Do Yourself A Favor... Catch A Fire

I don't usually do "Reviews", as such. There are times, however, when I come across something too incredible to NOT share. This is such a time. Recently, my elder sibling gave me a copy of "Catch a Fire the Bob Marley Story" . Of course, I had listened to some of Bob Marley's music. You can't smoke ganja and NOT have listened to SOMETHING Bob Marley and the Wailers recorded. I did not, as it turned out, know very much about the man, his life or apparently, his music. I'm just like any other white guy in America. I always viewed the Wailers' music as "something groovy to smoke to".

Along comes "Catch a Fire".

I went into this book knowing it was gonna at least be worth the reading. Little did I know, it would serve to re-enforce a belief that I've held my whole life; The belief that ONE MAN CAN CHANGE THE WAY THE WORLD TURNS. Let me stop here to say this: I DO NOT PUT ANY MAN ON ANY PEDESTAL. However, after reading this book, I now know in my soul that it is more than possible for one human, regardless of social stature, to impact the world so greatly, that the World will have no choice but to "change" it's way of thinking. I realize this sounds a bit "idealistic". I also realize that being labeled as an "idealogue" is taboo at this point in history. If you're one of those that subscribe to that line of thinking, I advise you to save yourself some anger and stop reading here. You won't "get it" anyway. Okay...Back to Catch a Fire.

The book itself, was written by the late Timothy White. Mr. White was one of the first writers in America to follow Bob Marley's career from it's early days, all the way up to his untimely death of Cancer in 1981. Catch a Fire begins with a background on Jamaica itself. It's people's history, their leaders like Marcus Garvey and the influence of the country of Ethiopia as well as Africa as a whole. Early on, you get a sense of the impact that Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie I, had on the small island of Jamaica; How and where the Rastafarians came into being. (Ras Tafari translates to Prince Tafari. Emperor Haile Selassie's given name was Tafari Makonnen)

When you finally get into Bob's life, you're taken on an amazing journey. The author gets you into Bob Marley's head from a very early age. You get a chance to see where his music came from. The progression from "Rock Steady" to "Ska" to the birth of Reggae, itself. You'll see just how instrumental Bob Marley really was in bringing Reggae music into the living rooms of White America.

Not only is Catch a Fire the story behind the music of Bob Marley and the Wailers, it's also a love story (several actually). It's a story of childhood friendships that carry over into manhood. A look into the very depths of a man's spiritual journey.

I know what you're thinkin'. This is some pretty deep shit for a redneck, huh? Well, yeah....I guess it is. But I'll tell you one thing; Not since Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, has a book impacted my view of people and society. In the book, I watched a man with one single thought in mind; Make the World better. A man with millions of dollars, made honestly with music, giving at least half of it away to people who needed it more than he. His own accountant said that it would be safe to say, Bob Marley took care of well over 4,000 people on a daily basis. Instead of buying expensive cars and mansions and yacts, he fed the poor. With all the political violence going on right in his own city of Kingston, he would take over as the "father figure" by providing for the victims of said violence. He never told anybody he was doing it. It was just something that the people of Jamaica knew.

That kind of information wasn't getting to Europe or America. The image we got was that of a wild haired, ganja smokin', nonsense talkin' (the Jamaican patois can be hard to understand, at times) little man that worshipped some dead Ethiopian King. I find that to be a damned shame, too. You see, I've never actually bothered to try to understand the lyrics of any Reggae song. I knew that Jah was their name for God. (being a shortened version of Jehova) I knew that I heard Jah in a lot of songs. I really had no idea that Reggae music was so spiritual. I'm still not so sure I can't quite get a grasp on the whole worship of Haile Selassie, either. I got the whole Jesus was a black mon, thing. Hair of wool, olive skin, I got that, too. But I'm not quite so sure that Mr. Selassie was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in anything other than an honorific title. But then again, people say the same thing about Jesus Christ, himself.

Regardless of all that, Bob Marley truly epitomizes walking the walk. He lived his lyrics BEFORE he wrote them. His only desire, to make life better for not just his own people, but everyone who's had to struggle to survive in a world filled with spiritual and material corruption. His struggle to remind the World that God hadn't forgotten them. He showed the World that indeed, one man can make a difference. That's not just cliche'.

Tell ya what, go to youtube and find some Bob Marley. Find the lyrics. READ the lyrics. They're not so hard to decipher.

But Ultimately, READ CATCH A FIRE.
Make your own world better. Walk the Walk.
And above all....Go With God.

Selah,