U2’s Bono Fumbles Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’ Lyrics In Sarajevo
U2 frontman Bono’s impromptu, a cappella rendition of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song at the Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia a few weeks ago, has sparked much discussion after the singer appeared to have forgotten some of the lyrics.
Cedella Marley, on Wednesday, posted a brief clip of the Irish rocker’s performance, a song Bono had previously included in his 2020 fan letters to his musical heroes, titled “60 Songs That Saved My Life.”
Yet, when Bono reached the line “We forward in this generation, triumphantly,” he hesitated, murmuring “forever after…” and then trailed off before adding “triumphantly.”
While many commenters cheered the singer, who, incidentally, was tasked with inducting Bob Marley into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, others sought to mock the 63-year-old for the blunder in his rendition.
“Oh Bono…here’s the lyric you forgot. We forward in this generation,” one man quipped, while another rebuked: “He didn’t even know all the words – shame on Bono.”
A particular comment questioned the appropriateness of Bono, a white man, covering a song deeply rooted in the black experience.
“Bob music is eternal ❤️💛💚, but I really don’t think any white man should cover redemption song them words don’t “Relate” to them….plus him na know all de lyrics,” the commenter complained, before being silenced by another who countered: “Bob Marley wouldn’t have cared. He was good friends with Bono. Bono was the opening act a few times at Bob Marley concerts. I am Jamaican, who knew Bob, so I know what I am talking about. For Bob, who was extremely proud of his African roots, it was always One Love One Heart ❤️. Don’t get it twisted”.
Redemption Song, the poignant final track on Uprising, Marley’s final studio album, was released in 1980. It was also the last song Gong recorded before his untimely death from cancer in May 1981, and it is currently certified Gold in the United Kingdom and Italy.
The song, which ranked 66th on Rolling Stone Magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2014, drew inspiration from Jamaica’s first National Hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey. Garvey’s 1938 speech, “The Work That Has Been Done,” contained the lines, “We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind.” These words were beautifully adapted in Marley’s song as: “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds.”
According to Rolling Stone, Bono’s rendition of the Marley track in Sarajevo came during the premier of the Kiss the Future documentary about U2’s long history with the Bosnian city, and “documents aid worker Bill Carter’s efforts to bring U2’s Zoo TV tour to then-war-torn Sarajevo”.
“Following the debut of the Matt Damon and Ben Affleck-produced film, the U2 duo took the stage with the documentary’s crew, and when the mic landed in Bono’s hand, he launched into Redemption Song, the publication noted.
In his description of Redemption Song in his 2020 fan letter to Bob Marley, Bono shared the similarities between the Irish and Jamaicans, which he said connected both nationalities.
“Oh how dear to me are the Marley family… thanks for sharing your father, your man…It’s a tangent and not one that intends to make any parallel between Irish oppression and slavery but I was reminded recently of Irish indentured servants who were sent to the West Indies involuntarily…. begun under Charles I, but done on a grander scale under Oliver Cromwell during the 1650s, initially to Barbados the leeward islands and later to Jamaica where Cromwell used forced migration as a means to repopulate the island,” Bono had shared.
“The Irish do share a few things with Jamaica above our love of rum and our shared lilting accent (especially if you are from Cork and Kerr…). It is surely the mixing of religion and politics and the righteous indignation that seeds a spirit of revolt. The Wailers made rebel music that feels very familiar to Irish ears… and even to English ears like Chris Blackwell who signed Bob to Island Records,” he added.
Continued the singer: “The Marleys did not grow up in Irish town but they hail from Trench Town….7 miles away, named after an Irish immigrant Daniel Power Trench. That lilt is a dead give-away but this rebel music… these songs of freedom belong to anyone who wanted to lose chains of any kind”.
In 2010, Rihanna sang a cover of Redemption Song on The Oprah Winfrey Show and dedicated the performance to those suffering as a result of the earthquake that struck Haiti that year.