Rodney was born in Saint Ann's Bay, St. Ann, Jamaica, as were Bob Marley and Marcus Garvey; who both had a great influence on Rodney's life. Garvey in his philosophy, which Burning Spear greatly took to, and Marley in directly helping Burning Spear get started in the music industry. Burning Spear was originally Rodney's group, named after Jomo Kenyatta, the first Prime Minister and President of an independent Kenya. As fame took hold the name of the group gradually became synonymous with Rodney.
Burning Spear is one of the strongest proponents of Marcus Garvey's self-determination and self-reliance for all African descendants, thus leading to several album releases in commemoration of the African activist.
In 2002, Burning Spear and his wife, Sonia Rodney who has produced a number of his albums, founded Burning Spear Records.
Burning Spear advocates messages of honesty, peace, and love, which tie in with his religious and political messages of Rasta and black unity.
About Burning Spear
Burning Music
"I don't know how other people see music," reggae legend Burning Spear reflects. "Some people might see it based upon money, some people might see music based upon opportunity and access. But I see music as life. I see music as inspiration."
For more than 35 years, Burning Spear's music-thus, his life-has inspired people on numerous continents. Since the beginning, his songs have implored listeners to fight oppression in all its forms, to work at improving their own condition and to consider the social impact of their actions.
OUR MUSIC builds upon the Jamaican native's legacy of musical activism. With its inimitable dancing groove, the album percolates and bubbles rhythmically in its call for unity between races, between nations, between individuals and even between business associates.
OUR MUSIC is the second album released on his Burning Spear label, following 2003's Grammy-nominated FREEMAN. In the midst of its expected messages about love, oppression and African history is the title track, a public confirmation that his brand of positivity is tempered with a strong sense of self. "Our Music" is Burning Spear's reclamation of his own artistry-a justification for establishing his record company and a challenge to all artists to commandeer their own future.
"A lot of artists just have no time to really look within the business section of the music business," Burning Spear reasons. "There's no one to really sit them down and give them some of that business understanding before they get into what they get into. So then people walk all over these artists and do things where it's not appropriate and it's not right. It's not in the artist's love."
With his art and his business now firmly in his own control, Burning Spear's OUR MUSIC stands among the most joyful albums of his career. Bolstered by its throbbing basslines, bright horn parts and slinky female background singers, the songs embrace persistence ("Try Again"), self-analysis ("Friends"), love ("Fix Me") and community ("Together") through deceptively simple lyrics that point to deeper issues. It is, in effect, smart music you can dance to.
"It's like art," he says. "You're gonna paint this thing, and people are gonna look at this art and say that it looks like a tree, looks like a car, some people it looks like a flower. People are gonna say different things according to what they see. It's very different, what it looks like to them."
No matter who looks at Burning Spear's career, they have to be impressed. Of his more than 25 albums, nine have earned Grammy nominations, with one of them - 1999's CALLING RASTAFRI - receiving the Academy's Best Reggae Album honor. And he remains one of the few reggae pioneers still working and influencing the people today.
Born Winston Rodney in St. Ann, Jamaica, he was an early fan of Bob Marley. As the legend goes, Rodney bumped into Marley while walking through a field, and the two began talking about music. Marley encouraged him to visit Jamaica's Studio One, where Rodney and a fellow musician recorded "Door Peep." By the time of its release, Rodney had branded the duo Burning Spear, taking the nickname of Jomo Kenyatta, who was jailed by a colonial British government in Africa but rose to become the first president of Kenya.
"I believe in people who are gonna stand up for what they believe in," Burning Spear notes, "not only for themselves, but for themselves and their people, and that was what Jomo was doing."
Even more central to Burning Spears' mission - and it truly is a mission - was the doctrine of Marcus Garvey, a 20th century figure who pushed for a stronger black race through self-reliance. The Jamaican-born Garvey supported freedom and economic strength for all people, but made the African-originated population his focus and published his views in a New York-based newspaper, Negro World. Garvey was jailed in the 1920s and eventually exiled to Jamaica, though he never lashed out at the system that brought him down. His message survived, influencing the likes of Kenyatta, Martin Luther King Jr., Marley and Burning Spear, which titled some of its seminal albums MARCUS GARVEY and MARCUS' CHILDREN.
"Those men wasn't preachin' any violence," Burning Spear says. "They were preachin' about Oneness and the struggles of black people about where they can live and having their voices heard. I don't see anything wrong with his plan and his direction. I think he opened a lot of eyes and opened a lot of mouths so those people could really talk and their voices could be heard. I think the time is right now to clear his name up and set his record free."
