Bobby Womack, Someday We’ll All Be Free | COVERS

In the 19^th edition of COVERS (2024), Bobby Womack delivers a compelling rendition of “Someday We’ll All Be Free,” originally performed by Donny Hathaway.

Ah, it’s time to get cozy and totally cover up! In COVERS, we highlight a musician or band covering songs by another musician (likely a popular musician). COVERS focuses solely on the musician who covers, as opposed to the original/most famous performer.  It is open to both established musicians and musicians who may not be as well-known. In the 19^th edition of COVERS (2024), Bobby Womack delivers a compelling rendition of “Someday We’ll All Be Free”, originally performed by Donny Hathaway.  

“Take it from me, someday (someday) Lord said that we’d be free.” Amen! “Someday We’ll All Be Free” appears as the second track on Someday We’ll All Be Free, released by Bobby Womack in 1985.  Compared to the original by the late, great Donny Hathaway, from his 1973 album, Extensions of a Man, the Womack version is significantly slower in tempo. The introduction is prolonged, with the first minute featuring the instrumental.  The sound is lush but updated for a different era – the 1980s.  Early on, there’s a soulful saxophone solo, on-brand for the ‘80s. Post-instrumental, Womack provides spoken word, preceding the melodic lyrics (“You know it’s frightening when you really just have a chance to sit back and just check what’s going on around you”).  He’s reflective about the state of the world against the electronic, ‘adult contemporary R&B’ backdrop.

Nearly two minutes in, Womack begins singing the famous melody (“Hang, hang on to the world as it spins around / Yes sir”).  Notably, he tweaks the melody and lyrics, infusing his soul-isms and ad-libs.  His vocals are commanding, gritty, and filled with nuance.  The authenticity and passion that Hathaway possessed remain intact in Womack’s hands – you buy what he’s selling! Is it a wee bit too slow? A bit draggy? Maybe but at the same time, Bobby intentionally milks this awesome soul classic for everything it’s worth.  He gets the most out of it.  Also, while mental health remains part of the formula, Womack seems to focus on being the best, most upstanding man you can be – don’t compromise it for the world or anybody else. He provides his signature spin, including magnificent, backing response vocals in the final minute-and-a-half.  Bobby Womack shines on this epic cover of “Someday We’ll All Be Free”.

Bobby Womack // Someday We’ll All Be Free // ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. // 1985

Bobby Womack, Someday We’ll All Be Free: Covers No. 19 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner /The Musical Hype; ABKCO Music & Records, Inc.; Andrea Piacquadio, cottonbro studio, MART PRODUCTION, Matteo Milan from Pexels; MR1313, OpenClipart-Vectors, Vicki Hamilton from Pixabay]