EXTRACT FROM SONGS OF FREEDOM:THE MUSIC OF BOB MARLEY AS
TRANSFORMATIVE EDUCATION by W. Alan Smith, Ph.D.
African slaves who were brought to Jamaica brought with them a distinctively African approach to music. The Maroons, who settled in the mountainous interior of Jamaica as essentially a sub-culture of runaway slaves who resisted the White culture and its oppression, maintained their African identities through the music of their homeland and well as their religious practices.
John Miller Chernoff explains that African music is distinct from Western styles of music in several ways. First, Western music is centered on melody and intervals between notes, with the rhythm serving to link the notes together. (Chernoff 1979, 225) As he states, “In Western music, then rhythm is most definitely secondary in emphasis and complexity to harmony and melody. It is the progression of sound through a series of chords or tones that we recognize as beautiful.” (226) African music reverses those emphases to place rhythm in the primary position of emphasis, with melody taking secondary importance. In African cultures, as well as Afro-Jamaican cultures, the drum provided the heartbeat of society as well as the ground of music.
A . J . Smith’s thesis mentioned drumming and dance as two of the most prominent elements of the African world-view, including the African religious world view. (A.J. Smith 1997, 22- 3) The drumbeat served as a form of communication for the community, but it also connected the music to the internal rhythms of the heartbeat and the rhythm of breathing as well as the “Natural Mystic” of the land. African music most frequently has at least two different rhythms going on at once, as opposed to Western music which tends to have one dominant rhythm accompanying and enhancing the melody and harmony (thus Western music speaks of “syncopation” to refer to those rhythms that differ from the “norm” of regularity in rhythmic structure.) The multiple rhythms that characterize African music begin the “call and response” character we identify with this musical tradition. One instrument or one drum offers a rhythmic statement, to which another instrument, drum or voice responds with its own counter-statement. African music is clearly untended as a conversation among those making the music. (Chernoff 1979, 227)
It is difficult to determine a solo voice in traditional African music. The call-and-response, conversational nature provides a setting for, and encouragement of improvisation on behalf of the various musicians and voices performing it. (228) A.J. Smith quotes Peter Paris, who states that the power of Black music is its ability to deviate from the constraints of Western, Euro-centric music and to give expression to the inherently sacred expression of the inner spirit. She states, once again presenting Paris’ claims, “The African legacy of call-and-response, polyrhythms, rhythmic counterpoints, melodic and harmonic sophistication, and slurred and flat notes speak the special language of Soul.” (A.J. Smith 1997, 18) Likewise, reggae music is a musical form that is dominated by the bass and the drums, rather than the guitar solo (the most prominent role for the guitar is a strumming, rhythm guitar, almost always played on the up-beat, rather than the down-beat of a song) or even the voice of the singer. […] The bass provides the main beat and the major melody of the song, with emphasis on beats one and three, while the drums counter with a heavy bass drum beat on two and four (the “one drop” that characterizes reggae music) and rim shots and use of the cymbals to drive along another rhythm that syncopates and improvises around beats one and three. The guitar plays a double stroke on the up - beats of two and four, while the voices provide yet another rhythmic statement. The tempo is not rushed, but rather laid-back and comfortable, which contrasts with the content of the lyrics, which contain a plea for action toward freedom and justice.
Reggae is music of resistance and defies the world-view of “Babylon.” It is intended to share the experience of suffering of the poor of Jamaica and the Third World and to call the “sufferahs” to solidarity with each other in the struggle for freedom, which Marley believed was the will of Jah.
[…]
Contrasts Between Music and Lyrics
One striking element of Marley’s music is that virtually all of his songs have an upbeat, happy, bouncy feel to them. When listening to his reggae one gets the feeling that God is in heaven and all is right with the world. The phrase, “No problems, mon” comes immediately to mind. It is easy to smile and nod when listening to the musical statements of his songs and to be caught up in the sheer “listenability” of the music. But when one pays attention to the lyrics of those same bouncy, happy songs, one is struck by the militancy, the calls to action, and the consistent call for justice one finds in those same seemingly benign songs. This is not happy-go-lucky, pot-induced, “safe” music; it is transformative pedagogy, intended to engage the people to take action against all forms of oppression and injustice. The primary audience for reggae was originally the residents of Jamaica’s most desperate communities , and Marley’s music became a clarion call to stand up and fight for their freedom and for their rights. One major difference between reggae and both ska and rocksteady was that the earlier musical forms tended to limit themselves to commentary on local and community-based issues, like gang warfare in the “yards” or upon “love and sex” themes. Reggae deals more intentionally with universal themes like justice, African unity, and the spiritual life celebrating the presence of Jah.
Marley’s slow musical “shuffle” is intended to tone down the often militant, incendiary content of his lyrics to achieve a kind of musical balance that one finds missing in a contemporary form of resistance music like “gangsta rap.” Reggae does not only encourage resistance lyrically; the contrast between its musical approach and its lyrical content is an intentional choice of resisting the conventions of popular musical forms.
