and alienation because of his relationship to his concubine as specifically depicted in this song. The singer portrays himself as being unlucky and full of miseries
throughout his life. The use of first person singular aku me is to characterize personal experience of suffering. Yet, whereas Bob Marley expresses ghetto life
suffering and portrays himself as a part of the community, The Black Brothers express the suffering in a more personal and alienated way. This is the key point
that manifests throughout the lyrical analysis. Furthermore, both Bob Marley and The Black Brothers depict specific manifestations of suffering in their lyrics.
There are several kinds of sufferings that they portray namely the sufferings because of poverty, racism, violence, and imprisoned life.
4.1.1. Metaphoric Depiction of Poverty in Bob Marleys and The Black Brothers Songs
One common similarity between Bob Marley and The Black Brothers is their concern about poverty. Bob Marley and The Black Brothers give a clear
depiction of poverty in their respective society. They portray it as a form and obvious sign of suffering and as the consequence of their marginalization. There
are examples of illustrative lines in Bob Marleys songs which address this specific matter, among others are: Them Belly Full But We Hugry, Talkin
Blues, and One Drop: Them belly full, but we hungry A hungry mob is an angry mob A rain
a-fall, but the dutty tough A pot a-cook, but d food no nough Them Belly Full
Cold ground was my bad last night And rock was my pillow too Talkin Blues
They made their world so hard Every day we got to keep on fighting
They made their world so hard Every day the people are dying From hunger and starvation Lamentation One Drop
They are a form of sarcasm to those in power using a rich metaphorical expression. Here Bob Marley diagnoses the problems by identifying the suffering
of the people. The first song contains a very typical Jamaican proverb. It is a communal qualifier since the metaphors rely heavily on culturally-based social
knowledge. Bob Marley who grew up in the country side of St. Ann and later in Trench Town was very much exposed to this type of local wisdom. Them belly
full but we hungry is a sharp observation of the ghetto. Bob Marley is criticizing the promise of Michael Manleys campaign of better must come. It is clear to
Bob Marley that better has not come yet. What is clearer is that better has come only for some.
23
While the elitist rich live in the abundance, the poor must go to bed with empty bellies.This circumstance sparks anger and tension that make the
hungry man becomes an angry mob, a hungry man is an angry mob. Unfortunately, despite of this condition, the government remains
unresponsive and turns a blind eye upon them. It is clearly depicted in a rain a-fall but the dutty tuff. Despite of the rain that is falling, the ground remains
hard and unresponsive.
24
Here Bob Marley relies on farming metaphor, a thing that he used to do in St.Ann before he moved to Kingston. A pot a-cook, but
dfood no nough portrays the image of a pot on the stove to cook meal but unfortunately it is insufficient to feed the multitude. It shows a communal pot of
the ghetto where the poor usually cook meal outside in the yard and share it together, as what Bob Marley also described in No Woman No Cry, I
remember when we used to sitIn the government yard in TrenchtownAnd then
23
Dawes, Kwame. Bob Marley Lyrical Genius, p. 122.
24
Ibid, p. 125.
Georgie would make the fire lightslogwood burnin through the nightsThen we would cook cornmeal porridgeOf which Ill share with you.
After fully recognizing the condition of the people, Bob Marley then suggests solution and calls for action. It can be seen in the next lines Were gonna
dance to Jah music, dance...Forget your troubles and danceForget your weakness and dance Were gonna chuck to Jah music, were chuckin. At a glance this
solution and action would be absurd and nonsense. People think it is a call to escape from the realities of life and become consumed by false securities of
partying and dancing.
25
In fact, it appears to rest on the fundamental contradiction. It only can be comprehended when we understand the point of the dance in the
context of communal acts of worship. Bob Marley grew up in rural Jamaica where he would be exposed to the value of the church and the communal act of worship.
Other than that, there were also the cult groups such as Kumina and Pocomania that held ceremonies of worship, healing, and community affirmation in prayer
circles, dance circles, and song circles.
26
Through this cultural point of view, we can clearly see the dance that Bob Marley would have meant. Therefore, the call
to dance here is the call to be connected with a spiritual center. Dance here can be seen as an act of transformation in the movement
towards healing. It is in the light of reading the dance in this way that we can see the revolutionary quality of the song. The word chuck means to throw, to push,
or to walk or dance in a posture of defiance and aggression.
