Analysis of a Classic Album: Bob Marley and the Wailers, Burnin (1973)
The group known as the Wailers released the album “Burnin” in 1973 and featured Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer. The collection has songs like “Get Up, Stand Up,” “Hallelujah Time,” and “I Shot the Sheriff,” among others. The “Burnin” album starts with a rather unusual, ominous introduction, and continues to ring a notably darker than usual tone in a way that fits the songs lyrical matter. The band can accomplish this feat without taking the Wailers’ trademark groove out of the music, which is an idea that few groups have been able to blueprint equally. Even though the introduction is ominous, the music in this album picks on a beautiful ascend to create a beautiful piece. The first half of this album closes with the track “Put It On,” which is a catchy track that appears to summarize the slower, gentler, and harmonious melodies that make up the disc. The songs are inspirational and convey messages which touched on significant subjects that were relevant those times and still are today. The songs registered a massive artistic success not only among the Jamaicans but across the world, and its message resonated with contemporary issues in the society.
The “Burnin” album was beautiful and still considered by many as an absolute perfection from the beginning to an end. Apart from the tracks “Get Up, Stand Up,” “Hallelujah Time,” and “I Shot the Sheriff,” the other records are an excellent addition as well. The Wailers were such an active group, which was very influential in terms of transforming the music scene by managing to change the music culture as a whole. The Wailers can be referred to as the greatest and most real poets because they were able to live every song which they every performed. In this album, The Wailers’ musical and the lyrical content helped stir up a revolution in the minds of many people across the world. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
In the rhetorical sense, the three songs “Get Up, Stand Up,” “Hallelujah Time,” and “I Shot the Sheriff” could be considered to fall under the genre of reggae. Different genres contain different characteristics or meanings of a rhetorical analysis. Bob Marley and the Wailers give hope that people come together and agree to fight together for a common course, thank and praise the Lord, everything will be made better. The songs are beautiful with soothing and calm rhythm, and their voices adopt a happy tone simply because of the belief that everything has a solution. Their voices are smooth and well-coordinated, which is a style that appeals to the audience is. In the performance of the three songs, the beats and tones which are used can relate to the discourse community that is targeted. This assists in helping the performer to stretch the message out easier as they have a common ground with the public. rAs The Wailers give a message in the songs, their content and form correspond well because they ensure that they provide a solution to the problems that they are talking about in the other lines. In the flow of the songs, for example, “Get Up, Stand Up,” there is a complete understanding of the issues that Bob Marley and The Wailers have an opinion on. Today, the album is regarded as the most genuine definition of the reggae roots sound. Bob Marley and the Wailers became an influential reggae Jamaican group. Many people would identify themselves with the issues being expressed through the songs in this album, and they were an inspiration to Jamaicans both in their struggle for fairness, equality, and freedom. Another inspiration for these musicians was the teachings of Rastafarianism. Listening to this album is very relaxing, and generally very cheerful. Even on the “darkest” songs, it is possible to find optimism still as far as music is concerned.
The lyrics of these songs are mostly quite dark and bitter, which makes a nice contrast between the words and the music itself, and the best example of this contrast created between the words and music is “Hallelujah Time.” The following lyrics can illustrate this information: “Hear the children crying, But I know they cry not in vain.” The music “Hallelujah Time” is very uplifting as well as joyful, and its chorus is very uplifting. Like the opener song “Get Up, Stand Up,” the song is very addictive and has the vocal melody as well as motivational lyrics. The introduction of this song gives this piece a subtle and sorrowful aura. The song’s prayer-like lyrics often match a perfectly organized form with the simple, but the beautiful and charming melody. The song “Hallelujah Time” is a prime example of the Wailers’ playing style, which is incorporated in almost all of their songs. It is neither professional nor sloppy. However, it is a perfect combination of the two approaches, professional and sloppy, with the instruments being loose, natural, and spontaneous, but often without missing a beat. It is this balanced playing that is believed to give the songs their trademark sound and on a larger scale, like “Get Up, Stand Up,” the Wailers’ identity.
The song “Hallelujah Time” is a combination of smooth rhythm, slow but steady tempo, and well-organized voices to make an enthralling rendition. It is a pastoral lament which symbolizes that man lives on a “borrowed time,” yet it is heavily suffused with a typical Jah-blessed positivity and hope. Although the harmonies are unorthodox and achieved after many years of a close musical brotherhood of The Wailers, this song is one of the most exciting songs that the group ever recorded together. This track could have been captured in the hymn books and because it is couched in Biblical terms. The title and the way it is voiced reflect on a modern gospel style. The Wailers’ rendition of this song is a combination of gospel harmonies that are delivered straight out of the traditions of the church, and the lyrics embody a promising tone.
