Redemption Song

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Album cover of Uprising

"Redemption Song" was the last track on Bob Marley's ninth Island music album, Uprising. Marley was a pioneer in spreading the reggae music of Jamaica throughout the world; however "Redemption Song" is a simple folk song. The opening notes are a variation on "Guns of Navarone", a ska song by The Skatalites which was extemely popular in the 1960's and is marked as a turning point in the evolution of the form.

Unlike most of Bob Marley's tracks, this is strictly a solo acoustic recording, consisting of Marley singing and playing an acoustic guitar, with no accompaniment whatsoever.

At the time he wrote the song, circa 1979, Marley had already been diagnosed with the cancer that was to later take his life, and according to Rita Marley, he was already, secretly, in a lot of pain, and was dealing with his own mortality, a feature which is clearly apparent on the album, and particularly on this song.

The song, like most of Marley's, took on his Rastafarian religious convictions head on, but also urges people to free themselves from their self-imposed mental shackles.

The song has been covered by a wide and varied group of artists, including most notably Lauryn Hill, Arrested Development, U2, Joe Strummer and Johnny Cash (both as a duet and each as a solo), Sinéad O'Connor, Life of Agony, Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews, Majek Fashek, Christy Moore, Ian Brown, Ben Harper, Keller Williams, Sweet Honey in the Rock, No Use for a Name, Chris Cornell, Manfred Mann, Marley's son Ziggy Marley (which features Irish Folk band The Chieftains) and Ms. Dynamite (which she performed at Live 8), which in itself bears testament to the huge fan base Marley had, and also the power of the song itself. At the 'Tribute to Heroes' concert, the concert held after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Wyclef Jean sang the song while draped in an American flag. Perhaps one of the most interesting variations, done by various Jewish youth groups, is coupling of the prayer "Mi Chamocha", which speaks of the exodus from Egypt, with the tune and chorus of "Redemption Song". As well, in the first season of Lost, James "Sawyer" Ford sang the song.

[edit] The Name

The name Redemption Song has been widely used also, mainly in a black, or African American context. For example, 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.