Running Head: SIMPLY BE HAPPY?

Simply Be Happy?:
The Work of Bob Marley

Ashley Marcum

Rowan Cabarrus Community College

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Introduction

General sentence about your topic: In my recent inquiries into how music and lyrics impact people, I
have come to search for songs and artists that will allow me to share communion and a spiritual
experience with my family without necessarily going into a different subculture or genre of music
(Christian Pop). While listening to One Love by Bob Marley, I thought I heard overtones of the Bible
scriptures where angels come to tell followers not to be afraid and not to fear as well as the famous First
Collossians passage about the gifts from god faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.
Present the Problem: Why do people think that Bob Marley is just a fluffy artist who just wants to be
happy and smoke the pot?
General perceptions in America about the topic: Most Americans see Bob Marley as a be happy
dancing pot smoker who really has nothing more to offer. They either have become immune to his
message through being exposed to it too much or turning away from it due to not understanding the
deeper meanings.
Statement about the three hot topics your annotated bibliography will cover: In my research and
listening, I have discovered that Marleys music addresses the themes of human rights activism, Christian
theology, and the role of marijuana in Rastafarian spiritual practice.

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Human Rights Activism

Moyer, E. (2005). Street-corner justice in the name of jah: Imperatives for peace amond dar es salaam
street youth. Africa Today. 51(3), 30-58. Retrieved from
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/africa_today/
Eileen Moyer spent a year conducting an ethnographic study of the increasing popularity of
Rastafari-inspired discourses among young men living and working in the streets of Dar es
Salaam and especially the role of Bob Marley and his music in the social, economic, and
political discourse that takes place in the Maskani (a section of street shops where young men
work and sleep directly in front of the Sheraton). Rhetorically, the youth use his lyrics, image,
and style to criticize the political system that has made hypocrites of the self-serving bourgeois
middle-class and upper-class who often rose from poverty, to indicate public spaces are to be used
for capitalistic purposes, to maintain internal power structures within the Maskani itself, and to
inspire artwork for trade, meditation, and improving the artists practice. In response to the
question of why Marley, the author finds that Marleys physical appearance of beauty and mixed
race as well as his being a prophet or a saint of the Rastafari faith, and his lyrics seemed to serve
as a hymnal for them (Moyer, 2005). Moyer explains how Tanzanians coopted the tenets of
Rastafari religion that they wanted (philosophy of unity, peace, and love and use of cannabis) and
overlooked those that didnt fit with their societal needs, largely the sexism, rigid diet, adherence
to Haile Selassie I being Jah/God. Moyer also addresses how the Maskani view cannabis as
medicine, dawa, a treatment to reduce stress, confusion, and get new ideas. Furthermore, pot
smoking is considered a social way to get together and accomplish many of the following:
imagine, ponder, and reflect, solve complex problems, dream about what may come, group or
individual meditation, and maintain internal and external peace in living conditions where
homelessness, poverty, rape, abuse, hunger, and humiliation are daily occurrences (Moyer, 2005).

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The article appears in a peer-reviewed journal and, thus, is credible and accurate. The author
shows a ton of knowledge about Marley, Rastafarianism (both Tanzanian and Atlantic based),
Africa, Reggae, theories of studying popular culture, and analyzing subcultures through
ethnographic study. In the essay, she reveals that she has been working in another area of
Tanzania with another economically oppressed sector. Moyer is a professor of Anthropology at
the University of Amsterdam and has studied and published about HIV/AIDs and poor urban
street youth in Africa since 2003. The purpose of this article is to redeem Marleys image and use
among the youth of Dar es Salaam from simply being labeled Western consumerism. The
discussion of coopting Rastafarianism, the role of marijuana, and the appeal of Marley are all
relevant to my research.
King, S., & Jensen, R. J. (1995). Bob marleys redemption song: The rhetoric of reggae and rastafari.
Journal of Popular Culture, 29(3), 17. Retrieved from ProQuest Central database. (Document
ID: 195359293). Or Retrieved from http://www.journalofpopularculture.com/
Jensen and King attempt to revive Marleys music from the criticism that it has received based on
the prominence of Rastafarianism and marijuana in the culture and ideology of reggae, especially
in Marleys work. According the authors, Marley was a central force in the growing numbers of
people becoming followers of Rastafarianism (p. 18). Jensen and King discuss music as mass
communication and is persuasive in three ways: repetition, physiological effects on the body, and
collections of personal experiences (p. 19-20). Furthermore, they classify Marleys work as
protest music because, through the three metaphors of God/Devil, Freedom/Oppression, and
War, Marley and the Wailers describe the human rights problems that faced Jamaicans and
other African peoples, identifies an omnipotent, omniscient benevolent God and an ever-present
devil in the system and corrupt politicians, and proposes methods of fighting and surviving
the devil and oppressions through demonstrations, fighting for your rights, standing up for your
rights, practicing love and unity, treating all as equal in the eye of the Almighty (p. 27). The

