Bob Marley - "Zimbabwe" (video, lyrics, comment)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases a video of Bob Marley singing "Zimbabwe"

The content of this post is presented for cultural, linguistic, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Robert Nesta Marley for his musical legacy and thanks to the publisher of this video.

One love to the citizens of Zimbabwe during this historical time.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zimbabwe-mugabe-expected-fall-celebrations_us_5a1047d3e4b0dd63b1aabead?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
Zimbabwe’s Ruling Party Ousts Mugabe, Party Sources Say
The 93-year-old leader has ruled the country for the last 37 years.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Bob Marley - Zimbabwe



b1bek, Published on Oct 24, 2010

Bob Marley - Zimbabwe. 1979-21-07 Amandla Festival - Harvard Stadium, Boston, MA

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LYRICS: ZIMBABWE

(Robert Nesta Marley)

Every man gotta right to decide his own destiny,
And in this judgement there is no partiality.
So arm in arms, with arms, we'll fight this little struggle,
'Cause that's the only way we can overcome our little trouble.

Brother, you're right, you're right,
You're right, you're right, you're so right!
We gon' fight (we gon' fight), we'll have to fight (we gon' fight),
We gonna fight (we gon' fight), fight for our rights!

Natty Dread it in-a (Zimbabwe);
Set it up in (Zimbabwe);
Mash it up-a in-a Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe);
Africans a-liberate (Zimbabwe), yeah.

No more internal power struggle;
We come together to overcome the little trouble.
Soon we'll find out who is the real revolutionary,
'Cause I don't want my people to be contrary.

And, brother, you're right, you're right,
You're right, you're right, you're so right!
We'll 'ave to fight (we gon' fight), we gonna fight (we gon' fight)
We'll 'ave to fight (we gon' fight), fighting for our rights!

Mash it up in-a (Zimbabwe);
Natty trash it in-a (Zimbabwe);
Africans a-liberate Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe);
I'n'I a-liberate Zimbabwe.

(Brother, you're right,) you're right,
You're right, you're right, you're so right!
We gon' fight (we gon' fight), we'll 'ave to fight (we gon' fight),
We gonna fight (we gon' fight), fighting for our rights!

To divide and rule could only tear us apart;
In everyman chest, mm - there beats a heart.
So soon we'll find out who is the real revolutionaries;
And I don't want my people to be tricked by mercenaries.

Brother, you're right, you're right,
You're right, you're right, you're so right!
We'll 'ave to fight (we gon' fight), we gonna fight (we gon' fight),
We'll 'ave to fight (we gon' fight), fighting for our rights!

Natty trash it in-a Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe);
Mash it up in-a Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe);
Set it up in-a Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe);
Africans a-liberate Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe);
Africans a-liberate Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe);
Natty dub it in-a Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe).

Set it up in-a Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe);
Africans a-liberate Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe);
Every man got a right to decide his own destiny.

Source: https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bobmarley/zimbabwe.html
-snip-
Here's information about the word "natty" that I included in a discussion thread about Bob Marley's song "Natty Dread" that I started in 2007 on Mudcat's folk music forum

https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100728

"Subject: RE: Natty Dread
From: Azizi
Date: 12 Apr 07 - 11:07 PM

http://www.answers.com/topic/natty has this definition for 'natty':

"nat·ty (năt'ē)
adj., -ti·er, -ti·est.
Neat, trim, and smart; dapper.

[Perhaps variant of obsolete netty, from net, elegant, from Middle English, from Old French. See neat1.]

nattily nat'ti·ly adv.
nattiness nat'ti·ness n.

The adjective natty has one meaning:

Meaning #1: marked by smartness in dress and manners
Synonyms: dapper, dashing, jaunty, raffish, rakish, smart, spiffy, snappy, spruce"

-snip-

http://takeourword.com/TOW127/page2.html provides this information about the origin and meaning of the word 'natty':

"Most etymologists seem to favor the explanation that the word is a variation of the obsolete netty "neat, elegant" from Middle English net "clean, tidy" (14th century). This would make it a relative of modern English neat, which also comes from Middle English net. Net also meant "neat, clean" in Old French, hence modern French nettoyer, "to clean". The source of the Old French word is Latin nitidus "elegant, shiny", from the verb nitere "shine".

Interestingly, neat dates from the 16th century, while natty first appears in the 18th century in Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue: "Natty lads, young thieves or pickpockets." The Indo-European root here is *nei- "to shine", which may have given English the word lilac, from Persian nil "indigo"."
-snip-
Based on those definitions, my sense is that Bob Marley was encouraging the Black revolutionaries in Zimbabwe to take over that nation in a neat, efficient, and dashing way.

Whether that happened then, it appears to be happening now.

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