Song Analysis 2

        Bob Marley is known for writing peaceful songs about being free and living a happy life. This Jamaican sensation has a soothing and happy voice which makes his songs easily remembered. Bob Marley wrote "Redemption Song" before his death on May 11, 1981. This was perfect for his fans because the song sums up most of how Marley writes. He felt as though he lived free and was happy with what he had. "Redemption Song" contains a few allusions that help prove his point of a whole people being controlled. To him, this was wrong.

      In "Redemption Song", Marley uses allusions from real lifr issues that happen quite a lot. An example of an allusion is when he sings, "Emancipate yourself from mental slavery". This is an allusion because he's referring to "mental slavery" as the government keeping us from our freedom. The government tells everyone how to live our lives and what is okay and what is not okay. Marley's point is that we should be ble to have freedom from that and have our own opinion of the life we'd like to live.

    Another allusion that Marley uses is, "How long shall they kill our prophets, while we stand aside and look?" This is referring to the government and higher powers taking all of our well earned cash. This is a constant problem for the people because they thing that their money is being given to people that don't deserve it. People work had for their money, but they feel as though the government has betrayed them. What he means by sayng "as we stand aside and look" is that even when we are mad about our money being taken away, we just let it happen because we're too scared to stand up for ourselves.

The Redemption Song by Bob Marley

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 all mighty.
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly.
Won't you help me sing
these songs of freedom
Are 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
Oh! Some say it's just a part of it:
We've got to fulfill de book.
Won't you help me sing
these songs of freedom
Are all I ever have:
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
Redemption songs
(Guitar break)
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our mind.
Wo! Have no fear for atomic energy,
'Cause none of them-a can-a stop-a-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 fulfil the book.
Won't you help to sing
These songs of freedom? -
Are all I ever had:
Redemption songs -
All I ever had:
Redemption songs:
These songs of freedom,
Songs of freedom.