Now sanctioned by its singer for use in presidential contender VP Kamala Harris‘s campaign, “Freedom” by Beyoncé leads today’s list of freedom songs.
I. “Freedom” by Beyoncé, featuring Kendrick Lamar (2016)
FreedomFreedomI can’t moveFreedom, cut me looseSingin’, freedom! Freedom! Where are you?‘Cause I need freedom, tooI break chains all by myselfWon’t let my freedom rot in hellHey! I’ma keep running‘Cause a winner don’t quit on themselves…
II. “Redemption Song” by Bob Marley and the Wailers (1979)
Jim Beviglia, AmericanSongwriter.com: “As the song progresses, Marley turns his gaze outward to his adoring fans and gives them some words of advice. To do this, he borrows from a speech by noted orator Marcus Garvey, whose views on uniting all those of African descent were a strong influence on Rastafarian principles. ‘Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery/ None but ourselves can free our mind,’ he paraphrases Garvey, suggesting that those he is addressing have the means within them to break free from any figurative bonds.”
Verse Three:
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our mind
Whoa! Have no fear for atomic energy
‘Cause none of them-ah can-ah stop-ah 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
[Chorus]
Won’t you help to sing
These songs of freedom?
‘Cause all I ever have
Redemption songs
The same song as covered by Jesuton, who is described in her personal bio: “Growing up in east London, Rachel JESUTON Olaolu Amosu, was always a divided soul in search for her place in the world. Born to a Jamaican mother and a Nigerian father, she immersed herself in the multicultural influences of her hometown, later feeding a love for Latin America as an undergraduate at Oxford University.”
III. “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke (1964), as covered by Brian Owens and his father Thomas Owens in more contemporary times:
As stirringly covered by Jennifer Hudson in 2020:
“…’Change’ has grown into an anthem of the civil rights movement, an epitaph for a great performer, and an iconic piece of music. Few works have been as eloquent in their depiction of triumph over adversity…” (David Freeland, AmericanSongwriter.com):