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authors argue that the lyrical elements alone are not what make Marley and the Wailers so
pervasive and popular (29). Rather, Marleys iconic position and concomitant ability to deliver
his message to a broad audience is largely due to the persuasive use of the rhythm, dancing, and
the lyrics (p. 29).

The essay is from a peer-reviewed journal so should be credible and accurate. The authors show
a great breadth of knowledge about reggae, Rastafarianism, music theory, and music analysis.
They have an extensive Works Cited list and use their sources very well to support a clean, tight
argument. Dr. Stephen A. King is a professor of rhetoric and communication at Eastern Illinois
University and has published numerous books and book chapters on reggae, protest music, and
other genres of music as communication. The purpose of the article is to show that Marleys
music is effective protest music and to revive Marleys work as serious music that is not just
about smoking pot and worshiping Rasta.

Christian Theology
Hagerman, B. (2012, Fall). Everywhere Is War: Peace and Violence in the Life and Songs of Bob
Marley. Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 24(3), 380-392. Doi: 10.3138/jrpc.24.3.380

Hagerman examines the song, War, as exemplary of Marleys complex and contradictory
attitudes and beliefs towards peace and violence. The author argues for seeing Marleys work in
the context of the social and political world that he came from and taking his lyrics and mission at
face value for the messages of celebrating peace and love and freedom from oppression as well as

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for the overt Rastafarianism seen in defeating Babylon/the West/the System/the White Man (p.
381-382). Hagerman argues that Marleys image has been white-washed into a global image of a
peaceful icon but his own interviews, his lyrics, and his personal life call this image into
question (p. 381-382). The author contends that Marley sang extensively about institutional
violence in the form of racism, classism, dehumanization, and colonialism that make up in
Marleys words the Babylon system (p. 383-384). Marley, along with other Rastas, believes
that Zion is Africa and that repatriation is a possible solution to the evils of Western society (p.
384-385). Marleys mission with his music was three-fold: to spread Rastafarianism beyond
Jamaica, as a form of social activism (the music relieved suffering for a while), and as a weapon
in a war against Babylon (p. 386-387). According to Hagerman, Marleys conception of peace
can only be understood as being a form of resistance to colonial society and a voice for radical
social change (p. 388).
This article came from a peer-reviewed journal so it should be credible and accurate. The author
is a professor of culture and religion and has published two articles on religion and music. The
article is relevant to my research because it relates to the Christian and Rastafarian ideology in
Marleys music. The purpose of the article is to challenge readers perceptions of Marleys
message as peace and love.as too simplistic and as not fully representing the man and his
intentions.

MacNeil, D. (2013). The Bible and Bob Marley: Half the Story Has Never Been Told. Eugene, OR: Wipf
and Stock Publishers.
Dan MacNeil wrote this book as a process of healing his grief after the death of his brother who
loved Bob Marley. MacNeil became interested in the Christian theology that was underpinning
the body of Marleys work. His main claim is that Marley uses scripture from the Bible primarily

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from the Wisdom texts of Psalms and Proverbs and refers repeatedly to the Father of Creation
(MacNeil, 2013, p.#).
The publishers of MacNeils book publish a lot of Christian titles and publish across a broad
spectrum of topics within faith. This may impact the credibility of scholarship if it is colored
simply by Christian or church doctrine. MacNeal had a MA in theology and English and has
been a musician for 20 years (wipfandstock.com). Thus, the author has authority to speak on the
Christian ideology in Marleys work. MacNeal may hope to move some readers to see Marleys
work as hymns and methods of worship. This book is very much relevant to my topic of
Christian Theology and Bob Marleys music.

