| "Exodus" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byBob Marley and the Wailers | ||||
| from the albumExodus | ||||
| B-side | "Exodus" (instrumental version) | |||
| Released | 1977 | |||
| Genre | Reggae fusion[1] | |||
| Length | 7:40 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | Bob Marley | |||
| Bob Marley and the Wailers singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Exodus" is a song written byreggae musicianBob Marley and recorded byBob Marley and the Wailers, for theExodus (1977) album. Released as a single, it reached number 14 on theUK Singles Chart. "Exodus" was Marley's first single to receive widespread airplay on black radio stations in the US, expanding the artist's predominantly white college age and Caribbean expats fanbase in the country.[1]
The song ties together the Biblical story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt to the hope of Rastafarians to be led to freedom. After an assassination attempt in Jamaica in 1976, Marley fled to London where he recorded the song and album of the same name.[2] He had conceived "Exodus" as the album title before even writing the song. The song has a revolutionary theme punctuated by its chorus of "Exodus, movement ofJah people."[3]
Udiscovermusic wrote that the song was "a rippling, surging, seven-minute call to arms for a nation of displaced souls on the march to a new spiritual homeland. 'We know where we're going/We know where we're from/We're leaving Babylon,' Marley sang against a cyclical riff that was turned, like clay on a potter's wheel, to perfection."[4] In a retrospective review of the album, Patricia Maschino ofBillboard wrote that the title track was a "scorching mash-up of funk, reggae and disco, punctuated by blasts of regal horns."[1]
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com bySony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is composed in the key ofA minor with Marley's vocal range spanning from G4 to A5.[5]
| Chart (1977) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[6] | 14 |
| USBubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[7][nb 1] | 3 |
| USR&B (Billboard)[8] | 19 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[9] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[10] | Silver | 250,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
