Bob Marley

So, after starting the reading about the Rastafarian ideals, I immediately thought of Bob Marley, and he is even quoted in our textbook. I'm a big fan of reggae, and he and the Wailers are masters and are the face of reggae. It is really hard to chose a song to show here, but I decided on "Exodus,"so here is a video and the lyrics via links-

Sorry, the ability to embed this video was removed, but here is the link to a video of Bob Marley performing "Exodus" live.

Here is a link to a page that has the lyrics to "Exodus"

and just for fun, this a link to Bob Marley's website.

Exodus relates to many of the topics we have been studying, from the original flight out of Egypt, to the pilgrimages to Jerusalem as expressed through the Psalms, to the latest movement from Israel to Ethiopia. Bob Marley sings, "We're leaving Babylon, We're going to our Father land." Depending on who is relating to this, it could mean a multitude of pilgrimages.

From his website, "Bob's story is that of an archetype, which is why it continues to have such a powerful and ever-growing resonance: it embodies political repression, metaphysical and artistic insights, gangland warfare and various periods of mystical wilderness. And his audience continues to widen: to westerners Bob's apocalyptic truths prove inspirational and life-changing; in the Third World his impact goes much further. Not just among Jamaicans, but also the Hopi Indians of New Mexico and the Maoris of New Zealand, in Indonesia and India, and especially in those parts of West Africa from wihch slaves were plucked and taken to the New World, Bob is seen as a redeemer figure returning to lead this."

Bob Marley is not afraid to discuss unsafe topics for modern music. "When you need to refer to a certain situation or crisis, there will always be a Bob Marley song that will relate to it. Bob was a musical prophet." claimed Judy Mowatt of the I-Threes, also found on his website.

If you have never listened to any of his music, you probably should. It is powerful and poignant.