Sunday, February 06, 2005
I would like to start off today with a quote that goes like this:
That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned;
That until there are no longer first-class and second class citizens of any nation;
That until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes;
That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race;
That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained...
Do you know where I got the quote from?
If you guessed Emperor
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia’s
speech to the United Nation in 1963, you are correct. However, if you guessed Bob Marley you are also correct as the words were popularized in a song called War by him. Bob Marley would have been 60 today; I would like to dedicate this blog to honor a great musician whose music I have come to love. To find out more about the music, life, and convictions of Bob Marley, I did a search in Wikipedia and found this "must-read" article about
Bob Marley. Here are some interesting facts I have found about Bob Marley:
- Bob Marley and I share the same birthday - Feb 6th.
- Bob Marley was a devoted Rastafarian. His actions and lyrics about Rastafarianism have been intentional to bring the religion to world attention. For instance, the association with Haile Selassie was no coincidence.
Rastafarianism takes its name from Ras (Prince or Duke) Tafari Makonnen, Haile Selassie's name until he was crowned emperor of Ethiopia in 1930. The faith predicted that a new king with the power of God would rise out of Africa. There are many Rasta terms that are used regularly in Bob Marley’s songs, including Babylon that refers to the white patriarchy that has been oppressing the black race for centuries through economic and physical slavery; I and I is a complex term that referes to the oneness of Jah (God) and every human; Zion refers to either Ethiopia or the whole continent of Africa. Read here for more information on Rastafarianism - If you haven't noticed, the colors of Rastafarianism is the same as the colors of the flag of Ethiopia
- Finally, Redemption Song is my favorite Bob Marley song, but I have never fully understand the meaning of the song until I searched the Internet for more information. Do you know that Redemption Song was the last track on Bob Marley's final album, Uprising. It was also the last song performed at Marley's final concert. Redemption Song has a spiritual message and is devoid of any Reggae tone (in fact, the only Bob Marley song that is not reggae). The spiritual theme of the song was probably the result of his struggle with cancer. When Bob writing this song in 1979, he was already in a lot of pain from the cancer he was diagnosed earlier. Redemption Song is about his struggle with cancer and his dealing with his mortality. In the song, he urges people that true freedom is only attained by freeing themselves from their self-imposed mental shackles, as clearly shown in this line of the song - "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery". As a metaphor, this song decries racism and celebrates freedom from oppression.
Source: Wikipedia