I Shot The Sheriff Rhetorical Devices

“Don’t worry, about a thing. ‘Cause every little thing, gonna be alright.” Almost everyone can hear these words and instantly know that this song was sang by Bob Marley. His songs created an amazing impact on how people think and paved the way for change and reform. Words that other people were scared to say, Bob Marley wrote freely in his songs. Speaking both figuratively and literally, he speaks to bring change to the oppression many dark skinned people face, as well as corruption brought to the world. Bob uses a plethora of rhetorical devices to plant the seeds of social change and free living. Bob Marley puts the part of an actual man as well as a general role of the government in Sheriff John Brown in ‘I Shot the Sheriff’:

Sheriff John

This song was also used to win a court case in 2014 for a man accused of murder on the basis of his music lyrics. Some “seeds” such as ones told in “Redemption Song”, “emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds”, spoke of the prisons of our minds. Telling others to open their minds and listen, let go of oppression, and come together in one

The C.I.A. supplied two political parties in Jamaica with weapon to start a civil war. Both sides asked Marley to endorse their side, “instead, he brought them both on stage at the One Love Peace Concert in 1978 and got them all to hold hands as a call for unity. As a believer of Rastafari ideology, Marley assured people in Rat Race that he would not have his morals corrupted, or his voice co-opted, by dishonest politicians and government officials.” (everlivingroots).

The voice which Marley uses to sing his music alters some pronunciations of words to make them rhye and stick in the minds of his listeners, as well as the message he portrays.

Before God and man, yeah

To see the unification of all Africans, yeah

This verse from ‘Africa Unite’ is an example of this. He pronounces African, Afri-can, which not only sounds better with man, but also catches the attention of the listener with the new way he speaks. He also adds “yeah” at the end of both lines to add the ending which rhymes with the previous ending and creates a sound effect in the listeners