30 Bob Marley quotes that spread the artist's message of peace and love (2024)

Bob Marley's message of peace and love continues to touch hearts around the world.

The musical icon was recently spotlighted in the biopic, "Bob Marley: One Love," which quickly hit number one at the box office and is on track to become one of the top-earning musical biopics in American history.

With his band The Wailers, Marley popularized reggae music and the Rastafarian religion far beyond his home country of Jamaica.

In a 1973 interview with Billboard, Marley spoke of his intention to spread his music worldwide:

“My music gets my message across, so we are touring for more than commercial reasons ... Reggae is for everyone, and we hope we can help everyone with our music.”

While many have heard classic Marley tunes like "Three Little Birds" and "All in One," some of his more radical songs are less widely known.

In songs like "War" and "400 Years," Marley advocated for racial justice, spoke out about poverty, and promoted worldwide liberation.

Though Marley's life was cut short at age 36 by a rare form of skin cancer, his revolutionary message continues to spread through his songs.

Here are 30 famous quotes and lyrics from Bob Marley that capture his legacy.

Bob Marley quotes to spread the love

• “Don’t gain the world and lose your soul / Wisdom is better than silver and gold.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Zion Train”
• “One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain.” — Bob Marley, “Trench Town Rock”
• “None but ourselves can free our minds.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Redemption Song”

• “Let righteousness cover the earth like the water cover the sea!” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Revolution”
• “There’s a natural mystic blowing through the air. If you listen carefully now, you will hear.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Natural Mystic”
• “One love, one heart / Let’s get together and feel alright” — Bob Marley, “All in One”

• “When the morning gathers the rainbow / Want you to know I’m a rainbow too.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Sun is Shining”
• “If you know your history / Then you would know where you coming from / Then you wouldn’t have to ask me / Who the heck do I think I am.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Buffalo Soldier”
• “Prejudice is a chain, it can hold you. If you prejudice, you can’t move, you keep prejudice for years. Never get nowhere with that.” — Bob Marley

• The Road of life is rocky and you may stumble too, / so while you talk about me, someone else is judging you.” — Bob Marley, “Judge Not”
• “Don’t worry about a thing, / ‘Cos every little thing is gonna be alright.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Three Little Birds”
• “Some will hate you, pretend they love you now / Then behind they try to eliminate you.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Who the Cap Fit”

• “Reggae has to be inside you... Reggae music is simple, all the while ... Cannot be taught, that’s a fact.” — Bob Marley
• “Everything in life got its purpose / Find its reason in every season.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Forever Loving Jah”
• “If you get down and you quarrel everyday / You’re saying prayers to the devils, I say.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Positive Vibration”

• “Get up, stand up / Stand up for your right / Get up, stand up / Don’t give up the fight.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Get Up, Stand Up”
• “Possession make you rich? I don’t have that type of richness. My richness is life, forever.” — Bob Marley
• “Today, people struggle to find what’s real. Everything has become so synthetic that a lot of people, all they want is to grasp onto hope.” — Bob Marley

• “My music will go on forever. Maybe it’s a fool say that, but when me know facts me can say facts. My music will go on forever.” — Bob Marley
• “Won’t you help to sing / These songs of freedom?” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Redemption Song”
• “So, come with me, to a land of liberty, / Where we can live, live our lives and be free.”— Bob Marley and the Wailers, “400 years”

• “Sun is shining, the weather is sweet, yeah / Make you wanna move your dancing feet now.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Sun is Shining”
• They don’t want to see unite / All they want us to do is /Keep on fussing and fighting / They don’t want to see us live together / All they want us to do is / Keep on killin’ one another.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Top Rankin”
• “Live for yourself and you will live in vain / Live for others, you will live again” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Pass It On”

• In thisbrightfuture you can’t forget your past / So dry your tears I say.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “No Woman, No Cry”
• “But we won’t worry, we won’t shed no tears / We found a way to cast away the fears.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Forever Loving Jah”
• “You say dabble in politics, I don’t know what that is. You say stand up and talk for my rights — I know what that is.” — Bob Marley

• “Rise up this morning, smiled with the rising sun.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Three Little Birds
• “Hear the children crying / But I know they cry not in vain / Now the times are changing / Love has come to bloom again.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Hallelujah Time”
• That until there are no longer first-class and second-class citizens of any nation / Until the colour of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes / Me say war.” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “War”