Nicole+Davidson

 **__Bob Marley on Poverty __**

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“We should all come together and creative music and love, but [there] is too much poverty… The most intelligent people [are] the poorest people... [but] people don’t get no time to feel and spend [their] intelligence...The intelligent and innocent are poor, are crumbled and get brutalized. Daily.” – Bob Marley, 1976 //[7]

While growing up, Bob Marley always knew music was going to be his career. He was born in Nine Miles, Jamaica in 1945 and immediately following his birth, Marley’s father left and had no contact with Marley until he was five. At this point, Marley’s father had brought Marley to live with him in Kingston, Jamaica, and within a year, Marley had moved back in with his mother who was residing in Trench Town (an area known for its ghettos).

By 1961, at the age of sixteen Marley had released his first single, entitled “Judge Not,” and while this record had flopped, he was still determined to become successful in the music industry. Just four years later, he had formed a group called The Wailers, which had made it the top of the Jamaican charts. Soon after 1966, the Marley’s created their own short-lived recording label, Wail ‘N Soul ‘M Records. When this was over, the Wailers keep releasing singles without an album and by 1968, had formed their second label, Tuff Gong, which made the group famous throughout the Caribbean.

The group eventually went on to receive funding from Island Records to produce perhaps, two of their best albums – “Catch a Fire,” and “Burnin’.” Bob Marley and the Wailers were solely responsible for the reggae fever that was sweeping not only the Caribbean, but the United States as well as the rest of the world. This could be because the group had addressed many social issues within their songs. Poverty was one major social issue that had kept occurring within Marley’s lyrics, and is still being talked about by artists of this generation.



The social issue of poverty affects many people worldwide. Unfortunately, it is one of the only things that does not discriminate against factors like race, gender, religion, or age. No matter where someone is from, or what their background is, they could possibly be affected by poverty at any time in their life. It is true, that many countries are poorer than others, Jamaica being one of the poorer ones. This is what Bob Marley addresses in his songs – the hardships of the lower class citizens of not only Jamaica, but the world.

The world’s lower-class citizens are suffering in different ways. Poverty is, without a doubt, an issue that needs to be dealt with, “Almost half the world – over 3 billion people – live on less than $2.50 a day [2].” That’s 3 billion people, which means many more people are still considered poor. What do we have to make up for this? Every penny that the world spends on weapons each year could have been used to send a child to school - which takes less than a penny to accomplish. Education is not the only thing children are being forced to life without, however. According to statistics, “1 billion children live in poverty. 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, 270 million have no access to health services. 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 [2].” We spend more money than needed every year to create weapons and yet 29,000 children die per day from poverty worldwide.

Fortunately, we also have many activists who know that this is wrong, and make an effort to change it. Bob Marley did his part by spreading the message onto his fans. Even today, many people can listen to his music and sympathize with the lower-class. In songs like “Concrete Jungle,” and “Them Belly Full but We Hungry,” Marley gives the listener a first person account for witnessing this poverty.

The song, “Them Belly Full but We Hungry” was off Bob Marley’s 1975 album, Natty Dread. The album was produced during a time where Jamaica was under-going a lot of issues. Two years before, in 1973, the country became a founding member of the Caribbean Common Market (CARICOM), which was a union of Caribbean nations whom were dedicated to ensuring the free flow of goods between countries. Within the next year, the worldwide oil crisis undermined Jamaica’s economy and puts the nation on the path to trade imbalances and debt. A listener can infer that Bob Marley speaks of how Jamaicans had felt about the debt they were in within “Them Belly Full but We Hungry.”

media type="custom" key="4630852" Within the song, Marley discusses how the entire nation was getting poorer. Its economy was failing them, and Jamaican’s did not have enough money to live off of. He states, “Cost of livin’ gets so high, Rich and poor they start to cry, [5]” this means that the nation did not have all the resources to supply themselves, and therefore, depended on trade with other countries to survive. However, trading was only hurting the Jamaicans because of the high cost to import goods. He also states, “Now the weak must get strong; They say, ‘Oh what a tribulation!’ Them belly full, but we hungry; A hungry mob is a angry mob. [5]” The only thing that the society could do was unite together and try to overcome the negative issues they were facing. A lot of people were not happy with how poor Jamaica was becoming and wanted to do better than what their economy would allow. The nation’s economy was getting worse as time went on, and poverty was becoming a major issue within Jamaica.

The “Concrete Jungle” was from Bob Marley’s 1973 album, Catch a Fire. Marley’s song had shed light on what Jamaicans were really going through with founding CARICOM, and what type of effect the choices their nation made had on the average citizen.

media type="custom" key="4623798" align="left" width="159" height="108" In the song, “Concrete Jungle,” Marley had touched upon the hardships of life in 1973 Jamaica. He states, “Where is the love to be found? Won’t someone tell me? ‘Cause my life must be somewhere to be found… Instead of concrete jungle, Where the living is harder. [4]” This can be interpreted to mean that the government may not have cared about the average citizen’s needs, and was only interested in the country’s economy as a whole. It also touches base with being a lower-class citizen, and the struggle to live a better life. Marley also goes on to state, “No chains around my feet, But I’m not free, I know I am bound here in captivity.[4]” With stating this, Marley could mean that lower-class Jamaicans were trapped and could not escape from their own nation’s choices. There was no way out of being poor, no matter how hard one would try. “I’ve never known happiness… Won’t someone help me? ‘Cause I’ve got to pick myself from off the ground, [4]” is also stated within “Concrete Jungle.” There could have been no kind of federal or government assistance to the average citizens in order to help them better their lives. This could be proof to the saying “keep the poor, poor and the rich, rich.” These are all examples of how poverty had played a major role in Jamaican society.

Probably one of the main reasons why Bob Marley was such a successful artist was that his fans could connect with him, and understand what he addressed in his songs. Assumingly, they had gone through the same things he did, and knew what it was like to try their hardest, and still accomplish nothing that would lift them out of poverty. Throughout his music career, Marley had accomplished many awards, including the Peace Medal of the Third World (given by the U.N.), Order of Merit (equivalent of Knighthood given by the Prime Minister of Jamaica), the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and has his mark forever in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His songs are the voice of the urban population, and his music still influences a lot of artists today.

1. Cridlin, Erin. "Biography of Bob Marley." Essortment.com. Pagewise, 2002. Web. <[]>. 2. Shah, Anup. "Causes of Poverty." Globalissues.org. Global Issues, 22 Mar. 2009. Web. <[]>. 3. "Jamaica - Country history and economic development." Nationsencyclopedia.com. Ed. Advameg Inc. Advameg, Inc., 2009. Web. <[]>. 4. "BOB MARLEY lyrics - Concrete Jungle." Oldielyrics.com. Oldie Lyrics. Web. <[]>. 5. "BOB MARLEY lyrics – Them Belly Full but We Hungry." Oldielyrics.com. Oldie Lyrics. Web. <[]>. 6. "Bob Marley's List of Awards." Allexperts.com. About, Inc., 2008. Web. <1. []>. 7. "Bob Marley." Rockhall.com. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2007. Web. <[]>.