27
In understanding the revolutionary vision of Bob Marley it would be seen as an action to chuck
against oppressive system that cause all the problems in Jamaica. Here Bob
25
Dawes, Kwame. Bob Marley Lyrical Genius, p. 122.
26
Ibid, p. 123.
27
Ibid, p. 127.
Marleys call for the people to chuck to the music is in fact an aggression of resistance to the oppression.
The making of songs about poor people, the writing of the story of the people of Trench Town into history and time, was an act of defiance and
resistance.
28
Another problem for the poor besides the lack of food is the shelter. Talkin blues specifically talks about Bob Marleys rebellion sense and militancy.
It opens with a clear statement of Bob Marleys personal experience, Cold ground was my bad last nightand rock was my pillow too. Despite, it is a lore of Bob
Marleys experience in Nine Miles, St. Ann where he used to lay outside with his head on rock, it can also be a figurative expression of the hardship in Trench
town.
29
Trench town is an over-populated town in Kingston where government built public housings for the poor. Some cannot afford to rent a house that they
have to share shelter. Bob Marley also was once given a room behind Coxone Dodds studio, as he had no place to stay. This typical experience of sharing
shelter also appear in his love song Is This Love, Well share the shelter of my single bedWell share the same roomFor Jah provide the bread.
The long life experienced of hardship has shaped Bob Marleys militancy as he would sing it in the next lines Ive been down on the rock so longI seem to
wear a permanent screw. Rock is a hard place but specifically it is a reference for Jamaica. Therefore, basically the rock represents the hardship of living in Jamaica,
where one must be tough enough to survive as Bob Marley would sing in Could You Be Loved, Only the fittest of the fittest shall survive. While Screw face
is a mimic of anger, an expression of an angry person. Therefore the permanent
28
Dawes, Kwame. Bob Marley Lyrical Genius, p. 128.
29
Moskowitz, David. The Words and Music of Bob Marley, p. 55.
screw means the condition of being a sufferer and being angry at the world. It is a mask of a sufferer who is constantly hurt by society.
30
Much of the metaphorical expression in this song can be considered to happen in the level of
contextual and communal qualifiers since they refer to the context of the political discourse or the situation in Jamaica.
Talkin Blues moves from personal experience into the realm of larger political arena by asserting explosive action. However, Bob Marley would use a
more vulnerable confession of blues lamentation to sooth the anger and explosive militant voice. It is not a blues song, but a song that employs the blues.
Revolutionary instinct is covered through blues lamentation. So basically Talkin Blues means that Bob Marley is talking to them who threating him when he
writes songs about revolution and that what he is doing is only talkin blues which harmless.
31
One Drop is an example of Bob Marleys wit and creativity. It is a song about Bob Marleys reggae sound characteristic which emphasize one drop
drumming style. Yet, Bob Marley then infused street connotation of violence which emphasize the spirit of resistance. Bob Marley who grew up in the street
would infuse much of the street slang and spirit into his songs. A one-drop person is a person who is able to dispose an enemy with a single blow.
32
Layer of meanings is one characteristic in Bob Marleys songs. Here he is talking about his
music style, praise song to Jah, and revolution. The specific issue dealing with the condition of poverty comes in the lines They made the world so hardEveryday
the people are dyingFrom hunger and starvationLamentation.
30
Dawes, Kwame. Bob Marley Lyrical Genius, p. 148.
31
Ibid, p. 150.
32
Ibid, p. 272.
Hunger, starvation and lamentation are the starking characteristics that the poor experienced. Bob Marley diagnoses the problems and lays the responsibility
on the hands of them. And then he proposes solution and calls to action. Instead of lamenting and falling into despair in the face of the hardships outline, Bob
Marley asks the people to look to the path of prophesy for redemption, but read it in revelationYoull find your redemption. Music celebration becomes a
championing of the teachings of Rastafarianism. To get the message we need to stop and listen to it, feel it and then find something of its transformative power,
Feel it in a one drop...were making the one stop...now feel this drumbeatas it beats withinplayin a riddimresisting against ism and skism.
