The Receiver Anonymity The Second Element of Hidden Transcript: Anonymity

Brothers songs. The issue of violence is avoided. The possible cause might be the high sensitivity and the risk of addressing the issue in the New Order Regime. As far as the writer consider, during that time period in Indonesia people lived in fright and terror. Thus the writer would argue that there seems to be not a single popular artist or band would have a nerve to explicitly address criticism regarding violence by the brutal authority. It was also due to the tight censorship of what can and what cannot be put into song by the recording company.

4.2.2. The Receiver Anonymity

There is a common sense in popular music that a singer is reaching the multitudes but pretends that he is reaching only you. 49 But it also can be the other way around, he is reaching the multitudes but in fact he aims at a specific person. In the receiver anonymity the adversary cannot tell which destination a specific message is sent to. Regarding specific issues or sensitive criticism, a singer tends to conceal the target of criticism. He avoids direct naming of the person who is being criticized. This technique is due to the fear of retaliation, that by doing it much of the fear is dissipated. 50 In its simple way much of the receiver anonymity take form of personal pronoun like you, they, heshe, possessive pronoun like your, their, and hisher, and reflective pronoun like himselfherself, and them selves. Bob Marley and The Black Brothers like the other popular artists would employ this technique in much of their songs. It seems quite likely that when it comes to the addressee, they tend to play safe by not directly name it. In Bob Marley songs we can see this pattern exist in almost every song. 49 Scott, J.C. Domination and the Arts of Resistance, p. 109. 50 Ibid, p. 140. Bob Marley is a typical singer who is very straightforward in positioning himself as a militant freedom fighter. Despite of the fact, he somehow indirectly name the addressee or the target of the criticism. Many times he clearly declares the blame directly to the rich, government and politician. However, some of the songs still hide the real receiver of his criticisms. As examples we can see in Get Up Stand Up, Them Belly Full But we hungry, Want More, Crisis, Ambush In The Night, and Bad Card. We sick and tired of your ism-skism gameDyin and goin to heaven in Jesus name, LordWe know when we understandAlmighty God is a living manYou can fool some people sometimesBut you cant fool all the people all the time Get Up Stand Up Them belly full but we hungryan angry man is an angry mob Them Belly Full Now you get what you wantdo you want more...They stab you in the backand they claim that youre not looking Want More So much have been saidSo little been doneThey still killin the peopleand they having a lots of funThey just want to be the leaderin the house of the rising sun Crisis See them fighting for powerBut they know not the hourSo they bribing with their guns, spare parts and moneyTrying to belittle our integrity nowThey say what we knowIs just what they teach usand were so ignorantcause everytime they can reach usThrough political strategythey keep us hungry and when you gonna get some foodyour brother got to be your enemy Ambush in the night Oh man its just a big disgraceThe way you draw bad card Bad Card The anonymity in those songs above lies in the absence of direct naming and destination. It is replaced and blurred by personal and possessive pronoun. Generally Get Up Stand Up is a song about corrupt and oppressive political systems. However, specifically Bob Marley is admonishing the preacher man when he sings in the first verse Preacher men dont tell me that heaven is under the earth. Here lies his spiritual belief of Rastafarianism that heaven is located on earth, that is in Africa. He is criticizing the church about false teaching regarding metaphysic heaven. Therefore the second person plural you and possessive pronoun your in the bridge of the song is pointed at the Pope and Catholic Church. 51 The line almighty God is a living man is a reference to Ethiopian Emperor, Haile Selassie I. Hence, basically the song is an affirmation of Bob Marleys Rastafarian beliefs as well as a criticism toward the Church. The Rastas accuse the Church as a form of white hegemonic power that has distorted some of the basic teachings about Black or African glory. As what has been explained previously, Them Belly Full is a song which portrays a gap between the poor and the rich, between we and them. While the poor are strolling with empty bellies, the rich men are abundantly full. It is obvious that them refers to the rich. However, specifically Bob Marley aims this criticism toward Michael Manleys government. They made a promise in 1972s election through the slogan of Better must come. What is clearer to Bob Marley is that better has come only for some who are rich. 52 Want More is a song of social commentary that makes use of folk wisdom. The basic criticism lies in the chorus through a sarcastic question, Now that you have gotten all you have wanted, do you still want more? What seems to be obvious is the greediness of you. The you whether it is singular or plural refers to the backbiter in the next lines. The figure of you is a figure who will betray and stab you in the back. 53 In this sense the figure can be the hypocrites who specifically relate to the rich and corrupt politicians like what Bob Marley 51 Moskowitz, David. The Words and Music of Bob Marley, p. 41. 52 Dawes, Kwame. Bob Marley Lyrical Genius, p. 122. 