"Someday We'll All Be Free" is a 1973 song by

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...

from the album ''

Extension of a Man ''Extension of a Man'' is the final studio album released by the R&B/soul singer Donny Hathaway on Atco Records in 1973. The release was his last solo studio album. It is noted for including a young Stanley Clarke of Return to Forever on a co ...

''. The song was released as the flipside to the single "Love, Love, Love." Though the song was only released as an uncharted A-side, it is considered an R&B standard, having been covered by many artists over the years.

Background

The lyric was written by Edward Howard, for and about the mental pain that Hathaway, who was diagnosed with

paranoid schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, hearing voices), delusions, disorganized thinking and behavior, and flat or inappropriate affect. Symptoms develop gradually and typically begin ...

when the song was written, was experiencing at the time. Edward Howard said: Through the years, the song took on a larger role as an anthem of encouragement for the plight of African Americans suffering racial strife, in spite of the fact that the authors original meaning was a personal message to Hathaway relating to his mental health struggles. Donny Hathaway himself particularly loved the song and as Eulalah Hathaway stated: Although the song did not chart, the B-side of the single, "Love, Love Love," peaked at #44 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #16 on the R&B charts

Personnel

– lead vocals, Fender Rhodes electric piano, arrangements *

Cornell Dupree Cornell Luther Dupree (December 19, 1942 – May 8, 2011) was an American jazz fusion and Rhythm and blues, R&B guitarist. He worked at various times with Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis, and Steve Gadd, appeared on ''L ...

– guitar *

David Spinozza David Spinozza (born August 8, 1949) is an American guitarist and producer. He worked with former Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon during the 1970s, and had a long collaboration with singer-songwriter James Taylor, producing T ...

– guitar *Ray Lucas – drums *

Willie Weeks Willie Weeks (born August 5, 1947) is an American bass guitarist. He has gained fame performing with famous musicians in a wide variety of genres. He has been one of the most in-demand session musicians throughout his career. Weeks has also ga ...

– bass *

Marvin Stamm Marvin Louis Stamm (born May 23, 1939) is an American jazz trumpeter. Career Stamm was born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Stamm began on trumpet at age twelve. He attended North Texas State University, where he was a member of the One ...

– trumpet

Covers

Sérgio Mendes Sérgio Santos Mendes (; 11 February 1941 – 5 September 2024) was a Brazilian musician. His career took off with worldwide hits by his band Brasil '66. He released 35 albums and was known for playing bossa nova, often mixed with funk. He ...

on his self-titled 1975 debut for Elektra Records *

Average White Band The Average White Band (also known as AWB) was a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They were best known for their million-selling instrumental track " Pick Up the Pieces", and their alb ...

and Ben E. King on the 1977 album ''Benny and Us'' *

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack ( ; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's ...

covered the song on his 1985 album of the same name *

Regina Belle Regina Belle (born July 17, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter who started her career in the mid-1980s. Known for her singles "Baby Come to Me (Regina Belle song), Baby Come to Me" (1989) and "Make It Like It Was" (1990), Belle is most notabl ...

on her 1989 album ''Stay With Me'' *

James Ingram James Edward Ingram (February 16, 1952 – January 29, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Original Song. After beginning his career ...

on his 1989 album ''It's Real'' *

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

covered the song in the soundtrack for the 1992 film ''

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

'' * Tom Browne on his 1999 compilation album ''R 'N' Browne'' also with Dianne Reeves did as vocals *

Charlie Hunter Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, producer and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays bass line ...

covered this song as a solo instrumental on his self-titled 2000 Blue Note album *

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

during the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon following the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

Take 6 Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received several Grammy Awards as well as D ...

on their 2002 album ''Beautiful World'' (this version is a duet with Hathaway's daughter,

Lalah Hathaway Lalah Hathaway (born December 16, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter and music producer. Credited as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, First Daughter of Soul", she is the first-born daughter of musician and soul singer Donny Hathawa ...

). *

Deniece Williams June Deniece Williams (née Chandler; born June 3, 1950) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great Soul music, soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs "Free (Deniece Williams song), Free", "Silly (song ...

on her 2007 album ''Love, Niecy Style'' *

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...

on his 2009 album ''Songs and Stories'' *

Kirk Whalum Kirk Whalum (born July 11, 1958) is an American R&B and smooth jazz saxophonist and songwriter. Whalum has recorded a series of commercially and critically acclaimed solo studio albums. Along with several film soundtracks, with music ranging fro ...

on his 2010 album ''Everything Is Everything: The Music Of Donny Hathaway'' *

Ben Allison Ben Allison (born November 17, 1966) is an American double bassist, composer, producer, bandleader, educator. In addition to his work as a performer, he co-founded the non-profit Jazz Composers Collective and served as its Artistic Director for ...

on his 2011 album ''Action-Refraction'' *

Cory Henry Cory Alexander Henry (born February 27, 1987) is an American jazz organist, pianist, gospel musician, and producer. A former member of Snarky Puppy, Henry launched his solo artist career in 2018 with ''Art of Love'', his first independent re ...

on his 2012 album ''Gotcha Now Doc'' *

Stéphane Belmondo Stéphane Belmondo (; born July 8, 1967) is a French jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, and drummer. Including recordings made with his brother Lionel Belmondo and Yusef Lateef, he won the best French album category ''(L'Album français de l'année)' ...

on his 2013 album ''Ever After'' *

Bilal __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name), or Belal or Bilel, including a list of people with the name * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad, made calls for prayers * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places * Bi ...

during the Grand Performances series in Los Angeles with the Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble. *

Helen Baylor Helen LaRue Lowe (born January 8, 1954), known professionally as Helen Baylor, is an American singer–songwriter. Early life Born Helen LaRue Lowe in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Baylor is the oldest of seven, she has five brothers and one sister. Baylor ...

covers the song which was used in the season 2 finale of the ''

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

'' episode, "Martin's on the Move", and the song appears during the closing credits of the previous seasons. *

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

sampled the song in the track "Legacy" from his album '' 4:44'' *

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

did a cover of the song with team member Victor Solomon on The Voice Season 20 finale. *

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

sampled Hathaway’s version on a 2022 song he previewed under the title “Censori Overload”.

In popular culture

Hathaway's version was featured in an episode of AMC's '' The Walking Dead'', in the seventh-season finale "

The First Day of the Rest of Your Life ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

", as the character Sasha ingests a cyanide pill. Hathaway's version was also featured in Showtime's ''

The Chi ''The Chi'' ( ) is an American drama television series created by Lena Waithe about life in a neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. In May 2024, the series was renewed for a seventh season which premiered on May 18, 2025. In May 2025, th ...

'', in the second-season finale "The Scorpion and the Frog" (episode #10) as the closing music.

References

{{Aretha Franklin 1973 songs Donny Hathaway songs Songs about depression