Even as seemingly innocent a song as “Jammin’” which has become such a popular dance tune and party song over the years states “No bullet can stop us now,” with its note of defiance in the face of death. It is no accident that this was the song he was performing at the “One Love Peace Concert” in 1978 when he called the contentious leaders of Jamaica’s two major political parties on stage and forced them to join hands in a sign of unity. (McCann and Hawke 2004, 80) This performance combined the entertainment value of the tune itself with a faith in Jah, a call for personal responsibility and self-development, and an overt act of political activism.
Time magazine declared Exodus the album of the century and praised it for “drawing inspiration from the Third World and then giving voice to it the world over.” (McCann and Hawke 2004, 82) The central theme of the song is the end of the suffering of all Jah’s people. It draws on the image of Israel’s Exodus story and the formative power of that event in the life of Israel. The repeating line in the song is “Exodus, movement of Jah people. Move! Move! Move! Move!” Marley calls for Jah to send another Moses to lead the people across the Red Sea, and for Jah to “come break down ‘pression, rule equality, wipe away transgression, set the captives free.” As Gregory K. Stephens claims, “The return to Africa, in Marley’s vision, represented not a quest for racial purity, but a return to a more humane philosophy. Africa was Marley’s utopian horizon: a place to escape from the ‘atomic misphilosophy’ of the ‘Babylon system’ and a model of a sustainable way of life structured upon ‘earth rhythms.’”(Stephens 1996, 296) A part of Marley’s message, here as in other songs, is that it is incumbent upon his audience to become engaged in the movement of peace, love, freedom, and unity. He is challenging his hearers to become involved in the movement back to a metaphorical Ethiopia, if not a literal one. He drew upon his own experience of exile to create a vision of a return to the Promised Land of Zion for all “Jah people.”
“Natural Mystic”
Kwame Dawes says “Natural Mystic” is “a song that gains its mysterious edge both from the way the music snakes up on us and from the lyrical insistence that what is happening around us is something deeply mystical.” (Dawes 2002, 192) Dawes continues his discussion of the song, saying it “represents what I have now come to call the essence of the reggae aesthetic, or at least how it was explored by Marley...The mystic was that which could not be explained easily by man, and the mystic was largely locked in the natural order of the universe.” (194) According to Worth, Marley’s line: “there’s a natural mystic blowing through the air, can’t keep them down; if you listen carefully now you will hear” indicates that mystic knowledge is “ancient and enigmatic knowledge, the knowledge of Jah.” (Worth 1995, 77) One does not need the kind of intellectual, rational knowledge that characterizes Western philosophy and religion; one needs only to “listen” carefully to the kind of communication that is available only to those “with ears to hear.” One clearly does not need dogmas, “isms and schisms;” one needs to know Jah.
African slaves who were brought to Jamaica brought with them a distinctively African approach to music. The Maroons, who settled in the mountainous interior of Jamaica as essentially a sub-culture of runaway slaves who resisted the White culture and its oppression, maintained their African identities through the music of their homeland and well as their religious practices.
John Miller Chernoff explains that African music is distinct from Western styles of music in several ways. First, Western music is centered on melody and intervals between notes, with the rhythm serving to link the notes together. (Chernoff 1979, 225) As he states, “In Western music, then rhythm is most definitely secondary in emphasis and complexity to harmony and melody. It is the progression of sound through a series of chords or tones that we recognize as beautiful.” (226) African music reverses those emphases to place rhythm in the primary position of emphasis, with melody taking secondary importance. In African cultures, as well as Afro-Jamaican cultures, the drum provided the heartbeat of society as well as the ground of music.
A . J . Smith’s thesis mentioned drumming and dance as two of the most prominent elements of the African world-view, including the African religious world view. (A.J. Smith 1997, 22- 3) The drumbeat served as a form of communication for the community, but it also connected the music to the internal rhythms of the heartbeat and the rhythm of breathing as well as the “Natural Mystic” of the land. African music most frequently has at least two different rhythms going on at once, as opposed to Western music which tends to have one dominant rhythm accompanying and enhancing the melody and harmony (thus Western music speaks of “syncopation” to refer to those rhythms that differ from the “norm” of regularity in rhythmic structure.) The multiple rhythms that characterize African music begin the “call and response” character we identify with this musical tradition. One instrument or one drum offers a rhythmic statement, to which another instrument, drum or voice responds with its own counter-statement. African music is clearly untended as a conversation among those making the music. (Chernoff 1979, 227)
It is difficult to determine a solo voice in traditional African music. The call-and-response, conversational nature provides a setting for, and encouragement of improvisation on behalf of the various musicians and voices performing it. (228) A.J. Smith quotes Peter Paris, who states that the power of Black music is its ability to deviate from the constraints of Western, Euro-centric music and to give expression to the inherently sacred expression of the inner spirit. She states, once again presenting Paris’ claims, “The African legacy of call-and-response, polyrhythms, rhythmic counterpoints, melodic and harmonic sophistication, and slurred and flat notes speak the special language of Soul.” (A.J. Smith 1997, 18) Likewise, reggae music is a musical form that is dominated by the bass and the drums, rather than the guitar solo (the most prominent role for the guitar is a strumming, rhythm guitar, almost always played on the up-beat, rather than the down-beat of a song) or even the voice of the singer. […] The bass provides the main beat and the major melody of the song, with emphasis on beats one and three, while the drums counter with a heavy bass drum beat on two and four (the “one drop” that characterizes reggae music) and rim shots and use of the cymbals to drive along another rhythm that syncopates and improvises around beats one and three. The guitar plays a double stroke on the up - beats of two and four, while the voices provide yet another rhythmic statement. The tempo is not rushed, but rather laid-back and comfortable, which contrasts with the content of the lyrics, which contain a plea for action toward freedom and justice.