53 Ibid, p. 165. would also depict in Them Belly Full. Those hypocrites would pretend to do so much good to hide their true cruel intension like in No Woman Nuh Cry, Observing the hypocritesMingle with the good people we meet. In Crisis Bob Marley opens it with a statement of what was going on in Jamaica, They say the sun shines for allBut in some people world it never shines at all. The sun is a symbol of hope and optimism. Thus when Bob Marley sings it, he is showing the hopelessness instead of what has been promised by the government or politicians to bring hope and better changes. It is also a criticism like what he would previously sing in Them Belly Full that the better has come only for some. Specifically the song talks about the condition of Jamaica which had just been through a bloody election where the guns had been injected into the city to complicate the political warfare. 54 The number of crime increased just because of political opportunism. Therefore it seems quite likely that Bob Marley would blame the politicians who intensionally implanted hatred to their fanatic supporters in order to win the election through a warfare gang especially between the youth. After the election, the politicians who had won the election had naturally forgotten those who helped them win, and those who had lost incapable of helping the people. The people only became the victim and a game for the political race. Ambush In The Night is again a depiction of the dreadful condition in Jamaica in 1970s and specifically based on an assassination attempt at Bob Marley. Here Marley blame the Babylon through the ubiquitous and ambiguous them. Babylon refers to all unjust system, the rich, the criminals, corrupt 54 Dawes, Kwame. Bob Marley Lyrical Genius, p. 234. government or politicians and even the police. In the sense of the song them specifically may refer to the corrupt politicians who have managed to bribe, coerce and implant those who could have been brothers with guns, spare parts, and money to carry out the act of murder. This song has a strong relationship with the previous song Crisis. Those who are unfamiliar with the biographical story of Bob Marley would not have any idea that Bad Card is actually a song about Bob Marleys manager, Don Taylor. The song is a condemnation and accusation to Don Taylor who betrayed Bob Marley by stealing lots of money. The line of the way you draw bad cards describes Bob Marleys feeling that Taylor had worked or played him too long. Eventually, he had to show his card which is his true self. 55 This pattern of receiver anonymity also appears in The Black Brothers songs. They take similar form through the ubiquitous and ambiguous personal pronouns. Specifically they appear in songs of social commentaries, among others are like: Hari Kiamat The End Of The Day, Lonceng Kematian Death Albatross, and Kaum Benalu The Parasites. Sadarlah kau cara hidupmuYang hanya menelan korban yang lain - Hari Kiamat [Its time for you to realize the way you live your lifewhich making people suffer everyday - The End of The Day]. Hey kau yang munafikkapan akhir sandiwaramusaling berlombamengejar kekayaantak kau bawa mati nanti - Lonceng Kematian [Hey you the hypocritesplease end your silly gameracing on the rat raceit wont be worth in your doom - Death Albatross]. Dia senyum di musim panenmengikis habis hasil tanammutak hiraukan 55 Moskowitz, David. The Words and Music of Bob Marley, p. 106. siapa dirinya - Kaum Benalu [He smiles in the harvest timeeat upon all your cropsdont care who himself is - The parasites]. In these songs The Black Brothers show their empathy and sense of affinity with the poor. Basically Hari KiamatThe End of The Day and Lonceng Kematian Death Albatross are closely related to each other. In the lyrics they do not directly address the criticism by using the personal pronoun kau you and possessive pronoun mu your. However, it is quite obvious that they are meant for the rich and specifically the government. The people or the poor are only the victims of the situation just like what Bob Marley would depict in Crisis. These two songs are a clear picture of Jakarta of 1970s that everywhere people would encounter many beggars strolling along the streets and alleys. The government who supposed to be responsible seemed to neglect the condition. The mall administration of national bills has increased the numbers of corruption. Therefore, these two songs are a strong condemnation and prophesy to the rich or corrupt politicians of the consequence of their hypocritical game. This final Biblical consequence of their deeds is really fatal since God has the power to exterminate both their physic and soul. Kaum Benalu Parasites is a symbol of hypocrites just like what Bob Marley would also sing in Who The Cap Fit, hypocrites and parasites will come up and take a bite. Both in Bob Marley and The Black Brotherss song, the greedy image of parasites share the same characteristic that they would usually mingle with the people just to take advantage out of them. Practically the song is the praxis between the laborers and the rich, between the people and the parasites. It is about how the rich only consume the harvest of the poor without putting much care upon their wealth and paying sufficient reward for their hard labor. The Black Brothers use the personal pronoun dia he, possessive pronoun mu your, and reflective pronoun himself. They position them selves as the sender of the message to warn the people of the hypocrites who will only take advantage of their hard labor.

4.2.3. The Relationship Anonymity