David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley (born October 17, 1968 in Saint Ann Parish, ghet… Read Full Bio ↴David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley (born October 17, 1968 in Saint Ann Parish, ghetto of Trenchtown, Jamaica), composer, singer and guitarist, is a multiple Grammy-winning (reggae) Jamaican musician. He is known for songs like "Tomorrow People", "Love Is My Religion" and "A Lifetime", He is the oldest son in the marriage between the singer Rita Anderson (Marley) and late legendary reggae Bob Marley. David's father Bob nicknamed him "Ziggy". A ziggy is a big marijuana spliff on Jamaiaca.

Ziggy learned Rastafari faith from his parents and had access to some of the world's best reggae musicians in the comp band of his father – the legendary reggae Wailers. Ziggy Marley first sat in on recording sessions with Bob Marley and the Wailers when he was around 10 years old. Joining with his three siblings to become The Melody Makers, Ziggy crafted his own soulful sound blending blues, RnB, hip-hop and roots reggae.

After their first two albums, Play The Game Right (1985) and Hey World! (1986), The Melody Makers earned their first Grammy (Best Reggae Recording) for Conscious Party (1988), an album produced by Talking Heads Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth which included the hit songs "Tomorrow People" and "Tumbling Down."

Subsequent albums included the Grammy-winning One Bright Day (1989), Jamekya (1991), Joy and Blues (1993), Free Like We Want 2 B (1995), their third Grammy winner Fallen is Babylon (1997), Spirit of Music (1999) and Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers Live, Vol 1 (2000), which featured some of their biggest hits as well as a cover of Bob Marley's "Could You Be Loved."

While selling records by the millions and selling out countless concerts with the Melody Makers, including a recent European tour, Ziggy Marley has never lost sight of his foundation of faith, fellowship and family.

After two decades as the driving creative force behind The Melody Makers, Ziggy stepped out on his own with his first solo album, Dragonfly (2003). Never content to rehash the success of his past, Ziggy uses Dragonfly to explore new ground and create his own distinctive musical identity as a solo artist.

"Working on my own gave me a chance to take my time and experiment a lot," Ziggy says of the material on Dragonfly." It took one year to finish this record. It's the longest I've ever worked on a album. It's different when you on your own. At some point it's scary and then at another it's a drive that makes you focus more."

Although the members of the most close-knit musical families often yearn to step out on their own, for Ziggy, a solo debut was not a long-awaited goal. "It's not something that I wished for since I began doing music," he says. "It was just the circumstances, and I wanted to be true to myself and what I feel. The record has strong messages and it feels good."

In addition to being Ziggy's first album of solo material, for Dragonfly he felt it was time for a change of scene. "Usually we record in Kingston. These songs were written in Jamaica and recorded in America. I did the first set of recordings in a house in Miami and then went to L.A. rented a house, set up my equipment and basically did the rest there. I left Jamaica for a while, because as an artist I need to experience different things, to see the world and have different energies. Living in one place is not good for me and I was tired of making music in a studio setting. I wanted it to be more like everyday life a part of me.

"As an individual, I've opened up more by traveling outside Jamaica, and I've been more able to be open to people and ideas. It helps me to grow as a person to be outside of my element; to be on my own in a strange place meeting people. That's good for me not to be in my secure domain."

The evidence of that growth is everywhere on Dragonfly.

On July 2nd, 2006, Ziggy released his second album, Love is My Religion. He states "This album is from my heart," and he feels that he embraces his spiritual and emotional side of life. This album show Ziggy coming into his own as an artist, as he wrote all of the songs for the album and played nearly all of the instruments.

Love is My Religion is a testament to Ziggy Marley's talent as he follows in the footsteps of his father, the Legend.

Dreams Of Home
Ziggy Marley Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

We're having dreams of home
And you know we're not alone
Dreams of home
And I know we're not alone

Look how long we've been away
How long are we going to stay?
Look how long we've been away from home

How long are we going to roam?

Dreams of home
And I know we're not alone
Having dreams, having visions
Having dreams, having visions

Why can't we people see
Why can't we people see
This is not where we belong?
And there is a holy land

Dreams of home
Having dreams, having visions
This ain't no fantasy
Prophecy
Ain't nothin' strange
Life must be rearranged

Dreams of home
And I know we're not alone
And if you don't believe
I wish you well, I wish you well

And if you don't believe
I wish you well, I wish you well

Overall Meaning

"Dreams of Home" is a song that speaks to the universal longing for belonging and the search for a place to call home. The song is performed by the Grammy-winning band Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers, and it addresses the feelings of displacement that can arise when one is far away from their true home. The repeated phrase "Dreams of home" is both a lamentation and a call to action, as the lyrics suggest that there is a better life waiting for those who can find their way back to where they belong.

The song starts with the singer expressing the shared feeling of not being alone in wanting to go back to their homeland. The next line looks at how long they have been away and questions when they will return home. The "holy land" mentioned in the fourth stanza emphasizes the spiritual significance of finding one's place in the world. The song acknowledges the difficulty of transitioning and reorganizing one's life but emphasizes how important it is to ultimately find a place where one truly belongs.

The lyrics show the desire of not only the individual who is singing, but also of humanity to find a place where they feel a sense of belonging. The song suggests that it is not only a personal desire but also something higher than that. "Dreams of Home" has a general feeling of positivity and a note of hope, which reflects the general tone of the band's music.

Line by Line Meaning

We're having dreams of home
We yearn to return to our home.

And you know we're not alone
Many others share this same longing for home.

Dreams of home
Our fondest desires are to return to our home.

And I know we're not alone
Our shared desire for a homeland assures us that we are not alone.

Look how long we've been away
We've been away from home for a long time.

How long are we going to stay?
When will we finally return home?

Look how long we've been away from home
We've been separated from our homeland for a considerable amount of time.

How long are we going to roam?
When will we stop wandering and make our way back to our true home?

Having dreams, having visions
We have clear aspirations and ideas of what our home is like.

Why can't we people see
Why is it that people cannot understand?

This is not where we belong?
This place is not where we are meant to be.