Burning Spear's mission remains rather unchanged today, though the act and the music have undergone some alterations. The duo grew into a trio, but has long since morphed into Burning Spear, a solo artist. And while his music has always been a vehicle for social change, his songs are now increasingly melodic, developed with catchy hooks that use short phrases and point more subtly to internal truths for those willing to go through self-exploration.
The music survives in a much different musical era. The reggae genre, once a distinct idiom unto itself, has been co-opted by artists throughout the years and melded with other pop forms. Artists such as Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Stevie Wonder and UB40 combined it with pop and rock during the '70s and '80s, while Shaggy and Sean Paul have blended it with hip-hop textures in more recent years. Even country man Willie Nelson put together a hybrid album involving Toots Hibbert, of The Maytals.
Those efforts have called attention to the genre, and specifically to those who helped bring reggae to the world in the '70s, including Burning Spear, Peter Tosh, Hibbert and Marley. In his time, Marley gave Burning Spear his personal seal of approval, and the Spear continues to maintain a devotion to reggae's roots while continuing his service to Jah.
"I think people have to remember the originals," Burning Spear suggests. "So to be honest, I don't really feel no way about it when people put reggae in a different form. Regardless who's gonna do what with the music, I don't think they interfere with Burning Spear."
OUR MUSIC relies heavily on the roots of the reggae movement.
"What I tried to do with this album, musically and lyrically, is to go back to the '70s, when we were singin' about the history and the culture and the lifestyle of these people," Burning Spear observes. "A lot of Burning Spear songs of that earlier times, people would see as political. To me, it's just a natural thing. As an artist, I just expressed that."
Burning Spear continues his mission of expressing his heart, of entertaining and educating the masses. He cleverly accomplishes that by winning over his listeners' bodies before he impacts their minds. He witnesses that process each time he takes the stage.
"You see the head start to nod, you start to see one movement from one of these legs down here and another one, 'til the whole body just gets involved in the whole thing," he laughs. "You have to think about that when you're creatin' the music-you're not just creatin' the music for people to sit back and listen, 'Oh, that's all good and that's bad.' You need people to shake a leg."
As they listen at home and shake legs to OUR MUSIC, listeners will also be swept up with the headiness of Burning Spear's message. The political statements are still there, most obviously in the continued references to Marcus Garvey ("One Marcus" and "Little Garvey").
But OUR MUSIC also contains deeper ideas that penetrate quietly, subtly into the mind before they reach clarity. The bouncy "Friends" asks rather simplistically, "Are you my friend, my neighbor or my enemy?/Who are you? Who are you?" On further reflection, it's obvious that the question is a complex one about societal roles and provocative self-evaluation. "Together" recalls the image of African slaves, shackled together at the ankles, while suggesting that contemporary blacks can still link together figuratively at the elbow in the continued quest for equality. And "Fix Me" embraces the power and essence of love, which Burning Spear sees as the ultimate goal of humanity.
"Love," he says, "is a harmony thing, it's a communication. Love is a link."
Burning Spear's link is a pure one in 2006. Unfettered by someone else's record company, still linked to the roots of reggae and to the ideals of its forefathers, OUR MUSIC points to a better world for those who are oppressed, and for those who simply believe a better world is possible.
"Music," Burning Spear maintains, "is a very important thing. We have to remember that no force is stronger than the music."
Come in Peace
Burning Spear Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We don't want no more war, war
We don't want no more war, come in peace
We don't want no more war, come with love
We don't want no more war, unity
We don't want no more war, too much youth are dying
We don't want no more war, gun a fire
We don't want no more war, come and explore
We don't want no more war, can't take it no more
Weapons makers
It's a money making thing, political thing
Weapons makers
It's a money making thing, political thing
War
This war day, no one seems to be the winner
This war day, no one seems to be the winner
Both sides, end up in a body box
Both sides, end up in a body box
War
Funeral, Bawling
Funeral, Bawling
Crying, crying, crying
Crying, crying, crying
Here comes the gun salute, then they deliver the flag
Here comes the gun salute, then they deliver the flag
War
They always recruit young men to fight war
They always recruit young men to fight war
When they stay so far
When they stay so far
Weapons makers
Is a moneymaking thing, political thing
Weapons makers
Is a moneymaking thing, political thing
War, war
We don't want no more war, war
We don't want no more war, war
The lyrics to Burning Spear's song "Come in Peace" convey a strong message against war, emphasizing the need for peace and love instead. The repetition of "We don't want no more war" throughout the song reinforces this message. The lyrics also speak to the devastating effects of war, particularly on the youth who are dying in large numbers. The line "Both sides end up in a body box" reflects the idea that neither side truly wins in a war.
