won’t you help to sing these songs of freedom?
bob marley
songs of freedom are special. passover seders often conclude and singing breaks out. the passover songbook is expansive. there are the classics such as dayenu, chad gad ya, and mee lo eh. american seders have also included the african american spiritual “go down moses.” the song is cemented in passover liturgy.
passover freedom songs tend to speak in the collective. as the exodus involved freeing a people, group freedom is explored and celebrated. group freedom songs fail to touch an individual emotions when confronted with slavery and freedom.
bob marley’s last great piece, “redemption song,” is a song that fills this gap. this barebones’ song captures a slave’s emotions at the moment of captivity. crafted with the words from mr. marcus garvey, mr. marley brings these powerful emotions alive. mr. marley likely knew how great this song and therefore limited the performance to only his voice and an acoustic guitar. with such a great song, who needs more?
the performance’s simplicity is its brilliance. it has been recognized both as an all time rock and political song.
around passover time, “redemption song” is worthy listen. if you have never heard the song before or haven’t heard it lately, take a moment to take and experience the song’s emotionality.
in sum, freedom is both in the collective and in the individual; the emotions from slavery are the same. taking a little time to taste this bitter in a different perspective may shake you. while this song is not quite passover related, sometimes, you need to try to stick a square peg into a round hole.
be well!!
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