Redemption Song by: Bob Marley

“​Redemption Song​”​ by Bob Marley is a song that has the power to liberate and inspire
anyone stuck in a situation that gives them grief or pain. The song uses works from the bible,
Marcus Garvey, Selassie or some other Rastafarian beliefs. When I was younger my father
would always steer on this rampage about Joseph in the Old Testament of the Bible when we
would listen to this song. If I remember correctly he explained how Joseph although trapped in
pitiful situations like when his brothers wanted to sell him, chose to rise up from the “bottomless
pit”. A place that surrounds him with darkness and emotional distress. It emphasises how this
bottomless pit makes it difficult for one to find a meaning in anything or just carry on with life.
The song is meant to educate or in this case prove to the generation just how powerful the mind
truly is. “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery.” Many have this idea that it was the beating
and torture slaves experienced that caused them suffering, but I don’t believe so. It’s one thing
for a person to be physically abused, but it’s another thing for that person to lay awake asking
themselves why? Why am I the one receiving this punishment? Just the thought of never having
this question answered is what I believed killed them inside. The line about emancipating
yourself from mental slavery is incredibly powerful. It shows that those unable to rip the chains
that cause them to feel trapped in their mind are bound to be enslaved by it. The amount of time
Marley repeated these words shows just strong he feels about the topic. Any Bob Marley fan
would know that he battled with his mental health. He stated that his mental health was affected
because he never felt incontrol of it, which led him to allow others to posses this power over him.
That’s why this song proclaims that no one but the individual has the power to release
themselves from mental slavery, that’s why he always felt controlled. He never believed he
himself had that power.
One of my favorite lines from this song is, “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 books.” I’ve
listened to this song so many times, I didn’t understand the meaning of this line till recently. I
asked my sister and she explained it perfectly. She stated that there were so many influential
people of our time that risked their lives inorder for the next generation to have the right to their
opinion. People like Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, Malcolm X, even Jesus Christ himself
devoted their lives for the sake of humanity, but when they were in trouble and needed our help,
we allowed the white men to have the power to kill them off. Marley is basically asking why is it
that we stand and watch while those people or “prophets” were being murdered just because they
fought against unjust and institutionalized power? I think it’s because we as a whole have lost the
will to think for ourselves. We’ve given the government and even technology this abundant
amount of power, that when we are confronted with real issues we try our best to shy away from
it and our excuse for that is “that’s the government's job”. If we are unable to develop the ability
to use our mind for something great, then we are practically granting someone who does use
their mind the immunity to have authority over us.
War by Edwin Starr
“​War​”​ by Edwin Starr is very self-explanatory. This song was created as a protest of the
Vietnam War. It was one of the first songs to make a political statement, while unraveling the
social problems we face. Starr is trying to put into simple context that war is a pointless action
we do that literally solves nothing. The only thing war is good for is broadcasting the problem
that caused it. We believe that war helps our problems go away, but the truth is it only transforms
those problems into new ones. My brother sees the topic from both sides. He understands that
war only causes bodies to fall, but it also defends us from the evil in the world. He believes that
some situations are unavoidable which in that case, war is a necessity, but I deem his mindset as
foolish. Violence only perpetuates violence. Mankind has preached this pseudo ideology that we
are one and that all the wars we have initiated were a necessity. I find it foul how so many people
lack the ability to smell that B.S from a mile away. If dying for our sweet bred mary Jesus
country brings great praise and proves you are a patriot then I am officially disappointed in
humanity. Starr is explaining that war is powerful, not because it’s been the cause of death for so
many soldiers, but because we’ve surcumed to this illusion that it’s the only way to resolve our
problems. I especially love the line, “War! Friend only to the undertaker”. The biggest issue
with war is it doesn’t take a group of people to start it, all it needs is one person to start it. That
one person never needs the approval of other people because they believe it’s for their best
interest. That’s why war will always be a continuation, especially in this generation. Mankind
uses war as a way to eliminate our problems, but when will people understand that war is the real
enemy of mankind. It doesn’t just kill lives and destroy families, but it also ruins any chance we
have of seeing the good in people or a culture. That’s how we form stereotypes and create
reasons why a certain group of people are “bad”.
