Critical Analysis Of Get Up Stand Up By Bob Marley

Marley was a Rastafarian, a Christian-influenced, personal religion with many subgroups and a loose, flexible set of beliefs revolving mainly around the ritual use of marijuana and the idea that Africa, particularly Eastern Africa, was God’s favored land, referred to by Rastafarians as Zion. Some Rastafarians believe that the last emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I, was the resurrected Jesus

The Rastafari movement is a positive movement that promotes peace amongst all, self-respect, self -awareness, and respect for others.

Get up Stand up was written in 1973 and was written by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh in the group : The Wailers, published in the album : Legend, by Chrysalis One Music (Metrolyrics, n.d). Furthermore, their source of inspiration was mainly influenced by their Jamaican upbringing. In essence, the song is about the fight for acceptance of their Rastafarian religion and the need to take action to avoid oppression. The meaning behind the lyrics can be interpreted as both religious and anti-religious.

Through methodology of close readings of Marley’s musical lyrics and analysis of his life, this study will focus on the different ways Marley’s religious values, political stance, and musical style influenced unity among the two conflicting political parties in Jamaica at the time, the Jamaican Labor Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP). Also, specifically, the influence that his upbringing and his religion had on the formulation of his music and the influence that it had on the world. Robert “Bob” Marley was born in St. Ann, Jamaica on February 6, 1945. Marley was the product of a white father and a black mother. In the famous documentary Marley by Kevin Macdonald, Marley acclaims, “My father was white and my mother was black, they called me half-caste1 or whatever” (Marley 8:00).

It includes the single “I Shot the Sheriff”, which was covered by Eric Clapton and made into a #1 hit in the US; Due to the song's success with Clapton, people sought out to find it’s original singer, thus America was introduced to Bob Marley, The Wailers, and reggae. This record introduces Marley as an artist and shows that for years to come he will use reggae and his music as a platform to communicate his political and personal beliefs. The song “Get Up, Stand Up” speaks to the black generation of the time and tells them to not give up the battle and stand up for their own rights at a time where they needed to hear

The paper discusses how Marley’s music changed society by mainstreaming the ideas of black resistance, social justice, racial equality, and anti-colonialism to the baby-boom generation and generations endlessly onward. The paper will outline the historical background of reggae as well as the social cause to which it became attached by the work of Marley. The paper submits that reggae, ultimately, became the chief means of expressing the angst and dislocation felt by many within the African Diaspora. Finally, the paper will offer a critical analysis of one of Marley’s works, “I Shot the Sheriff”, and will explain why this signature work is a classic instance of reggae speaking out against injustice and the prevailing power structure.

Music usually reflects a countries environment and time of its creation. For centuries, it has been used to send messages throughout the world, and it creates emotions,and feelings regarding the people that listen to it .Bob Marley's song "Get up Stand up " shows that music can be used as a powerful form of protest.This track can inspire a nation and her people. Marley decided to present his protest against the political system ,racism,and social inequality through his music and modified the conventional ideas of reggae style and the religious movement know as Rastafari.

Bob Marley was born in 1945 in Rhoden Hall of Jamaica, after his parent separation he moved to West Kingston with his mother. West Kingston is where the story begins for his love of music, which would have implications all around the world.

“Me only have one ambition, y’know. I only have one thing I really like to see happen. I like to see mankind live together – Black, White, Chinese, everyone- that’s all” (Bob Marley). Bob Marley’s main goal was to bring people together through his music, and influence everyone he could to become a better person. Throughout Bob Marley’s music career, he didn’t know what kind of artist he wanted to be until later in life, and once he knew what kind of artist he wanted to be, he reached out to people and made many people enjoy reggae music and really understand the message in his music, which was not to hate or discriminate because we are all equal.

Bob Marley was born on February 6, 1945 and grew up in a mostly rural community in the mountains called Nine Miles. Many of the residents of Nine Miles acquired customs from their African ancestry such as story telling to share their past and traditions. When Bob was just getting into his teen years he moved from St. Ann to Jamaica’s capital and settled in Kingston vicinity of Trench Town. Trench Town was a low- income community where Bob had to learn to protect himself from men that were not so nice. He was given the nickname “Tuff Gong” from his decent street fighting skills.

