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“Get Up, Stand Up”
Performers: Bob Marley & the
Wailers
Presentation by: Ms. Ruiz
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Song Information
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Year: 1973
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Genre: Reggae
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Album: BURNIN’
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Responsible for more
widespread
attention/followers
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Audience/Historical Context
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Audience – song particularly affects people of the time period
(1970’s). Students, people coming of age during this time.
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A lot of protesting/demonstrations during this time (war related)
Civil rights issues
Historical Context
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April 1968: MLK assassinated
1968 Chicago Riots
1970 Kent State Shootings (4 students shot during Vietnam War
protest)
1971 Voting age changed from 21 to 18 years old
1973 Roe v. Wade
Vietnam War (U.S. forces withdrew in 1973)
1974 Nixon resigns due to Watergate Scandal
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Lyrics
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“Get up, stand up; stand up for your rights!”
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“But if you know what life is worth, You will look for yours on
Earth!”
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Call to action – asking people to take control and speak up.
Life is worth fighting for – rights are worth fighting for
“You can fool people sometimes/But you can’t fool all the
people all the time/So now we see the light (what you gonna
do?)/We gonna stand up for our rights!”
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You can’t keep people in a state of ignorance forever. The power
of seeing issues/the world/society for what they are.
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Importance
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Bob Marley died in 1981 – his music was just starting to
spread more internationally, particularly in Third World
countries.
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As stated by PBS (2005), “Reggae became identified in many
African countries as a music of rebellion and protest, its
rhythms supplanting those of local traditions.”
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Popularity – “…it’s an anthem that rouses people to consider
a solution to their troubles, to get started on the road to
freedom” (PBS, 2005).
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References
America’s best history. (2011). Retrieved from
http://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1960.html
Island Records. (2008, May 15). Bob Marley: Get up stand up.
[video file] Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1PbffNcbCo
PBS. (2005). Get up, stand up: The story of pop and protest.
Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/getupstandup/