Cedella Marley was at the age of eighteen when she gave birth to Robert (Bob) Nesta Marley on February 6th, 1945. He spent his early life in a rural community known as the Nine Miles, which was located in mountain terrain in St. Ann. Nine Miles preserved the African ancestry; such as the art storytelling. These stories had a great influence on Marley; they set a path for deep cultural context and mysticism to his songwriting he would do later in life. Bob Marley’s father, Norval, financially supported his son but the last time they saw each other was when Bob was five years old. In 1950, Bob was in his teens, he returned to western Kingston and settled in Trench Town. Trench Town was filled with squatters and government yard developments that …show more content…
Even though Marley passed in 1981 his songs of love, peace and protest still remain popular. The American entertainment media brand, Billboard, posted the top ten greatest protest songs by Bob Marley. We are going to look at five of them; “Simmer Down”, “Get up, Stand up”, “I Shot the Sherriff”, “Concrete Jungle”, and “Redemption Song”.
Simmer Down was released in 1972, in any period it takes a lot of courage to call out your peers but this is exactly what Marley and The Wailers did. In Simmer Down their lyrics were aimed at their not so good peers in Jamaica, “Simmer down, control my temper Simmer down, the battle will be hotter”, the artists are asking the men of Jamaica to end all the violent crime occurring in the capital.
“Most people think Great God will come from the skies Take away everything And make everybody feel high But if you know what life is worth You will look for yours on earth”; Get Up, Stand up was written by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, this song was influenced by their upbringing in Jamaica where they had to fight for the acceptance and respect of their Rastafarian culture, they are telling people to stand up and never stop fighting for what they
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This song was Marley’s way of showing his legacy in just two hundred words. This song shows a little history on slavery; “Old pirates, yes, they rob I; Sold I to the merchant ships”, “We forward in this generation Triumphantly.”, this line is suggesting to the abolition of slavery. The most powerful line in this song being, “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; None but ourselves can free our minds.”; you may not have the chains around your ankles anymore but to be truly free you must not allow people to dictate what you think, say, or feel. This song is Marley telling his audience to learn and prosper from their past and always continue fighting for your rights and your
The way he used nature in his everyday life and he didn't need much to keep him happy. He could let others see the world through his nonconformist ways through song. He was just happy to be living the life he was given without a worry in the world. That's why I think Bob Marley fits into the Transcendental concepts of nonconformity, simplified Life, and importance of nature. Although he started off Christian I think Rastafarian made him into the man he was. I can't imagine what kind of things he would've done if he didn't die at such an early age can
Robert Nesta Marley, musically known as Bob Marley is Reggae’s most iconic and transcendent figure, “Get up, Stand up,” is a song that demonstrates elements of transcendentalism. The song explains about how people should not live their lives expecting to go to heaven after dying. Rather, they should have a purpose in their lives. The song also talks about how people should stand up for their morals and follow what they believe rather than believing others. Bob Marley chose to encourage people to depend on their beliefs and not let others to negatively interfere with their lives. The song also criticizes religious hypocrisy and instructs listeners to make their own choices.
Reggae music is a meaningful channel for social change. Reggae music portrays resistance to oppression, it is a symbolic action, part of a nonviolent revolution. It is a type of rhetoric; a method of communication designed to influence and persuade. It is a message with a purpose, it represents a crystallization of fundamental issues. Reggae music asks the listener to reconsider our daily lives and to hear the cry of the sufferer, because so many people are suffering. The lyrics and music of Robert Nesta Marley gave reggae music international recognition. Bob was a charismatic performer who truly stands out as a prophet. There is clearly a prophetic overtone to his lyrics yet he was only given the prophetic status after he died. His lyrics operate on a deep level, yet they typically relate to everyday occurrences. Bob's music was and is a powerful force to ease the pain of life in the ghetto. He embodied a feeling of empowerment, and encourages all listeners to 'chant down Babylon'.
Gilmore, Mikal "The Life and Times of Bob Marley" Rolling Stone Magazine. March 10, 2005.
First, Bob Marley writes, Concrete Jungle, he means that he lived in an overcrowded, unsafe and/or crime-ridden urban environment or city, characterized by the congestion of large buildings and roads. Since he lived in a hard life in Jamaica, he wrote about in song form. Secondly, he wrote “ I know I am bound here in captivity” This means that he has no freedom and does not know where to go. Lastly, He wrote about picking himself
The Life of Bob Marley While reading Catch a Fire I discovered many things about Bob Marley and his spiritual influence on the world. Not only just making records, Marley spoke to his people through his songs and took advantage of the opportunities given to him as a musician. Born on February 6, 1945, Robert Nesta Marley grew up in a small village in Jamaica called Nine Miles, where he would shape his personality and early beliefs. His father Norval Marley, a white Jamaican and a Captain in the Army, would also become inspirational to young Bob. When Bob was only 16 he produced his first record in Kingston, and in 1963 the original Wailers were formed, a group consisting of Bob Marley, Bunny Livingstone and Peter Tosh.
