PETER TOSH / “Get Up, Stand Up”
Despite a lengthy and successful solo career after leaving The Wailers, Peter Tosh’s best known song is almost certainly “Get Up, Stand Up,” a record he first recorded with The Wailers and one that casual fans probably think of as a Bob Marley song. While “Get Up, Stand Up,” is co-credited to Bob (probably for the instrumental half of the song), the lyrics sound like 100% Peter. In November of ‘07, in an attempt to distinguish what the three members of the Wailers brought to the group, I described them this way:
Bob Marley was the theorist, the thinker, the leader; Peter Tosh was the lightning rod, the stepping razor, the warrior; but it was Bunny Wailer, the pacifist, the farmer, the hill-dwelling Rasta, who had the prettiest voice.The lyrics of “Get Up, Stand Up” are a great example of what I meant about Peter. While Bob often (though not always) framed his political commentary in metaphor, Peter kept his words raw and uncut. He was sarcastic, didactic and almost always got right to the point. He disdained hypocrisy in all its guises whether personal, political, religious or social; he didn’t care who the truth (as he saw it) offended; and, he was afraid of nothing. Not just in nickname, but in word and action, he was indeed the ‘Stepping Razor.’ Let’s take a closer look at Peter’s lyrics for “Get Up, Stand Up.” Given the chorus (“get up, stand up / stand up for your rights”), it’s easy to assume that “Get Up” is a Black Power song, a song urging black people to assert their civil rights. I don’t think that interpretation is necessarily wrong, but it is incomplete. What “Get Up, Stand Up” is actually about is one of the key differences between Christianity and Rastafari, that being the existence of an omniscient God and the notion of a blissful, perfect afterlife. Peter’s God is not a diety. He's a living man, Haile Selassie I (“almighty God is a living man”). Peter's idea of heaven doesn't involve angels or the sky. His idea of heaven is the here and now (“if you know what life is worth, you will look for yours on earth”). Peter isn’t going to pick and choose between various Christian denominations or beliefs (“we’re sick and tired of your -ism/schism game”) and he’s not falling for the fancy talk of preachers (“you can fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all the people all the time”). He’s also less than impressed by the big churches and sparkling robes of the religious elite (“not all that glitters is gold”). And, he won’t wait passively for his reward in the afterlife (“most people think great God will come from the sky, take away everything and make everybody feel high”). Instead, he’ll do whatever he can to improve his life and the life of his people right here, right now on earth (“now you see the light, stand up for your rights”). Seen in this way, “Get Up, Stand Up” is as much a religious (or anti-religious, as it were) statement as it is a political one. Here are some interesting covers, near-covers and versions of the “get up, stand up” theme: >1. The Abyssinians – “Declaration Of Rights” – From Satta Massagana (Heartbeat, 1976) “Get up and fight for your rights, my brother / Get up and fight for your rights, my sister.” This classic Abyssinians record is sometimes mentioned as a precursor to Bob and Peter’s song. (The version here is a re-recording of a song the Abyssinians first recorded several years earlier.) As in the case of the more famous “Get Up, Stand Up,” the Abyssinians’ record is a call for the downtrodden to throw off their bondage and fight for their rights. If you’ve read the second part of Genesis and the first part of Exodus, these lyrics will sound familiar. >2. The Wailers – “Get Up, Stand Up” – From Burnin’ (Tuff Gong/Island, 1973) The classic original version with lead vocals by Bob and an incendiary ‘rap’ by Peter. >3. Toots & The Maytals – “Get Up, Stand Up” – Originally from Pass The Pipe (Island, 1978); Available on Time Tough: The Anthology (Island, 1996) In the world of reggae, it’s very common for artists to remake other artists’ songs, make little changes and then call the resulting music their own new song. Here, the legendary Jamaican singer Toots Hibbert takes the opposite approach. Other than the title, Toots’ “Get Up, Stand Up” seems to have little in common with the famous Wailers record, but on the Maytals’ Pass The Pipe LP, this song is credited to Bob and Peter. >4. Peter Tosh –“Get Up, Stand Up” – From Equal Rights (CBS, 1977) My favorite version of “Get Up, Stand Up.” Probably because it’s the one I remember hearing the most when I was a kid. Sly & Robbie contribute the lean, electric-sounding riddims and Peter one-ups Bob with a terse, seething performance of his own lyrics.
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3 Responses to “PETER TOSH / “Get Up, Stand Up””
September 5th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
I’m 45, from England living in the US with five fine strong talented and beautiful sons, two are rappers, one who never follows anyones path but is own and two younger ones that dred their hair and love all of Peter’s music. I have a tatoo of something he said on my back, he said “Peace is the diploma you receive at the cemetary” Profound and very true. I loved him as a child, a teenager and still now as a woman. Coming up it was all about Marley and it still is but not to me. As long as we tell our children about Peter then he will always be alive.
March 19th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
Peter TOsh was and is my hero. I saw him live. I live by his presence and personality. He was one of the world’s great singers/philosophers. When he died, reggae died. There will never be another like him. Honesty, straight to the point and no bullshit – that was Peter Tosh. Long live the Bush Doctor – my hero.
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