The pleasure of music is not the only aim, but a way to struggle and a way to give a single blow to them who cause the problems. Ism here refers to
wickedness, cruelty, trickery, and acts of unfairness. The skism refers to the divisions by the Babylon system, a Biblical nuance name which is used to refer to
Western society, the symbol of oppression.
33
Both of them are Rastafarian terms. In this particular song the metaphorical process happen in the two level
of metaphoric process: contextual and communal. Bob Marley employs contextual term such as one drop, and specific Rastafarian terms.
The Black Brothers songs which specifically address the issue of poverty are Hari Kiamat The End of The Day and Lonceng Kematian Death
Albatross: Di tepi jalansi miskin menjerithidup meminta dan menerimayang kaya
tertawaberpesta porahidup
menumpang di
kecurangansadarlah kaucara hidupmuyang hanya menelan korban yang lainbintang jatuh
hari kiamatpengadilan yang penghabisan - Hari Kiamat
33
Worth, David Steven. Rastaman Vibration: The Rhetoric of Bob Marley, p. 29.
[All along the streetall people sufferingand beg for every single thing they needRich mans laughingsucking the blood of the sufferershe
choose to live a life of no repayits time for you to realizethey way you live your lifewhich making people suffer everydaycause stars will falling
downtheres no way you can runfor the people they will be redeemed again- The End Of The Day].
Hey kau yang munafikkapan akhir sandiwaramusaling berlomba mengjar kekayaantak kau bawa mati nanti...kasihani merekahidupnya
melaratsuatu waktu kau kan jatuhneraka tempatmu - Lonceng
Kematian [Hey you the hypocritesplease end your silly gameracing on the rat
raceit wont be worth in your doom...be mercy upon themliving a hard lifeone day for sure you shall fall downhell will be your last doom -
Death Albatross].
The metaphorical process in these two songs happen in the level of archetypal and communal qualifier because although they do not employ too
much dense metaphorical expression, some parts of the song are directly related to communal or social knowledge. At first glance they use terms which are common,
general and easy to be understood by all people. In Hari Kiamat The End Of The Day The Black Brothers begin by portraying the social gap between the poor
and the rich. The poor are begging for the mercy from the rich who live a hedonistic life. The beggars strolling with emptied bellies all along the street
while the rich men were laughing and partying. There is no doubt that this is the clear picture of Jakarta, and The Black Brothers would have witnessed it
themselves. Boasting itself as the megapolitan city of Indonesia, Jakarta becomes the main attraction for all kind of people. The big city life is the place of hardships
with all kinds of sufferings. The typical individualistic life style of big city is likened to a concrete
jungle where only the fittest of the fittest shall survive. Seeing such condition, The
Black Brothers call on to action to evoke peoples basic humanity to care for others, Sadarlah kaucara hidupmu Its time for you to realizethe way you live
you life. They present a warning that unless such individualistic behaviour is changed, one is going to suffer the consequences in the judgement day.
Meanwhile, the phrasebintang jatuh the falling stars can have two possible meanings. First it prophesies that your wealthiness will not last forever
and that one day you will end up with nothing. Secondly it has a spiritual nuance of Armageddon or the end of the day which is an absolute end to universe where
everything will be destroyed to ash. The final judgment is also the prophesy where people will be judged based on their deeds in their life time.
Lonceng Kematian Death Albatross can be said to be the sequel of
Hari Kiamat The End Of The Day. It is a condemnation to the rich who refuse
to do good for the poor. However, the metaphoric process in this song happen in the level of communal qualifier since it uses expression which is culturally bound.
It can be seen that Lonceng Kematian Death Albatross is based on the Christian values. The Black Brothers who mostly grew up in Christian tradition
might use it as their song title since it suggests a sense of dread and fear. For Christians the church bell is a call for congregation especially on Sunday.
However, it also can be used as a sign or to send a message that someone has just passed away. It is a common Christian tradition in Papua to ring the church bell to
announce the death of a person. They will ring the church bell a certain number of times according to the age of the departed. So basically the song is a
condemnation towards the wicked people and serves as a warning for those who live a greedy life.
4.1.2. Metaphoric Depiction of Racism in Bob Marley and The Black Brothers Songs
