imitating the sounds of America in the early 1960s. They wanted to launch a truly Jamaican sound. It made the young talented musicians began experimenting in
studios. As a result, came Jamaica distinctive popular music ska, rocksteady and reggae to exist. Ska was a mixture of Jamaica indigenous musical form,
American Jazz, and Rhythm and Blues.
6
It is a meeting and blending of two or more older traditions and new genre as an elaboration of form. Jazz influenced
skas horn sound, RB and Mento influenced the guitar style, while blues and African elements influenced the call and response vocal.
7
Rocksteady is the next development of ska. It is characterized by the emergence of more emotional
vocals. It also emphasizes vocal harmonies and slower rhythms like American soul music. Rocksteady signed that the people no longer wanted to dance as
recklessly as they had before in ska time. Reggae music is perhaps the masterpiece or the jewel of Jamaican popular music. It signals the maturity of the
long term process. Like rocksteady, reggae rhythm is slowed down to allow the increasingly social and political messages to be heard.
1.1. Theme in Bob Marleys songs
There was a thematic shift in the development process of Jamaican popular music. Starting from the ska period in around early 1960s to rock steady
in the mid-1960s until reggaes advent in the late 1960s. Early ska songs were primarily love songs. The lyrics tend to be light and were generally about love and
love making. However to some people, ska also can be deceptive. It might have
6
King. Stephen A. Reggae, Rastafari, and the Rhetoric of Social Control. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 2002, p. 4.
7
King. S.A. Reggae, Rastafari, and the Rhetoric of Social Control, p. 19.
sounded happy but it also expressed the social and political conditions in Jamaica. Some even claimed that ska actually represented the first form of a popular protest
music, a typical mild protest. As an example is Bob Marleys ska hits Simmer Down. It was then inherited to rocksteady and reggae where the protest was
molded and getting even stronger. For young talented musicians who mostly are devoted Rastafarians, the
advent of Jamaican popular music ska, rocksteady, and reggae brings a new way to disseminate the beliefs instead of traditional forms such as street preaching,
church sermon and pamphlets. Lyrically those three genres promoted Rastafarian ideologies and tenets. However it is reggae which increasingly asserts more
aggressive social and political protests. Generally reggae artists would sing issues like Rastafari as the living God, African glory, marijuana, injustice and oppression
by the police or government and personal pain of living in poverty.
8
By non-probability sampling there are seventy eight songs from eight albums that are taken from Bob Marley under the label of Island Records: Catch a
Fire 1973; Burnin’ 1973; Natty Dread 1974; Rastaman Vibration 1976; Exodus 1977; Kaya 1978; Survival 1979; Uprising 1980. The selection of
songs under this label is done with a specific reason and purpose. They are the epitome of Bob Marleys establishment and success. Under the genius owner of
Island Records, Chris Blackwell, Bob Marley and the Wailers successfully introduce Jamaican new distinctive sound of reggae to the world. In order to
penetrate the international market and audience Bob Marley and his band was presented as a black rock band.
8
King. S.A. Reggae, Rastafari, and the Rhetoric of Social Control, p. 55.
Despite some new musical arrangements to meet the market and mass demands, Bob Marley kept on insisting to not change the basic original style and
the message that he was trying to deliver. The true spirits of reggae would dwell on the style and message. Generally Bob Marley’s songs consist of two types of
theme, i.e. 1 social, political, and religious or a mixture of the three; 2 love songs or dance tunes without a political or religious message
9
see table 2 in appendix 1. Like other reggae artists, Bob Marleys lyrics would deal on things
about Rastafarian tenets like Jah Haile Selassie I or Rastafari, repatriation to and glorification of Africa as the Blacks motherland, and the use of Marijuana, as well
as social and political phenomenon such as Jamaican history, violence, governments hypocrisy, and poverty.
Developing what has been found by DeCosmo and Skopal,
10
the writer classifies theme in Bob Marley’s songs into five categories: Babylon;
Rastafarianism; Pan-Africanism; Livity; and Romance. The theme of Babylon illustrates all types of oppression. It covers colonialism, slavery, racism,
capitalism, corrupt government, hypocrite politicians, society and all other type of human degradation. The theme of Rastafarianism deals with religious and spiritual
beliefs. It encompasses Jamaican and African mysticism with Christianity under the issue of the divinity of Selassie as the black Christ using titles like God, Lion,
King of Kings, Father, Lord, and the natural world over man-made world. The theme of Pan-Africanism designates Africa as heaven on earth under the term of
Zion, Father Land, Ethiopia, and also it deals with repatriation to Africa as Marcus
9
DeCosmo, Jan. Religion and Revolution in the Lyrics of Bob Marley. Working copy of an article in Caribbean Studies Assn. Conference, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico 1994, p. 2. Web. January 12. 2014.
http:ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.eduCA0040016200001PDF.pdf.
10
Skopal, Edward, Jr. Hear Them Crying Rastafari and Framing Processes in Reggae Music, pp. 5252.
Garvey prophesied. The theme of livity depicts the Rasta life style, and a collective vision of the good under the issue of unity, peace, love, freedom,
education, ganja, understanding, self-reliance, and ital specific Rasta diets.
11
The theme of romance deals with love between man and woman under the issues of falling in love, breaking up, searching for love, and love-making.
As it is figured out, there are two most dominant themes in Bob Marley’s songs, they are the central theme of livity and Babylon with the significant
number of thirty three and twenty six out of total seventy eight songs see table 3 in appendix 1. They signify and emphasize Bob Marley’s militancy as a social
and political commentator. His songs are his prophetic pronouncements and advocacy for the oppressed. While the central theme of romance shows Bob
Marley’s sophistication as true lovable and gentle romantic individual out of his mean and scornful look. Growing up in the ghetto street of Kingston, Bob Marley
was known as one of the rude boys with a nick name tuff gong. Despite of having this rebellious and aggressive quality Bob Marley offered a more subtle
and peaceful way in dealing with the oppressive system. This can be seen in the central theme of Rastafarianism. Bob Marley employs his spiritual beliefs and
mysticism to face the problems. Although first appeared as a social movement against colonialism and imperialism Rasta then became a religious based
movement which combines Christianity and African and Jamaican mysticism. Bob Marley knows for sure that at the time of tribulation where the hopeless and
powerless have no place to lean on, religion or spirituality is a way of other than political action that can possibly turn to be effective means for salvation and
11
Skopal, Edward, Jr. Hear Them Crying Rastafari and Framing Processes in Reggae Music, p. 53.
liberation.
12
The central theme of Pan-Africanism shows Bob Marley’s African heredity affirmation and pride of self identity in relation to his respective beliefs
of African glory.
1.2. Bob Marleys Lyrical Style