The song “I Shot the Sheriff” was made famous by Clapton. However, according to me, the original will remain better. This is because Bob Marley treats the song in a relaxed, natural way without much struggle. In his rendition of the same song, Clapton is exceptionally tight, which is a musical quality, which does not suit Bob Marley’s composition in any way. Bob Marley found an international audience in the song “I Shot the Sheriff” after he expanded its rhythm section of the group adding a female vocal trio, which is the I-Threes. The militant mood created in the song goes on with the slower and more laid-back, relaxed tempo of “Burnin” and “Lootin” leading to a moody head-bobbing groove and the message conveyed that suggests that sometimes force is necessary. Bob Marley was always a pacifist at heart, though, and the album’s mood seen in many of the songs found in the record “Burnin.”
In the beginning, the plaintive piano compliments in the best way possible Bob Marley’s transformation between falsetto and regular tone and the background vocals offer the best definition of spirituality. The vocals come in after several measures of backgrounds where guitar, bass, and synthesizers come in naturally. Bob Marley’s voice is scratchier and slightly higher, singing with a more pleading voice. He adds more acclamations to his lyrics to punctuate his smoother phrases. Bob Marley and The Wailers adopted a G minor key whereby the back-up singers are higher and more soulful at the same time. The high pitch gives the song a deeper and optimistic tone. The offbeat punctuation is done on the drum set, offering a more urgent tone.
Additionally, one of the more significant licks of this song is that it has heavier electric guitar and bass, and the often-repeated part gains a more anxious tone. Still, the introduction of the synthesizer organ creates a peaceful tone that complements the light electric guitar. As the song comes to an end, there is a solo for the organ synthesizer, which assists in leading the song out in an optimistic tone. The song comes to an end with the rendition of the drums, which have been prevalent throughout the whole song. The poetry in the song “I Shot the Sheriff” takes place as both Limerick and Sonnet because, as the Limerick, it rhymes every first line, ABAB, but as Sonnet, it rhymes every second line, AABB. The poetic devices which are used in this song comprise repetition, which gives a stronger and clearer message out to the audience. The metaphoric expressions express situations in more complex forms.
In the song “I Shot the Sheriff,” Bob Marley could be referring to an injustice done by people in authority. He said, “I shot the sheriff, but I didn’t shoot no deputy.” Shooting the deputy is the real crime, although he has not been charged for this. He wants to be exonerated because of failure by the authorities to conduct a conclusive investigation, which is why they are charging the narrator “Bob Marley” for the wrong crime. While either killing the Sheriff or Deputy is one in the same crime, the charges used are wrong in the first place and form the basis for a more significant form of injustice. The charges give Marley, the victim, a title that the charges against him are strange and that he has never heard of and does not understand. He claims that he killed the SheriffSheriff because “Sheriff John Brown always hated me/ For what I don’t know/ Every time that I plant a seed/ He said, “Kill it before it grows” which is a regular occurrence with law enforcers who often run afoul of their victims. But the seed here seems to be a seed of the human potentials, the seed of the human possibility that is facing a threat, and you rise against the threat with all the energy you can explode.
When push came to shove, Marley (storyteller) killed the SheriffSheriff, and when it became known that he had done it, he claimed the killing was only made in self-defense. In the context where all the police are the deputies working for law enforcing bodies, the SheriffSheriff in this song is the deputy that Marley referred to. The storyteller admitted that he shot and killed the man who served in the office of the SheriffSheriff, and that is why he was explaining how it happened. When the storyteller went free, the Sheriff looked for him in order to kill him as the storyteller had earlier indicated that he hated him. Probably the law did not allow him to shoot him like he wanted as he would be going against the law to “gun him down.” Hence John Brown revoked his position as a deputy sheriff. He was no longer the law enforcer, and he went looking for the storyteller like any civilian in order to kill him. The storyteller shot him in self-defense to protect himself. And in the song, therefore, he was making the case that he did not kill an officer of the law but killed a person who was looking to murder him – the person holding the position of the Sheriff, and he prayed not to be charged with killing a deputy of the law. On another level, this song is about Rastamen being harassed by the police, probably because of supporting a different opinion on politics.
Upon listening to the song “I Shot the Sheriff,” one might be pulled in by the beautiful smooth melody’s groove. Underneath the beautifully coordinated playing lies many instruments, a myriad of guitar bits, pieces of percussion, organ additions, and exceptional human backing vocals. A lot of these songs are considered denser than given credit. In this song, Bob Marley echoes the group’s various cries for a sense of peace and the need to come together as one. The song has the lyrical ability, which is easily recognizable to fans. Songs are composed for many reasons. The song “I Short the Sheriff” ultimately talks about rebellion and revolution. It would resonate with many events at the time as people were fighting for independence or equality. Therefore, it became an anthem of freedom fighters around the globe. This song stands out because it displays Bob Marley’s mastery in the field of writing and using allegories as well as metaphors to tell stories. This song is also a song about a person and a nation of people who defend their right to live in peace according to their quest to fight against genocide.
