Happy Birthday, Bob Marley
1967, the Wailers committed themselves to the Rasta lifestyle (Davis, 62-68), a fact abundantly obvious in many songs from "Rasta Man Chant" to "Jah Live."
Fools sayin' in their heart Rasta your God is dead But I and I know Jah! Jah! Dreaded it shall be dreaded and dread
Bob Marley's commitment to Rastafarianism was such that there have been rumors that his widow, Rita Marley, hopes to rebury him in Ethiopia someday. Whether those rumors are true or not is one thing; they certainly signify the connection between Bob Marley and Ethiopia. The rumors surfaced during the recent month-long celebration of Bob Marley's 60th birthday in Ethiopia.
There is one final connection between Bob Marley and Africa and that is Zimbabwe's Independence Celebration. Zimbabwe was one of the last countries to be freed from colonial domination in Africa. His song, "Zimbabwe," had been an inspiration to the guerrilla soldiers fighting for independence and thus, he was invited to perform at the Independence Celebration on April 18-19, 1980.
Every man gotta right To decide his own destiny And in this judgment There is no partiality So arm in arms, with arms We will fight this little struggle 'Cause that's the only way We can overcome our little trouble
Brother you're right, you're right You're right, you're right, you're so right We gonna fight, we'll have to fight We gonna fight, fight for our rights
Natty dread it ina Zimbabwe Set it up ina Zimbabwe Mash it up ina Zimbabwe Africans a liberate Zimbabwe
Bob Marley died on May 11, 1981. To me, it is tragic that he died just when his message of unity-"one world, one love"-was beginning to resonate around the world. I wonder what he could have done had he lived until he was 60. What would Marley have thought about the fall of communism, the tragedy of one corrupt African leader after another, global terrorism? What songs would he be singing today.
But my boyfriend, Chris, feels differently. "He was a man with a mission," he says. "He had a calling and he had fulfilled it. It was his time to die." Further, he argues that Bob Marley knew he was going to die. "Look at the last song on his last album," he says. That song is "Redemption Song." "He wrote it in the past tense: 'All I ever had, redemption songs/These songs of freedom, songs of freedom.' It was prophetic."
Redemption Song by Bob Marley
Old pirates yes they rob I Sold I to the merchant ships Minutes after they took I from
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