Bob Marley Song Analysis

Bob Marley is known globally for countless topics that range from becoming a symbol to the messages he attempts to spread in his songs. Being born in Jamaica, the struggles of his life helped him to realize what his purpose in life was, however, I believe even Bob Marley himself would be slightly shocked at how greatly his music impact the world. Because he was born in 1945, he was able to see the civil rights movement progress and in some cases helped it by integrating his foreign, Rastafarian culture into America’s music market. Bob Marley was also born a couple of months before World War II ended so, in addition, he knew how separated the world actually was, so he tried to encourage messages of peace and positivity for everyone throughout

Several lyrics from some of his songs includes countless Jamaican traits that helped Americas civil rights movement by integrating his Jamaican culture into American culture by using the power of music. The song ‘Buffalo Soldier’ helps Americans visualize how some people in Jamaica looked like, and how they were actually living rather than just an image fictionalized in their heads. The first stanza of the song states that a “Dreadlock Rasta” was ‘stolen from Africa, and brought to America’ which illustrates the struggles and hardships some Jamaicans had to deal with to people that don’t have the resources to see it firsthand. Some lyrics in the song ‘Jammin’ gives context to some of the Rastafarian beliefs that he thought to be true regarding a higher being. In the song, he wrote the lyrics ‘Jah sitteth in Mount Zion and rules all creation’ that informs most Americans, who are typically Christian or Catholic, on a different Religion which allowed people to me more open-minding in controversial topics. The song ‘African Herbsman’ is directed mostly towards the Jamaican people but also allows Americans to get another glimpse on what life over there actually consists of. The song goes, “Can't see the right roads when the streets are paved. The old slave men might grind slow, but it grinds fine, yeah. African herbsman, why linger on?” which demonstrates an excellent example of the lifestyle/occupation that a good portion of the people in Jamaica possess in a way that still reaches people in other countries who are not related to that lifestyle at all. This globally connects Jamaica to the rest of the world and, therefore, meshing their culture with other cultures globally. Last but not least, the song ‘Get up, Stand Up’ motivates people globally not to be oppressed by anyone and