Bob Marley is a name most people know but his accomplishments and dedication to music is often overlooked. Bob was more than just a reggae artist, he was an inspiration to the country of Jamaica. He was a role model to the poverty stricken island and gave hope to many people. Bob was born on February 6, 1945 in his grandfather's house. He was the son of a poor farm girl and a British naval Captain. Soon after his birth Bob's father, Norval Marley, left his mother. He remained responsible and provided financial support and occasionally came back to see them. In the 50's a depression hit Jamaica and Bob followed his mother to West Kingston also known as Trenchtown. It was in Trenchtown were Bob's love for music began.

“From the shantytowns of Kingston, Jamaica, to the cobblestones streets of Great Britain, reggae music was a powerful and liberating voice for the poor and oppressed. In the last thirty years, reggae stars Bob Marley, Burning Spear, and Alpha Blondy have sung “redemption” songs- messages of human rights and universal love in a “Babylonian” world of civil unrest, political instability, and economic collapse”(Bays, King, and Foster, 2002, p. XI). Bob Marley was the most famous reggae artist to bring popularity upon the music; selling over 20 million records worldwide. His songs such as “One Love” and “Redemption Song” were inspired by the effects of oppression upon blacks in Jamaica. Marley's persona for unity and peace among people throughout the world was an inspiration for Jamaicans. Most blacks in Jamaica during the 1960s suffered from economic hardships and racial discrimination. This in turn marked the beginning of a religious movement called Rastafarinism where reggae music was an element that distinguished Rastafarians from the rest of society. According to Chang and Chen, British colonial authorities and the local establishment viewed Rastafarians; forthright espousal of black unity and pride, and their unconventional appearance and customs, as threats to the existing social order. (Chang, Chen, 1998. p.26) Reggae music allowed blacks to have pride of their culture and not limited themselves to the demeaning social orders in

Bob Marley was reggae 's best vocalist and musician. He epitomized the soul and spread it gospel to all sides of the globe. His stunning arrangement of work grasped the expressive range of advanced Jamaican music. From ska to rocksteady to reggae. While conveying the music to another level a couple of others changed the musical and social scene as significantly as he. As Robert Palmer wrote in a tribute to Marley upon his impelling into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, "Nobody in rock and roll has left a musical legacy that matters more or one that matters in such principal ways." There 's no doubt that reggae is authentically piece of the bigger society of rock and move, sharing of its full legacy of social strengths and elaborate impacts. In Marley 's own particular words, "Reggae music, soul music, rock music - each melody is a sign." Marley 's own specific imagery got from his convictions as a Rastafarian - a group that respected Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia (a.k.a. Ras Tafari) as a living god who might lead persecuted blacks back to an African country - and his firsthand information of the hardships of the Jamaican ghettos. His verses blended religious otherworldliness with calls for political uprising, and Marley conveyed them in an energetic, declamatory voice.

The first communication concept relates to empathy and empathic communication, both Bob and Ziggy Marley display this throughout their music. Empathy defined by Julia T. Wood, “is the ability to feel with another person, to feel what she or he feels in a situation. Our feelings tend to be guided by our own emotional tendencies and experiences” (78). In the fullest sense, this implies putting yourself into the other person’s shoes, to experience their life, so that you really understand and feel; pain, anger, frustration, joy, spiritual uplift and happiness. Bob Marley is empathetic in nature, he is “someone who appears to speak for the people. It is his music, his life story, his worldview and the way he carries himself -- he seems like an extension of the people and their leader. He seems like a sort of Cultural Senator, a man who represents his people” (Toure 2017). Bob Marley expresses empathy throughout his song “Get Up Stand Up,” by giving us examples of what life was like in the 1960’s in Jamaica. Paying close attention to the words and the connotations associated with those words, we can get an idea to what was going on during that era. From the beginning, reggae was political, as the work of Bob clearly attests. When he chants, “Get up \ Stand up \ Stand up for your rights!” you can feel how important this issue is to him. By translating this one lyric, you can imagine the details of his experiences and the emotions associated with them. The lyrics of this song relates to the struggles and inequality of the society and the harsh realities of a post-independent Jamaica. Nearly the entire song has a political slant to it in some shape or form. The political unrest which was taking place at the time was extremely intense, this song urged people to raise and stand up and fight for their rights and to be proactive.

Like in the earlier years, it can be seen in this story that Christianity was the most dominant and highly accepted religion in Jamaica. Having contrasting beliefs and practices, individuals would be shunned and ostracized. The author illustrates this idea by showing how Darren’s passionate beliefs in Rastafarianism had resulted in him being kicked out of his house. He was told to “never to come back until he had given up that Rasta foolishness.” Today, the Caribbean has become religiously diverse with a tolerance for different