International star Yami Bolo has been recording and performing "Jah-centere… Read Full Bio ↴International star Yami Bolo has been recording and performing "Jah-centered" cultural reggae since the 1980s. Bolo believes that he has been divinely called to make himself and his entourage revolutionary soldiers of the Almighty on a mission to spread their message of love, peace and hope to the entire world with their performances and recordings. He is particularly interested in uplifting the youth songs that warn against violence such as "Gun War." Born Rolando McLean, Yami Bolo's earliest musical influence was church music; he began performing at age 11. He got his big chance when he hooked up with Sugar Minott and his Youth Promotion organization. Minott was impressed by Bolo's sincerity and eventually allowed him to record special promotions for traveling DJs — none of the many tracks he recorded with Minott were ever released. While associated with Minott, the adolescent Bolo would spend much time hanging out at Jamaican studio listening to roots beats and learning about recording. Later, Bolo performed with Stur-Mas and Third World. As an independent artist, Bolo signed with Techniques in the mid-'80s and released three singles. He then went on to cut one LP with Junior Delgado and another with Augustus Pablo before recording the solo CD He Who Feels it Knows It for Heartbeat in 1989. In the early '90s, he was signed with Taxi Records and also to Paisley Park Records as a songwriter. Throughout the duration of the nineties Bolo recorded for the RAS and VP labels, as well as issuing 1991's He Who Knows It Feels It and 1992's Up Life Street on Heartbeat.

What's Going On
Yami Bolo Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Mother, mother
There's too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There's far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today, yea

Father, father

We don't need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what's going on
What's going on
Ya, what's going on
Ah, what's going on

In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on

Father, father, everybody thinks we're wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we've got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Oh

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
What's going on
Ya, what's going on
Tell me what's going on
I'll tell you what's going on - Uh

Right on baby
Right on baby

Overall Meaning

Yami Bolo's song "What's Going On" is a call to action, urging people to come together and find a way to end the suffering in their communities. The opening lines of the song address the mothers and brothers of the world, acknowledging the pain and suffering that they are experiencing. The singer urges that instead of focusing on the tears and deaths, we should strive to bring love into our lives and communities. The lyrics "You know we've got to find a way, to bring some lovin' here today" emphasize this message, as the singer highlights the importance of spreading love in the world, in order to overcome hate and violence.

The song then turns to address fathers, emphasizing that war is not the solution to the conflicts that exist between people. The singer is clear in stating that only love can conquer hate and that a peaceful solution must be found. The lyrics "Picket lines and picket signs, don't punish me with brutality. Talk to me so you can see, what's going on" further emphasize the need for dialogue and understanding in order to find a peaceful resolution to conflicts. The song calls out for people to come together and work towards understanding one another, rather than punishing each other with violence and hatred.

Overall, "What's Going On" is a powerful anthem that highlights the need for love and understanding in our communities, and the importance of peaceful dialogue in order to achieve it. It is a call to action for people to come together and work towards a world that is free from violence and suffering.

Line by Line Meaning

Mother, mother There's too many of you crying
There are too many mothers crying over the deaths of their children.

Brother, brother, brother There's far too many of you dying
There are too many brothers dying in wars and conflicts.

You know we've got to find a way To bring some lovin' here today, yea
We need to find a way to bring love and peace to this world.

Father, father We don't need to escalate
We don't need to make the situation worse with violent acts.

You see, war is not the answer For only love can conquer hate
War cannot solve our problems, only love can eliminate hate.

Picket lines and picket signs Don't punish me with brutality
Peaceful protests shouldn't result in violent responses from authority figures.

Talk to me, so you can see Oh, what's going on What's going on Ya, what's going on Ah, what's going on
We need to communicate with each other to understand what's happening in our world.

In the mean time Right on, baby Right on Right on
Let's continue to fight for justice and love.

Father, father, everybody thinks we're wrong Oh, but who are they to judge us Simply because our hair is long
People may judge us based on our appearance, but they don't have the right to determine our worth.

Oh, you know we've got to find a way To bring some understanding here today Oh
We need to find a way to understand and respect each other's differences.

Tell me what's going on I'll tell you what's going on - Uh Right on baby Right on baby
Let's continue to have conversations about what's happening in our world, and fight for justice and love.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Alfred W Cleveland, Marvin P Gaye, Renaldo Benson

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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