One thing I’ve noticed about war is that it’s typically young people who are convinced to
join and they are usually convinced from people who have experienced the aftermath of war
(basically the older generation). The younger generation are usually the ones cleaning up the
devastation left from the older generations. War is absolutely determined by the old, but battled
by the young as stated in the song, but my question is; is there a place where peace, love and
understanding lives? A place where we don’t see each other as a threat, but a nation. I’m not
adaging to the idea of sitting around a dining table and singing kumbaya, but are we really
incapable of that? Starr isn’t trying to offend those who start war or stand alongside those who
do, he’s not even trying to bash the choices of those risk their lives for us, but he is trying to
point out that there must be a more intelligent way to solve our issues. If people are protesting
that war protects our freedom, then what about those who die to protect that freedom? Is their
freedom not as important as ours? I understand that the alternatives always seem more
complicated, but war should never be the answer. I believe we should practice pacifism for a
while and see if it shows more outcomes than war. It is definitely more humane and less unjust
than war, at least to me personally.
Power by Kanye West
The song ​“​Power” by Kanye West is an anthem about how success can make a person
change into something drastically different from how they originally were. Immediately the intro
of the song explains how Kanye believes he is the most influential artist of the 21st century. This
just shows just how powerful money and success are. Kanye describes his life before all the
women, money and fame was an option as pathetic. He was the black kid who wanted to be a
rapper and everyone around laughed at him. They had a good reason for doing so too. There are
so many struggling rappers out there trying to make a living for themselves, but only a hand few
of them can actually say they “made it”. In the song Kanye praises himself for making bank. The
fame and fortune was helped him gain self-confidence and is the reason why many feel
intimidated by him. Many lines from this song are epic, but my all time favorite is, “I guess
every superhero needs his theme music”. This line in is a phenomenal example of the way Kanye
sees himself in the eyes of those around him. One might comprehend this line as Kanye being
self-righteous and a conceited being but that’s exactly what Kanye wants. Like any artist Kanye
understands what the media feeds off. He knows what People find entertaining and like any artist
he is willing to sacrifice his morals and personality to be the talk of the town. That’s how fame
works. C​ontroversy drives engagement and engagement drives revenues. Beefs and micro Beefs
are essential to staying hot​. ​When Kanye says every superhero needs his theme music, who do
you suppose will be the lead of that theme song? His haters; those who bad-mouth and drag his
name to the dirt are the ones he wants to hear sing when he makes more money, received awards
or break records. The more his haters trash talk him, the more fame he will have, which equals
more power over people.
Kanye's experience with power taught him that power is fleeting. You could be the king
for a spec of time and have it all gone because you were overthrown by someone else. It seems
almost as if Kanye is scared by something. “The clock is ticking, I just count the hours. Stop
tripping, I’m tripping off the power”. He’s afraid that one day the clock will stop and he will
have to leave his throne or maybe even forced off of it by white society. It just goes to show how
he is the epitome of the 21st century symble for cookiness. He believes he’s so great that people
are skimming to end his career. Throughout the entire song he refers to himself in third person;
all the fame and fortune has turned him into an egotistical human, but in Kanye's defense, people
made him that way. With all this power he has, he is expected to be revolutionary and perfect.
He had to learn how to mature and become something that people wanted him to be, but along
the way he lost a part of himself. Specially, his inner child. Kanye wa​s caught in events where
his artistic expression was constantly battling with his inner self, but he ignored it because it
meant he would be taken more seriously. By abandoning a part of himself, he is able to hold on
to his power, fortune and fame. This song reminds me of Macbeth because he was constantly
fighting with his inner self when his wife was persuading him to kill the king. He knew it was
wrong, but still did it anyway and in the long run, loss a piece of himself to maintain the power
he stole.