If he were still alive, the Honorable Robert “Bob” Nesta Marley, O.M. (Order of Merit), would have turned 71 years old on February 6th, 2016. He is still, even after all these years following his death, one of the most beloved musicians in the world.
Bob Marley used his great musical talent to fight for the rights of poor and oppressed peoples, in Jamaica and all over the world. Bob’s lyrics resonate over pulsating reggae beats into the ears, hearts, and the consciousness of generations worldwide, forcing them to bear witness to racial and social oppression. Bob requires us all to, “stand up for [our] right[s], and never give up the fight.” His songs are infused with social and moral consciousness; they challenge us to live better, to be better, and to treat one another better — to be true brothers and sisters to one another — and above all to raise up the poor and the downtrodden.
25 Bob Marley Quotes Everyone Should Know
1.) Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you’re living?
2.) None but ourselves can free our minds.
3.) Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, don’t give up the fight.
4.) If you get down and quarrel everyday, you’re saying prayers to the devil, I say.
5.) Every man gotta right to decide his own destiny.
6.) If you know what life is worth, you would look for yours on earth.
7.) The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
8.) In this bright future you can’t forget your past.
9.) Why do you look so sad and forsaken? When one door is closed, don’t you know other another is open.
10.) Me only have one ambition, y’know. I only have one thing I really like to see happen. I like to see mankind live together – black, white, Chinese, everyone – that’s all.
11.) Tell the children the truth.
12.) Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold.
13.) Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds.
14.) The road of life is rocky and you may stumble too, so while you talk about me, someone else is judging you.
15.) Overcome the devils with a thing called love.
16.) Judge not, before you judge yourself.
17.) See them fighting for power, but they know not the hour. So they bribing with their guns, spare parts and money. Trying to belittle our integrity. They say what we know is just what they teach us. We’re so ignorant, every time they can reach us. Through political strategy, they keep us hungry.
18.) Two thousand years of Black History could not be wiped away so easily.
19.) Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy.
20.) You can fool some people sometimes but you can’t fool all the people all the time.
21.) There was a Buffalo Soldier; in the heart of America; stolen from Africa, brought to America; fighting on arrival, fighting for survival.
22.) If you know your history, then you would know where you’re coming from.
23.) Live for yourself and you will live in vain. Live for others and you will live
again.
24.) Make love and not war, ’cause we don’t need no trouble. What we need is love, to guide and protect us on. If you hope good down from above, help the weak if you are strong now.
25.) Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, everywhere is war and until there are no longer first-class and second-class citizens of any nation, until the color of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes. And until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race, there is war. And until that day, the dream of lasting peace, world citizenship, rule of international morality, will remain but a fleeting illusion to be pursued, but never attained… now everywhere is war. (Quoting Haile Selassie I)
Article By: Stephen A. Cooper, Esq.
[About the Author: Stephen Cooper is former D.C. and federal public defender. He writes full-time and lives in Woodland Hills, CA.]
Photo By: David Norris
[Top photo is of a Bob Marley Mural painted on the side of the Surf N Sea surf shop in North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii]
Watch: One Love | Playing For Change | Song Around the World