The song “Get Up, Stand Up” advocates for taking action. Peter Tosh often helped in developing political and musical profiles protesting inequality through political performances and effects. This signature song in the album “Burnin” is one of the most famous protest music. “Get Up, Stand Up” has a rhythm that is often essential to Rastafarian reggae, which is a metaphor for resistance in lyrics. The “riddim,” which is derived from the term “rhythm,” has its meaning, which includes the main beat, tempo, and the emphasis on second and fourth off beats, repeating patterns that have been formed and relationship which exists between bass and rhythm instruments. The song has a regular and robust pulse consisting of twos and fours. The vibration is cut across by counter-rhythms, which are syncopated. The song is played at a slow, leisurely tempo, which is a characteristic of many pieces of reggae music. The instrumentation of the song includes the electric bass, guitar, drums, saxophones, and singers. The mood of the song has an emotional and inspirational affect. The art of composing a catchy tune with virtuosity often involves coming up with a musical piece that is instantly recognizable as well as memorable to the audience. These are the effects that are presented in the song Get Up, Stand Up,” which makes it one of the greatest songs in history. The song is a rousing, infectious and danceable tune that can musically hook one before even listening to the words of the song. Once one gets to pay attention to the rich content which is housed within the confection of this great song, one can realize that the inevitable feet movement accompanying one’s hearing of the beat and the song itself is exactly as well the point of the lyrics. In the song, Bob Marley and The Wailers are telling their audience that they cannot sit still and continue accommodating societal vices like racism, poverty, sexism, and many other ills. It is a lovely song that contains a call to action that successfully combines melody, rhythm, and lyrics, which are all heading towards the same conclusion. A true Marley fan would instinctively get up, hold a lighter high in affirmation, and shout, “Get up, stand up/ stand up for your rights/ Get up, stand up/ don’t give up the fight.”
It was always beautiful how The Wailers could use their reggae roots messages and still be able to couple them with positive, uplifting music. The “Burnin” album is one of the band’s most enthralling features which continued to move words of peace and positive transformation to every generation which stumbles upon them. This music has the qualities which that are believed to make the majority of the band’s music to be accessible to a fan-base, which is diverse. The song “Get Up, Stand Up” is recognized as Bob Marley’s classic song, and although most of the hits contained in this album fell slightly shorter than needed to impress, this song, like the other two which are picked for the analysis in this essay impresses many reviewers. This song follows the typical roots reggae but has some semi-militants tones, which are mixed with peaceful, enthralling songs of harmony. The song “Get Up, Stand Up” has much of the music attached to the lyrical content of Bob Marley other than the complexity of the composition. In this song, like many other songs are done by this band, “Get Up, Stand Up” utilizes many metaphors. In the song, Marley sings, “and now you see the light, stand up for your right.” The importance of light is that it enables sight. According to Marley, sighting the light is intended to mean getting enlightened; hence, they should act on that understanding.
This song “Get Up, Stand Up” is made up of thee stanzas, but what is more striking are the poetic devices that have been used. They include repetition in “Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights!/ Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights!/ Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights!/ Get up, stand up, don’t give up the fight!”; metaphor like “It’s not all that glitters is gold”; rhyme, “It’s not all that glitters is gold/ ‘Alf the story has never been told.” These poetic devices impact on the audience or the listeners of the song. They contribute to their pleasant effect. The repetition in the song helps in emphasizing the main message, which is the spirit and the wish to achieve their goal. In terms of the rhythm, this song adopts a straight beat with syncopation, which happens between the drums and the rhythm section. It has a steady tempo with snare accents on the third beat, which instills a stable and robust pulse that one could march to. For the melody and pitch, the song is performed with half and whole step intervals. The rising intervals which happen stepwise symbolize the sense of positive change happening in small and steady increments. The song has a consistent feeling which has fewer shifts in mood volume or intensity, which makes the song slightly militant. It has a crisp, done in a clear Jamaican voice. Marley’s high-register signifies a strained approach which reflects his quest as he struggled for a better world.
Listening to the album “Burnin,” one can say that this album is very influential. It is also one of the most significant records in the sense that it speaks to the lowly and underprivileged in society, so they were determined to help them in their struggle. One can tell that Bob Marley and his band truly do believe in their songs. In all that Bob Marley and his group did, they did it will make all their hearts. It was really what they were all about. While other musicians may have made money off the back of their music, Marley focused on the message first, and this gave him such energy and force to push on in the artistic world. The album “Burnin” by the Wailers was a success because of the artistic style adopted by the band. The themes expressed in the song are such that the people were able to identify with. They talked about spiritual motivations through their Rastafarian religion, freedom, and togetherness, and a call for action, especially for people to chat a common way of dealing with issues in their society, and the often-chanted harmonies results in the tracks going down easy making the album achieves the classic status. The Wailers’ songs, which are contained in the collection “Burnin,” mostly can stir a revolution within their country and in the minds and hearts of all listeners across the world. This band still generates excellent buzz at the present day after many years of this fantastic album’s release. The songs are likable since they have a lot of meaning to them, which do not only apply to one person but for all and advocate for human rights. Most of the things that the three songs talk about include the subjects that the Jamaicans believe in, for instance, religion, unity, freedom, human respect, and inspiration.