Song: Buffalo Soldier (Listen)
Album: Confrontation (1983) (Buy)
The fantastic weather we Englishmen and women have had has disappeared as quickly as it arrived. Typical really, but for an all too brief week the summer of 2010 had graced us with its presence. Hopefully it will be back before too long. Anyway, for this one glorious week the general population was out in force getting tanned or hilariously burned on various patches of grass the country over, and all the summer songs were on full blast as a soundtrack to their roasting. For me, nothing says summer more than Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley, and it has been on repeat once the sun came out and the mercury began hitting 25°C.
I guess I’m stepping out of my comfort zone a little with this one. Of all the genres of music I listen to, reggae is one of the ones I know least about. Bob Marley aside, I’d have trouble naming two other reggae artists. Not that this is a surprise to anyone; after all, he is pretty much the standard when it comes to the genre, and perhaps the token reggae artist that everyone has listened to a little bit. I mean, everyone loves a little bit of Bob, right? Not that this mainstream appeal detracts from his genius at all...
Regardless, I’ve always been aware of his music, existing somewhere just beyond my periphery so that I never actually listened to him properly. It was only last summer that he truly entered my musical conscience, when wherever I seemed to go someone was jamming along to Bob. Starbucks seemed to have Legend on constant play, and he turned up continuously on whatever speakers we had during our numerous cotches in Hyde Park. It was at this point in time, relaxing in the summer sun, that I properly started to get into his music. Now that the good weather is sort of starting to come back, Bob's songs have been seriously stuck in my head, and Buffalo Soldier the most of all of them.
Simply put, listening to this song just makes my head scream “YEAAAAAH SUMMER!!!” The slow tempo just makes me think of chilling in the park, and the bright chords make me think of a blue sky and vibrant green grass. The lyrical content may be somewhat more serious, but it’s certainly sung in a positive light, with the idea that the fight for survival that the song depicts will eventually be won. Regardless of the content, Bob’s vocals, especially the ‘woy yoy yoy’ later in the song, just make me think of happy times free of worry or concern, completely unaided by any variety of smoke-able plant. Honestly.
