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 ā 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.
Give It Away
Ziggy Marley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And don't speak a word of it
You can play the fool
And say you've never heard of it
Oh no
Hold on tight,
You can try,
Ay!
Only if we give it away,
Can love be love
Only if we give it away
Can love be love
Yeah
Had it locked up in a box
So it'd never get away from you
Oh no
And you held on so tight
Cause of what you were afraid to do
Oh yeah
Count your coins
Pour your wine
Don't you end up lonely time after time
Only if we give it away,
Can love be love
Only if we give it away
Can love be love
Yeah
Now give it away
Give it away
Now give it away
Ay Ay
Now give it away
Alright
There's not a man alive
Who can stand up and walk away from it
In fact I even knew some men
Who think that they can pay for it
That's not real,
It's a lie
So they end up crying time after time
Oh!
Only if we give it away
Can love be love
Only if we give it away
Can love be love
Only if we give it away
Can love be love
Only if we give it away
Can love be love
Now give it away
Give it away
Now give it away
Give it away
Now Give it away
Give it away
Now give it away
Give it away
Now give it away
Give it away
Now Give it away
Give it away
I'm gonna give it away
I'm gonna give it away
Only if we give it away
Can love be love,
Now give it away
In the first verse of the song, Ziggy Marley discusses the idea of hiding something away and keeping it to oneself. This can be viewed as a metaphor for emotions and love. Many times, people tend to suppress their feelings or love and keep it hidden within them, either due to fear of rejection or fear of vulnerability. However, Ziggy Marley challenges this notion and encourages people to give away their love and emotions in order for love to truly be love. In the second verse, Ziggy Marley talks about how people lock away their love and emotions in a box, possibly due to fear of being hurt or fear of losing control. However, holding onto one's love too tightly can lead to loneliness and unfulfillment. The only way to experience true love is by giving it away without fear or reservation.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the importance of giving love away in order for it to truly be love. It reinforces the idea that love cannot be love if it is kept hidden or suppressed within oneself. The repeated phrase "Now give it away" serves as a call to action for listeners to start sharing their love with the world.
Overall, Ziggy Marley's Give It Away is a powerful and thought-provoking song that encourages listeners to be more open and vulnerable with their emotions and love, and emphasizes the importance of sharing these feelings with others.
Line by Line Meaning
You can hide it deep inside
You can conceal your emotions and feelings deep inside.
And don't speak a word of it
You can choose not to express your emotions and feelings verbally.
You can play the fool
You can pretend to be ignorant of your feelings and emotions.
And say you've never heard of it
You can claim to be unaware of your emotions and feelings.
Hold on tight,
Hold onto your emotions and feelings tightly.
You can try,
You can attempt to keep your emotions and feelings hidden.
Though you'll wind up losing every time
You will ultimately fail in concealing your emotions and feelings every time.
Only if we give it away,
Love can only be genuine if we express our true emotions and feelings.
Can love be love
Love can only be true love if we are honest and expressive with our emotions.
Had it locked up in a box
Keeping emotions and feelings hidden away like having them locked in a box.
So it'd never get away from you
Concealing emotions and feelings to avoid losing control of them.
And you held on so tight
Holding onto emotions and feelings so tightly to prevent them from escaping.
Cause of what you were afraid to do
Being scared of expressing true emotions and feelings.
Count your coins
Thinking that material things will bring happiness.
Pour your wine
Seeking temporary pleasure in alcohol.
Don't you end up lonely time after time
Concealing true emotions and feelings can lead to loneliness and isolation.
Now give it away
Express your true emotions and feelings.
There's not a man alive
Nobody is immune to the need for emotional expression.
Who can stand up and walk away from it
One cannot deny the need to express true emotions and feelings.
In fact I even knew some men
Even men, who tend to be less expressive with emotions, need to express themselves.
Who think they can pay for it
Some people think that material things can replace emotional expression.
That's not real,
Believing material things can replace emotional expression is a false belief.
It's a lie
Emotions cannot be replaced by material possessions and it is a misguided belief.
So they end up crying time after time
Those who believe material things can replace emotional expression will suffer the consequences and regrets.
I'm gonna give it away
I will express my true emotions and feelings.
Lyrics Ā© ISHTI MUSIC INC, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: DAVID NESTA MARLEY, GEOFFREY EARLY, JACOB ELISHA LUTTRELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mark Causey
yep
Mark Causey
This one also.
Kaye Smith774
I love how you continue to be positive and share the positive vibrationsš 1 love to you Ziggy Marley you're light illuminates, and you still have those beautiful Bob Marley Vocals
Bless up š
jen R xnavygal
We can only keep what we have by giving it away! Great tune..:-))
FirePhenomene13
Juste un morceau magique !
Just a magic song !
Renan
Definitely one of his best.
* RastaMusic
This CD takes me on a REAL JOURNEY!!
Geraldine Altavilla
Love it!
Daniel Nava
Ziggy creando gran mĆŗsica con este nuevo CD...
Lorenzo Nano
love it