Reggae is music of resistance and defies the world-view of “Babylon.” It is intended to share the experience of suffering of the poor of Jamaica and the Third World and to call the “sufferahs” to solidarity with each other in the struggle for freedom, which Marley believed was the will of Jah.
[…]
Contrasts Between Music and Lyrics
One striking element of Marley’s music is that virtually all of his songs have an upbeat, happy, bouncy feel to them. When listening to his reggae one gets the feeling that God is in heaven and all is right with the world. The phrase, “No problems, mon” comes immediately to mind. It is easy to smile and nod when listening to the musical statements of his songs and to be caught up in the sheer “listenability” of the music. But when one pays attention to the lyrics of those same bouncy, happy songs, one is struck by the militancy, the calls to action, and the consistent call for justice one finds in those same seemingly benign songs. This is not happy-go-lucky, pot-induced, “safe” music; it is transformative pedagogy, intended to engage the people to take action against all forms of oppression and injustice. The primary audience for reggae was originally the residents of Jamaica’s most desperate communities , and Marley’s music became a clarion call to stand up and fight for their freedom and for their rights. One major difference between reggae and both ska and rocksteady was that the earlier musical forms tended to limit themselves to commentary on local and community-based issues, like gang warfare in the “yards” or upon “love and sex” themes. Reggae deals more intentionally with universal themes like justice, African unity, and the spiritual life celebrating the presence of Jah.
Marley’s slow musical “shuffle” is intended to tone down the often militant, incendiary content of his lyrics to achieve a kind of musical balance that one finds missing in a contemporary form of resistance music like “gangsta rap.” Reggae does not only encourage resistance lyrically; the contrast between its musical approach and its lyrical content is an intentional choice of resisting the conventions of popular musical forms.
Even as seemingly innocent a song as “Jammin’” which has become such a popular dance tune and party song over the years states “No bullet can stop us now,” with its note of defiance in the face of death. It is no accident that this was the song he was performing at the “One Love Peace Concert” in 1978 when he called the contentious leaders of Jamaica’s two major political parties on stage and forced them to join hands in a sign of unity. (McCann and Hawke 2004, 80) This performance combined the entertainment value of the tune itself with a faith in Jah, a call for personal responsibility and self-development, and an overt act of political activism.
Time magazine declared Exodus the album of the century and praised it for “drawing inspiration from the Third World and then giving voice to it the world over.” (McCann and Hawke 2004, 82) The central theme of the song is the end of the suffering of all Jah’s people. It draws on the image of Israel’s Exodus story and the formative power of that event in the life of Israel. The repeating line in the song is “Exodus, movement of Jah people. Move! Move! Move! Move!” Marley calls for Jah to send another Moses to lead the people across the Red Sea, and for Jah to “come break down ‘pression, rule equality, wipe away transgression, set the captives free.” As Gregory K. Stephens claims, “The return to Africa, in Marley’s vision, represented not a quest for racial purity, but a return to a more humane philosophy. Africa was Marley’s utopian horizon: a place to escape from the ‘atomic misphilosophy’ of the ‘Babylon system’ and a model of a sustainable way of life structured upon ‘earth rhythms.’”(Stephens 1996, 296) A part of Marley’s message, here as in other songs, is that it is incumbent upon his audience to become engaged in the movement of peace, love, freedom, and unity. He is challenging his hearers to become involved in the movement back to a metaphorical Ethiopia, if not a literal one. He drew upon his own experience of exile to create a vision of a return to the Promised Land of Zion for all “Jah people.”
“Natural Mystic”
Kwame Dawes says “Natural Mystic” is “a song that gains its mysterious edge both from the way the music snakes up on us and from the lyrical insistence that what is happening around us is something deeply mystical.” (Dawes 2002, 192) Dawes continues his discussion of the song, saying it “represents what I have now come to call the essence of the reggae aesthetic, or at least how it was explored by Marley...The mystic was that which could not be explained easily by man, and the mystic was largely locked in the natural order of the universe.” (194) According to Worth, Marley’s line: “there’s a natural mystic blowing through the air, can’t keep them down; if you listen carefully now you will hear” indicates that mystic knowledge is “ancient and enigmatic knowledge, the knowledge of Jah.” (Worth 1995, 77) One does not need the kind of intellectual, rational knowledge that characterizes Western philosophy and religion; one needs only to “listen” carefully to the kind of communication that is available only to those “with ears to hear.” One clearly does not need dogmas, “isms and schisms;” one needs to know Jah.
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