Redemption Song | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: Guitar melody :|| x8
Verse 1
||: G | Em | C G/B | Am :||
Old pirates yes they rob I, sold I to the merchant ships.
Minutes after they took I, from the bottomless pit.
But my hand was made strong, by the hand of the almighty.
| G | Em | C | D |
We forward in this generation, triumphantly.
Chorus 1
| D | G5 | C D5 | G5 |
Won’t you help to sing, these songs of freedom.
| C D5 | Em | C D5 | G5 | C D5 | G5 | C D |
‘Cause all I ever have, redemption songs, redemption songs.
Verse 2
| G5 | Em | C G/B | Am |
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds.
| G | Em | C G/B | D |
Have no fear for atomic energy, ’cause none of them can stop the time.
| G5 | Em | C G/B | Am |
How long shall they kill our prophets, while we stand aside and look?
| G | Em | C G/B | D |
Ooh, some say it’s just a part of it, we’ve got to fulfill the book.
Chorus 2
| D | G5 | C D5 | G5 |
Won’t you help to sing, these songs of freedom.
| C D5 | Em | C D5 | G5 | C D5 | G5 | C D | G | C D |
‘Cause all I ever have, redemption songs, redemption songs, redemption songs.
Guitar break
||: Em | C D5 :|| x4
Verse 3 (same chords as verse 2)
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds.
Have no fear for atomic energy, ’cause none of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets, while we stand aside and look?
Ooh, some say it’s just a part of it, we’ve got to fulfill the book.
Chorus 3
| D | G5 | C D5 | G |
Won’t you help to sing, these songs of freedom.
| C D | Em | C D | G5 |
‘Cause all I ever had, redemption songs.
| C D5 | Em | C D5 | Em |
All I ever had, redemption songs.
| C D5 | G | C D | G | C G/B | Am | Am | Am6 | Am6 |
These songs of freedom, songs of freedom.
Redemption Song Chords: Learn the progressions
Perhaps the ultimate campfire song, Redemption Song is certainly up there with other timeless acoustic guitar classics such as Wish You Were Here and Blowin’ In The Wind.
Using only open-position chords from the key of G, it is one of the best songs for a beginner.
The first verse is just this:
||: G (I) | Em (VI) | C (IV) G/B (I/3) | Am (II) :|| x3
| G (I) | Em (VI) | C (IV) | D (V) |
The Roman Numerals are very common, and perhaps, if they were repeated like this for every verse, maybe Redemption Song wouldn’t have been as great.
The next two verses make a subtle change, like this:
||: G (I) | Em (VI) | C (IV) G/B (I/3) | Am (II) |
| G (I) | Em (VI) | C (IV) G/B (I/3) | D (V) :||
The choruses also change, here’s the first one:
| D (V) | G5 (I) | C (IV) D5 (V) | G5 (I) |
| C (IV) D5 (V) | Em (VI) | C (IV) D5 (V) |
| G5 (I) | C (IV) D5 (V) | G5 (I) | C (IV) D (V) |
The next choruses are different and I feel the best way to understand them is to look at the arrangement of Redemption Song using chords and lyrics (as above).
I say this as the chords follow the lyrics, if you know them, the chords will seem obvious.
In the guitar break, we go between VI – IV – V, that’s Em – C – D.
Putting all this into a chord chart can get very complicated. Even though the chords are seemingly simple, the way they repeat in different ways can become an intimidating-looking chart.
My solution is to break it up into two pages, and leave space between each section, like this:
Redemption Song Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
As you can see above, I’ve included all sections but left space between them so it’s easy to read. This meant the chart became two pages, I felt this was the best compromise.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Redemption Song Chord Chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file (page 1): Redemption Song iReal Pro, and here’s page 2: Redemption Song iReal Pro.
Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key and tweak the arrangement should you want to.
In the course, we look at TAB and play along to loops to learn Redemption Song in extreme depth, below is a preview of the seemingly simple intro.
Redemption Song TAB | Course Preview
In the video at the top of this page, you’ll see me play Redemption Song with a singer, including the famous intro and all the chords.
There are also two more videos in that playlist with 2nd guitar parts.
In the course, we go through all sections of Redemption Song using play-along loops for the main guitar, as well as the 2nd guitars.
In the TAB loop video above, you can start learning how to play the intro by reading the TAB and playing along.
In the Beginner Acoustic Course, we next look at strumming the verse. I then keep a more free approach where only the chords and rhythms are provided, no TAB.
Here’s that intro TAB as an image, notice how much detail there is in this seemingly simple part!
Next up in the lesson series, we work on the chorus, how the following verses are varied, the m8 and the outro. All these sections are diatonic, meaning we never go outside the key.
As these are all sections of Redemption Song, we are in step 3 ready to play the song with the singer.
For the remaining steps in the series, we learn a 2nd guitar part, picked instead of strummed. There is also a third version where I play using a capo.
You can check these 2nd guitar parts out already now in the playlist at the top of the page.
In the course, you get loops to practice with and detailed video lessons where I talk about how to strum every chord you find in Redemption Song.
Learning the 2nd guitar parts means that you, me, and the singer can play Redemption Song together as if we were an acoustic trio. This is a great introduction for you to experience playing with other people.
Here’s a link to the 8 step-by-step guitar lessons: Redemption Song – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
When Bob wrote Redemption Song he knew he was dying!
Redemption Song is a tune by Bob Marley from the album Uprising. The original and most famous recording was performed on just one acoustic guitar.
However, there are other versions, both live and in the studio, with and without a band. When Uprising was re-released in ’01, the full band version was featured as well as the original acoustic take.
When Bob wrote Redemption Song in ’79, he already knew about his cancer and was dealing with his mortality. How much this affected the meaning of the song might be dangerous waters to explore but there is usually a strong connection between timeless songs and great loss.
The lyrics have a connection with a speech by Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr, an African journalist, black nationalist, and a main figure in the Rastafarian movement. Garvey and Marley shared an interest in fighting issues such as slavery, colonialism, and racism.
Pan-Africanism has hundreds of years of oppression behind it. Redemption Song speaks about this like no other tune.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked Redemption Song #66 on their list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Redemption Song Chords | Related Pages
Redemption Song | 8 Step-by-step Guitar Lessons + TAB
To learn how to play Redemption Song by Bob Marley, we first study the individual parts using play-along loops, including how to play the intro note for note.
Once you’ve learned how to play the complete song, we develop a 2nd and even a 3rd part and play Redemption Song together.
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
Bob Marley tunes
Bob Marley was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, guitarist, and activist. Few artists have had such widespread recognition.
As the most widely known performer of reggae music, Bob Marley is also regarded by many as a prophet of the Rastafarian religion.
Bob Marley on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Redemption Song chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