Marijuana and Rastafarianism

Conan, N. (2005, February 1). Analysis: Bob marley and the culture of reggae. Talk of the Nation.
[Transcript of AudioFile] Retrieved from ProQuest Central. (ProQuest doi: 190831247).
Neal Conan hosts Roger Steffens, a historian that focuses on Bob Marley and reggae and, later in
the show, Chris Wilson, a guest who grew up in Jamaica and is VP of Heartbeat Records.
Through the interview with Steffens and Wilson, they cover Marleys attitudes towards politics
and his extremely political music, his deep spirituality, the interplay of marijuana and Rastafari in
the spiritual and creative life of Marley, the importance of situating reggae in the political and
social contexts of its creation to truly deconstruct its meaning, continuing challenges of studying
Marleys body of work, and the lagging popularity of reggae in the US (but not in Europe, Africa,
and South America).

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Roger Steffans is an eccentric personality but one who has the largest archive of Bob Marley
reggae music and artifacts. He travels the world giving presentations about Bobs life and is
world-renown as an expert on Bob Marley and reggae. He does not have an affiliation with a
college or university, and he does not claim to be a professional scholar of reggae. He also was
co-host of a radio program that was syndicated called Reggae Beat. In addition, he has authored
over six books about reggae. The article is relevant to my research. The purpose of the interview
was to celebrate Bob Marleys 60th birthday. Based on the quality of the radio program, the
reasearchers for the program, and the expertise of the interviewee, I believe the material in the
article to be accurate.

Price, C. R. (2000, April 30). Political and Radical Aspects of the Rastafarian Movement in Jamaica.
Nature, Society, and Thought. 13(2). Retrieved from http://homepages.spa.umn.edu/~marquit/nst
Price provides a concise history of the Rastafari religious and political growth in Jamaica from
1931 to the late 1980s. According to Price, the origin of Rastafari in Jamaica can be traced back
to a man named Leonard P. Howell, who had lived in New York city (Harlem), traveled a great
deal, and was familiar with black nationalism. Rastafarians believe:
that Christs first coming was symbolically expressed as that of a sacrificial lamb, while
his second coming would be that of a lion and leader of people (that is, a king). When
the Italian fascist invaded Ethiopia a second time in 1935, many Jamaica clamored to
fight on the side of Ethiopia to help defeat the fascists. Selaissie I, in recognition of the
support of Jamaicans and others of the African Diaspora, promised to make Ethiopia
accessible to the Diaspora. (Price, 2000)
The earliest Rastafarians in Jamaica were persecuted, and it wasnt until the second generation
Rastas that dreadlocks became part of the culture (Price, 2000). The majority of the article
addresses how the Rastafarians have gone through at least three phases of political involvement
in Jamaican politics. Though the music of Marley played a big part in popularizing the
Rastafarian message and movement, their political forays became sources of disenchantment.

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Eventually, the country turned from the culture of Rasta and reggae to dancehall-style music
and culture that gives emphasis to sex, guns, violence, and getting rich, which coincided with a
shift from a widespread concern with Africa being replaced by a preoccupation with England
and America and the material trappings of these societies (Price, 2000).

The article is from a peer reviewed journal and should be credible and accurate. The author has
an extensive list of references and uses the source material with authority. One of the purposes of
the essay is to argue that Rastafarians in Jamaica would be natural allies for socialist and Marxist
political movements in the near future. Thus, the author is definitely politically leftist motivated.
The article discusses the challenge of involving Rastas in socialist revolutions via the example of
Grenada where, after the Rastas helped garner a new power order, that same order outlawed ganja
and started imprisoning people who had helped put them in power. The article is relevant to my
research because it explains the political climate that Marley grew up in and the political and
social ideals that formed Marleys Rastafari beliefs.