Exodus is a CD released by Bob Marley and the Wailers in 1977. This was the first album written in London after Bob Marley and his wife Rita were almost murdered in Jamaica. This is one of my favorite albums because Bob Marley is extremely relaxing to listen to with his complex rhythms. His music incorporates collaborations of multiple types of music like reggae, blues, pop, soul, and more. “One Love” by Bob Marley debuted on this album and became one of his most well known songs. The lyrics from this song inspired me and many others. Time magazine named Exodus the best album of the 20th century. More than half of this album was charged with religious politics. It was filled with moral messages for not
In 1977, Bob Marley's lyrics reflected the ideology of Rastafarianism, defined by the New Dictionary of Religions as, "A variety of dynamic movements in Jamaica . . . since the 1930s among the poor landless men, inspired by Marcus Garvey’s Back to Africa movement and the accession of Ras Tafari as emperor of Ethiopia" (Rastafarian). But the Rastafarians are much more than "poor landless men". They are an oppressed people who in the1930s found themselves in a hopeless situation. It was this hopeless situation that readied the minds and hearts of the Rastafarians to look beyond their lives in Jamaica.
Whereas, Wheatley who shares her “actual” experience of being kidnapped from her native lane. Although these two artists have similar view points, they interpret different concepts that separate the two. While listening to Redemption , Marley mentioned "But my hand was made strong, by the hand of the almighty, we forward in this generation, triumphantly" from those few quotes Marley obviously believes that through all the pain and agony of slaves, his generation will be able to create a difference. Next, “Old pirates, yes they rob I, sold I to the merchant ships” refers to the slave traders who robbed the Africans by selling them into slavery, So him using “I” is referring to the whole African nation. Marley also talks about the importance of escaping mental emancipation . Break through the mind set that we as African Americans are worthless and understand our power as a nation and the difference we could
Bob Marley was never taught how to sing he simply had a generous voice that was lovely to hear. In his voice there are many timbres that add to the style of the song. He uses different dynamics in his voice to enhance soulful vocals. The piece is written in 4/4 times, but his voice is largo therefore the piece is extended to be an ample amount of time. The key signature is D major containing F Sharp and C Sharp this is important because F comes between beats 2 and 3 during the chorus, this is recognized as offbeat syncopation. It was impressing to find the use of a coda. The coda is commonly found in classical music but can be seen on other genres of music. The connection that is seen through the elements of music was a remarkable observation for me. Bob Marley pioneered the development of reggae, a highly syncopated musical style that take influences from horn parts of American rhythm and Blues as well as funky electric bass guitars that embodies a Caribbean beat at the same time. It is my view that Bob Marley intended for his music to have a message of unity symbolized by the simplistic sounds yet, but the complicated underlying patterns and beats to his work symbolize the controversies the social and political
He believed that, you could cure racism and hate by injecting music and love into people's lives, so he decided to engender a concert titled the, One Love Peace Concert. Bob Marley sang songs such as, One Love and Jammin, to encourage peace among the audience. So during Jammin to stop the disparage that was happening between the two politicians, who had very strong disdains for each other, Bob formed a peaceful handshake between them to show everyone that we should all, “get together and feel alright,” (Marley 2). Bob was a very altruistic person, caring about how everyone should have peace, and during the handshake a superfluous amount a people cheered and started singing with the band, and it put a really big smile across him and the Wailers
Bob Marley expresses his belief that music is a message and route to freedom in the song “Trench town.”
Marley was born into Jamaica’s poverty and it is where he developed a strong love of reggae and became a Rastafari. Reggae, evolved from another musical style called Ska in the late 1960’s, is considered the voice of the ‘oppressed’ peoples. Many reggae lyrics are politicalised and centre on themes of freedom and fighting for it. (Cooper, 2014)
Funkmaster George Clinton once said that Bob Marley "was one of those people who wasn't on anybody's side in particular. He was on everybody's side. And that's scary to the system." Bob told us to "open your minds and look within; are you satisfied with the life you're living?" He urged us to wake up, to arise from our sleep and slumber, as there's work to be done. And that, too, is scary for the system.
King, Stephen; Jensen, Richard,(1995) Bob Marley's "Redemption Song": The rhetoric of reggae and Rastafari Journal of Popular Culture 29.3