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.
---
/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 fulfill the book.
Won't you have to sing
These songs of freedom? -
'Cause all I ever had:
Redemption songs -
All I ever had:
Redemption songs:
These songs of freedom,
Songs of freedom.
If you find some error in Redemption song Lyrics, would you please submit your corrections to me? Thank You.
Thanks to easyworld_sh@yahoo.com for submitting the lyrics.
Review about Redemption song About the hand/head controversy | Reviewer: tricky2k | 11/11/09
LG, observer and the anonymous reviewer had already explained the historical meaning of that "hand" instead of "head", but there's also a simplest explanation, the lyrical one, thus the repetition of the word "hand" makes the sentence more powerful for the listener. Marley's lyrics are damn good poems, and no doubt Redemption Song is the best one.
guyz who wer arguin earlier saying bob shld hv sayed th ''head'' rather than th ''hand'' so tht it wld make sense, bt to my own opnion n az much az i wld hv loved 2 agree i don think it wld make sense sayin th ''head''. most of u guyz hv taken the literal translation of th e word ''hand'' bt actually if we read inbetween the lines, i think the ''hand'' represents the person as a whole entity. so wat um trying to say iz its the people who were made strong be it mentally, physically or socially by GOD.
Hand and head explanation. | Reviewer: Anonymous | 10/5/09
U guyz don't get it at all...when bob says 'but my hand was made strong by the hand of the almighty'...he means the slaves were touched by the almighty through their faith n got the strength they needed to free themselves from slavery first then fight for their other rights.he couldn't say 'but head my was made strong by the hand of the almighty...' coz at the time he was witnessing the civil rights movement.it wasn't about mind,it was about hand coz men matched and fought physically for their rights.force was used against them so that should give you an idea..this guy was a genius.
This song by the King portrays a strong conviction that, man with all his devices and that of all about him can't beat the time. The will of God prevails always. These lines of wisdom taught me to chase the wind no more.
Need to teach some respect | Reviewer: Anonymous | 3/9/09
sean salvador: Marcus Garvey was never part of the KKK. He conferenced with them and explained that they were the only white people who weren't being hypocrites. He wasn't agreeing with them that the Blacks were inferior. He was agreeing that they are placed behind other races when it comes to rights and privileges.
Also, Haile Selassie I (the proper spelling) was never a king. He was a Duke since Ethiopia was under rule of the British Crown. The name Rastafari comes from the the words "Ras" meaning Head/Duke and "Tafari" being his pre-coronation name.
So before spouting the first thing that comes to mind, check your facts.
Hand vs. head | Reviewer: LG | 2/10/09
One person wrote that it would make more sense if Bob had said "head" was made strong by the hand of the Almighty rather than "hand" was made strong. I think this person wasn't thinking about the historical context in which Bob was writing - slavery was not about the head but the hand - working the fields. It was about surviving - although we might want to be philosophical about it now, there was nothing heady about it then.
bob marley is amazing! end of story! | Reviewer: bob bailey | 12/23/08
since a very young age i listened to tis man and have always liked his stylle and lyrics. but this song is by far on of his best "emancipate yourseves from mental slavery none but ourselves can free our minds" is a brilliant line to sing personaly i think he is a legend and shud live on forever!!
The lyrics(as far as i can tell from listening to this beutiful song) are correct but wonder why Bob chose to sing "hand" twice when it makes more sence if the first one is changed to "head"thus-.
But my head was made strong
By the hand of the Almighty.
Bobs best song? | Reviewer: el-nicko | 9/21/08
The lyrics(as far as i can tell from listening to this beutiful song) are correct but wonder why Bob chose to sing "hand" twice when it makes more sence if the first one is changed to "head"thus-.
But my head was made strong
By the hand of the Almighty.
A Dream for our Times | Reviewer: Anonymous | 7/31/08
I believe to every period in history there are monuments to celebrate great men and to tell generations to come about what took place before them. I also believe that this song is one song that very well summarizes the fights and dreams of those in the 20th century who believed in Humanity. It's a great job by a true prophet of our times.
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