, so to speak.
Conclusion
To conclude, “Redemption Song” is a prophetic song. Bob Marley composed the song when he was in great pain as a result of cancer diagnosis. He knew he was about to die a time but still hopes that his oppressed people will find complete redemption. He is convinced that one day his oppressed people will truely achieve complete mental freedom and hence physical freedom. His longing for that moment and that is why he is encouraging others to sing along also. Bob Marley was perceived by his fans as a prophet and ‘Redemption song’ helped him earn such a reputation.
