"Get Up, Stand Up" is a song written by
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
and
Peter Tosh. It originally appeared on
The Wailers
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
' 1973 album ''
Burnin'''. It was recorded and played live in numerous versions by Bob Marley and the Wailers, along with solo versions by Peter Tosh and
Bunny Wailer
Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...
. It was later included on the compilations ''
Legend
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...
'' and ''
Rebel Music'', as well as live recordings such as ''
Live at the Roxy'' among others. In 1973, "Get Up, Stand Up" peaked at number 33 on the
Dutch Top 40. In 1986, it peaked at number 49 in New Zealand.
"Get Up, Stand Up" is considered one of Marley's greatest songs. In 2020, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' ranked it number one on their list of the 50 greatest Bob Marley songs, while ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' ranked it number two on their list of Marley's 30 greatest songs.
Premise and usage in concerts
Marley wrote the song while touring Haiti, deeply moved by its poverty and the lives of Haitians, according to his then-girlfriend
Esther Anderson. The tune of the chorus is clearly based on the instrumental hook in "
Slippin' into Darkness
"Slippin' into Darkness" is a song written and performed in 1971 by War. The song was produced by Jerry Goldstein. A live version of the song was featured as the B-side to their 1974 single "Ballero".
Background
This song is an unusual blues form ...
" by
War
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
, which was released the previous year, a band Marley had expressed admiration for. The song was frequently performed at Marley's concerts, often as the last song. "Get Up, Stand Up" was also the last song Marley ever performed on stage, on 23 September 1980 at the Stanley Theater, now the
Benedum Center in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.
On his DVD ''
Live at the Hollywood Bowl'', artist
Ben Harper
Benjamin Chase Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live perfo ...
relates a childhood experience in which, during a 1978 Bob Marley concert at the Starlight Amphitheater, Peter Tosh showed up unannounced as this song was being performed, took the microphone from Marley and started singing the last verse of the song to thunderous applause. Tosh was on tour opening for the Rolling Stones at the time.
Recordings by the Wailers
The song was re-recorded and re-released by the three major Wailers on their own solo releases, each with varying arrangements and approaches to the third verse, which claims that "Almighty God is a living man". Bob Marley and the Wailers released a Bob Marley only version on ''
Live!'' in 1975, this version was notable for the "WO-YO!" refrain after the third verse. Tosh would include his own solo version on his second album, ''
Equal Rights'' in 1977. Bunny Wailer was the last to release his own version on ''Protest''. This version actually featured Tosh due to his involvement in recording the album before his death.
Certifications
Covers and remixes
In 1988, the song was performed live at an
Amnesty International Concert for Human Rights by
Bruce Springsteen,
Sting,
Peter Gabriel,
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason".
Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...
and
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...
. The 2014 album ''
Songs from a Stolen Spring
''Songs from a Stolen Spring'' is a compilation album that mainly features duets and mashups of protest and peace songs performed by pairings of Western musicians with their contemporaries from the countries where the Arab Spring
The Ara ...
'' features a version of the song performed by
Glenn Tilbrook
Glenn Martin Tilbrook (born 31 August 1957) is the lead singer and guitarist of the English band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid-1970s who broke through in the new wave era at the decade's end. He generally wrote the music for Squeeze's son ...
of
Squeeze fame. The version is
meshed
Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province and has a po ...
with "Beyond These Doors" by Egyptian singer
Dina El Wedidi
Dina El Wedidi ( ar, دينا الوديدي), is an Egyptian singer, composer, guitarist, music producer, and storyteller. Dina has been known as the lead performer of an ensemble of musicians who have performed extensively in the past 2 years, f ...
. The Ukrainian band
Bloom Twins recorded a version in 2014, in support of the
Euromaidan protesters occupying
Independence Square in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
.
References
External links
Recording history of ''Get Up, Stand Up''at ''The 60's Jamaican Music Reference''.
{{authority control
1973 songs
Amnesty International
Bob Marley songs
Peter Tosh songs
Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Protest songs
Songs written by Bob Marley
Island Records singles
The Specials songs