Ava DuVernay's Selma is perhaps one of the most anticipated films of the year. It's also become much more timely in light of recent events. With the film focused on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches of 1965, it's no surprise that the film will include musical moments that trade in the themes of protest the film features.
Singer John Legend took to Twitter today saying, “50 years since Selma. Still marching. Listen to this song @common and I wrote for @SelmaMovie.” The song, "Glory," is an original song he and Common created for the film. Over dramatic piano and strings, John and Com trade verses about fighting for freedom and equality, and as the song's lyrics build in intensity, so does the music, with a choir eventually joining in and lifting the song nearly into gospel territory. Sadly, though the song is meant to evoke the feeling of the Civil Rights Movement 50 years ago, as John mentioned in his tweet, it clearly speaks to the country's current situation of civil unrest and racial strife.
Selma will march its way into theaters nationwide on Christmas Day. While we wait to see Ava DuVernay's masterful retelling of the Selma story, listen to John and Common's powerful and poignant song.
