Marley parley

Behind most artists' achievements--be they musicians, writers, or painters--is a desire for immortality. Few attain it. That eternal presence and influence has happened big with a musician who was so naturally in touch with the music he had to make that he probably never stopped to think about immortality--Bob Marley. This reggae genius changed the sounds of the world, and as the world keeps changing, his sounds keep being heard, keep revealing their truth, their power, and their message. We took the occasion of a new Marley biography to ask his family about the ways he remains a vital figure for our time, and we had Speech from Arrested Development talk to them about how it has all developed

SPEECH:

How are you all doing?

ZIGGY MARLEY: We're good, Speech.

CEDELLA MARLEY: How are you?

S: Beautiful. I'm calling you from Japan. We're over here on tour. Where are you?

CM: At home in Jamaica.

S: It's good to talk to you again. And I want you all to know that I'm very honored to do this interview.

RITA MARLEY: Yeah, we're very happy to talk to you, Speech.

S: O.K., I'll start with my first question, then. The political message in brother Bob Marley's songs has been interpreted in many ways. What do you think the political message of his music is?

ZM: Well, Speech, I don't think my father really went out to say he was writing political songs. To him it was a natural voicing out of feelings, his feelings, without directly striving to be political. Some artists try to be political, and some artists naturally state something which can be termed as being political.

S: I get what you're saying, because a lot of people say that about my music, and I feel the same way--that I don't try to be political, I just speak what's on my mind. So what do you think was the serious message that brother Bob Marley was trying to get across to people?

ZM: Each song really has a message within itself. If you listen to different songs of our father, you get different vibes, because each song points to a different part of the struggle, and the message in his songs was to not give up the struggle for freedom, the struggle for the black people in Africa. Not giving up and loving each other, you know? That's what I would say was the overall message.

S: Do you feel that his message helped effect the kinds of changes we see today--for instance, in South Africa? Because Bob Marley was one of the first musicians to make the rest of the world aware of the situation there.

CM: Yeah, and in a way just like Malcolm X's message brought about change. He spoke about change by any means necessary, whether it means we're gonna go with love or we're gonna have to go with arms. In South Africa, they tried everything. They tried a little peace, they tried a little war, then they tried a little peace again. It took a lot of love and hate to get to where they are now. And I think that was the same thing Daddy was about, too--unity by any means necessary, even if you have to stick a man in his eye for him see.

S: I agree with you because I feel that his music has surely inspired a lot of people and kept them going when it didn't look like there was any hope for change. Which sort of leads me to my next question: Rita, you wrote in the introduction of the new Bob Marley biography, Bob Marley: Songs of Freedom, that there was a sense of sadness in Bob even while he was giving so much joy to others. What do you feel were some of the things that saddened him?

RM: I think one of the main things that I can identify was how long it took black Americans to respond to the music of Bob Marley--the lyrics especially. You remember his song about "stiff-necked fools"?

S: Uh-huh.

RM: "You think you are cool/To deny me for simplicity." Those are Bob Marley's words. And I think in that song he saw the fate of the black Americans. It took so long for them just to hear the message, to turn on to the music. Even at our concerts we would have a majority of white people coming to see us, more so than blacks in those days--even toward the end of his life. But Bob had seen what was happening in the world and realized, These are my people and this is what I'm about. It's not even about the color but is that these are my people.

S: Over time, Bob's music has positively affected so many people, including myself, and has led a lot of people to perceive him as a prophet. Is that how you all see him?

RM: You know, I told Bob exactly those same words. I said, "You are a prophet." He said, "What?!" "I don't mind," I said, "I know that you are."

ZM: But some people would make you believe that a prophet is a man with wings, a man who could make water come from the hills--a magician. A prophet is a person who is walking on earth amongst us, who teaches us things that come from the inspiration of the Almighty. Which our father did, you understand. So, to us, calling our father a prophet is no big deal because we know that prophets walk amongst us every day.

S: In your opinion, what was prophetic about him?

ZM: The music. You know, in his songs are lyrics like "You never miss the water until the well run dry," which is a prophetic saying if you understand it, because it is something that affects everyone's life at some time. Every lyric that he sings affects someone's life some time or another. So just touching people's life like that is prophetic in a way.