Free Nelson Mandela (1984)
Nelson Mandela, known in some versions as Free Nelson Mandela, is a song written by British musician Jerry Dammers, and performed by band The Special A.K.A. – with lead vocal by Stan Campbell – released on the single "Nelson Mandela"/"Break Down The Door" in 1984. It was a protest against the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela by the apartheid South African government, and is considered a notable anti apartheid song.[1]
Contents
Key Lyrics
Free Nelson Mandela
Twenty-one years in captivity
Shoes too small to fit his feet
His body abused but his mind is still free
Are you so blind that you cannot see?
I said free Nelson Mandela
I'm begging you, free Nelson Mandela
Pleaded the causes at the ANC
Only one there in a large army
Are you so blind that you cannot see?
Are you so deaf that you cannot hear his plea?
Free Nelson Mandela
I'm begging you, free Nelson Mandela
Twenty-one years in captivity
Are you so blind that you cannot see?
Are you so deaf that you cannot hear?
Are you so dumb that you cannot speak?
I said free Nelson Mandela
I'm begging you, free Nelson Mandela
Free Nelson Mandela
Music
The backing vocals were performed by Molly and Polly Jackson, two girls the band's drummer John Bradbury had "met in a bar in Camden", while the chorus was performed by session singers including Claudia Fontaine and Caron Wheeler, who later went on to appear with Soul II Soul.[2]
Reception
Dammers told the Radio Times: “I knew very little about Mandela until I went to an anti apartheid concert in London in 1983, which gave me the idea for 'Nelson Mandela'. I never knew how much impact the song would have; it was a hit around the world, and it got back into South Africa and was played at sporting events and ANC rallies, it became an anthem.”[3]
At the Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Tribute in London's Hyde Park in June 2008, the song was performed as the show's finale, with Amy Winehouse on lead vocals. However, careful listening to the soundtrack revealed that, instead of "Free Nelson Mandela", she at times sang "Free Blakey, My Fella" (a reference to her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, a former drug dealer imprisoned for assault).[4]
In March 2010, the New Statesman listed it as one of the "Top 20 Political Songs".[5]
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band opened with the song in January 2014, at the Bellville Velodrome in Cape Town, South Africa, in the band's first ever concert in South Africa, which took place just six weeks after Mandela's death. Springsteen later dedicated "We Are Alive" to Mandela.[6]
Reference
- ↑ Nelson Mandela and music: 10 essential anti-apartheid songs. Randall Roberts. 5 December 2013. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- ↑ Jerry Dammers: how I made Free Nelson Mandela. Dave Simpson. 9 December 2013. The Guardian. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- ↑ Nelson Mandela. Song Facts. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- ↑ Savage, Mark. Amy and Blake: Love and turmoil. 21 July 2008. BBc. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- ↑ Thompson, Jennifer. Top 20 Political Songs: Free Nelson Mandela | The Special AKA | 1984. 25 March 2010. New Statesman. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- ↑ 01 26 14 Cape Town South Africa. 26 January 2014. Bruce Springsteen Official Website. Retrieved January 21, 2021.