Burning Spear also calls attention to the role of weapon makers and politicians in perpetuating war, calling it a "money-making thing" and a "political thing." The lyrics suggest that these powerful entities benefit from war financially and politically, while the common people suffer the consequences. The line "They always recruit young men to fight war" speaks to the idea that it is often young, vulnerable individuals who are convinced to fight in wars they may not fully understand.
Overall, Burning Spear's "Come in Peace" is a powerful call for an end to war and the promotion of peace, love, and unity instead.
Line by Line Meaning
We don't want no more war, war
We strongly dislike war and do not want any more conflicts.
We don't want no more war, come in peace
We would prefer to live in a peaceful world where people resolve conflicts without violence.
We don't want no more war, come with love
We believe that love and understanding can help overcome hate and conflict.
We don't want no more war, unity
We think that unity and cooperation between people can prevent conflicts from arising.
We don't want no more war, too much youth are dying
We are concerned about the high number of young people who die as a result of war.
We don't want no more war, gun a fire
We wish to stop the shooting of guns and other weapons in conflict zones.
We don't want no more war, come and explore
We would like to explore other ways of resolving conflicts that do not involve violence.
We don't want no more war, can't take it no more
We have had enough of war and do not want it to continue.
Weapons makers
Companies that manufacture weapons of war.
It's a money making thing, political thing
The manufacture and sale of weapons is driven by profit and politics, rather than a desire for peace.
This war day, no one seems to be the winner
In war, both sides suffer losses and there is no real victor.
Both sides, end up in a body box
People on both sides of the conflict end up dying and being buried.
Funeral, Bawling
The mourning and grieving that accompanies the deaths of soldiers and civilians caught in the conflict.
Crying, crying, crying
The emotions that people feel when they lose loved ones to war.
Here comes the gun salute, then they deliver the flag
When a soldier dies in battle, they are often given a gun salute and the flag of their country.
They always recruit young men to fight war
Military forces often rely on enlisting young men to fight in wars.
When they stay so far
The decision makers who send young soldiers to fight usually do not take part in the fight themselves.
War, war
A repeated call to end the conflict and bring about peace.
Contributed by Ian P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
ZimboChild263
on Nyah Keith
my brothers and sisters,
Let us run away together,
Away, zion I , away,
Away can treat you long,
For we walk to go to the lion,
Where the mill can hold before,
For the wise might knock at your door,
Zion I away,
Zion , i away,
High high high high
Who is higher than high ?
High x4
Who is higher than high
When i am on Zion
Mount zion Has,
All land, Jah Rastafarai
Away can treat you long,
For we walk to go to the lion,
Where the mill can hold before,
For the wise might knock at your door,
Zion I away,
Zion , i away,
High high high high
Who is higher than high ?
High x4
Who is higher than high
When i am on Zion
Mount zion Has,
All land, Jah Rastafarai
Richard maina
on Children
Greetings on of my favorite song, of Rodney
GEORGE MANGANYE
on Appointment With His Majesty
I NAMED MY CHILD RITA MARLEY .EVER SINCE SHE WANT TO MEET THE REAL MOTHER(RITA MARLEY).HOW CAN SHE DO THAT.
GEORGE MANGANYE
on Appointment With His Majesty
IS BROTHER WINSTON RODNEY WATCHING THE XENOPHOBIC ATTACK IN AFRICA.LET HIM COME AND CONVINCE THIS JAH-JAH CHILDREN NOT TO KILL EACH OTHER
GEORGE MANGANYE
on Appointment With His Majesty
I AM INTERESTED IN THE LYRICS(EDUCATION)BY WINSTON RODNEY
Malefu Cathy Motaung
on Loved For Who I Am
I love this song how can i download it pls help
Teba Sinker
on Man In The Hills
Jah Live Jah Guide Jah Protect.
Darren Smith
on Throw Down Your Arms
TOCH MY HEART OH JAH.......JAH RASTAFARI
Darren Smith
on The Invasion
SLAVER DAYS
Hamisi Omari Magala
on Give Me
reggae is like school, you can more thing in the reggae music