‘Redemption Song’: The classic anthem Bono called a “prophetic utterance”
The idea of music changing the world is why we both love and hate U2. Music might be about taking you away from the troubles going on with the world, but seeing Bono talk about using music for the greater good has made him look like a musical prophet at best and a bumbling buffoon at worst. While Bono has seen fit to chain himself to his soapbox at times and never get down, even he never had the power a songwriter of Bob Marley’s calibre did.
That’s not to say that Bono hasn’t at least made some decent political material in his day. ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ is a brilliant depiction of what the Irish had to deal with on that cold January day, and even though he wasn’t there to see it and got some of the facts wrong, ‘Pride’ is a brilliant tribute to what Martin Luther King Jr brought to this world.
Although Bono never claimed to be the most important person in the world, he always carries himself as someone who demands the same respect as an influential political figure, despite being the same guy who wrote ‘Discotheque’. Marley, on the other hand, was an actual man of the people, and he was going to bring the injustices of Jamaica to the world.
Outside of exposing many passive music fans to reggae for the first time, Marley was always in tune with his faith when talking about how we treat our fellow man. There may have been brilliant odes to living in harmony like ‘Is This Love’ and ‘Jamming,’ but ‘Redemption Song’ remains one of the best songs that he ever produced.
Despite having only an acoustic guitar to guide him along, the lyrics ring true right through to today, talking about the struggles that he faces as an ordinary man, trying to forgive those who wronged him, as well as finding a way to carry on and become a better man after going through hardship.
Even when making grand statements about the world, Bono always kept Marley’s sentiments close to his heart, recalling in Marley Legend, “I carried Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’ to every meeting I had with a politician, prime minister, or president. It was for me a prophetic utterance, or as Bob would say, ‘the small axe that could fell the big tree’”.
It’s not like Marley’s sentiment hasn’t gone out of style in the years since. The world of 2024 is much better than what Marley saw in 1974, for instance, but it’s also a bit worse in some respects, with people being much less tolerant of others who dare not to share the same beliefs as they do. Marley’s not saying that people have to agree in ‘Redemption Song’, though…quite the opposite, in fact.
There’s no way we can create a utopia on Earth, but if we can break down barriers by showing a little respect to our fellow man, we might be able to at least understand that mindset and become better people. Even if these people have wronged you in the past, it’s best to make something better for yourself out of that pain rather than live your life with revenge in your heart.
As much as Bono might try to adopt the same mentality and mannerisms as Marley, the reggae icon always knew how to cut to the chase. A U2 live show might feature moments where Bono drones on about the state of the world, but just a few lines of text from Marley is worth more than a thousand of the U2 frontman’s elongated speeches.
