Listen to this when
Redemption Song
The chains that hold you hardest are sometimes the ones in your own head. Redemption Song, for the days you need to free your mind. 🕊️
Who it's for
Its central idea, adapted from Marcus Garvey's 1937 speech, puts the listener's agency at the centre: the chains that matter most are the ones in your own thinking, and you can loosen them.
Feelings it meets
What it is
The closing track of Bob Marley and the Wailers' 1980 album Uprising, written by Marley and performed by him alone on acoustic guitar, a departure from the band's usual reggae sound. Its central idea, that people must free their own minds, draws on a 1937 speech by Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey, and the song also reflects on mortality and vulnerability.
Where to find it
Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music (widely available).
Before you start
Heads up: Brief references to slavery.
Age: Ages 9+
You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Chapter X
