Go Retire Psychiatrist

Well, I got a surprise last night on KCCK radio on ‘da Blues show with Bob DeForest (Bobby D). I know a couple days ago I wrote about ‘Keb ‘Mo and his optimistic song “All Around the World.”

But last night I heard a different song by him and it was one I’d never heard before: “Stand Up (And Be Strong).” It was released way back in 2000. It sounds revolutionary and might make you wonder if he’s talking about violent revolution.

He’s not, of course. The lyrics include the lines: “Shed no blood, Shed no tears.” I know he also says “Don’t wait for Jesus, he ain’t coming back no more.” That’s just a way of saying we need to take responsibility for what we do.

I wondered why he wrote this song. At first, I looked around the web to find out what was happening in 2000 or 1999 that might have led him to write it. There was the 1999 New York City shooting of Amadou Diallo, a black immigrant from New Guinea in which four police officers shot him 41 times (killing him instantly) because they thought he was reaching for a gun. He had no gun. The police officers were acquitted. The family sued and settled for $3 million. Some of the money was used to create the Amadou Diallo Foundation and scholarship fund in 2005. The killing was the first in a series of police shootings that led to the start of the Black Lives movement.

Maybe that had something to do with the song, and the line “’Cause the people are hungry, starving, and a few things more” probably implying defending yourself without killing other people.

Then I remembered that ‘Keb ‘Mo is involved with the music project Playing for Change, which got started around 2002. He was one of many musicians featured in the video performance of the 1973 song by Bob Marley “Get Up, Stand Up” which was posted on the web site about a dozen years ago. It’s got 17 million views and the lyrics are very similar to ‘Keb ‘Mo’s “Stand Up (And Be Strong”).

Anyway, I really liked Bob Marley’s song “Three Little Birds.” Is it possible that “every little thing’s gonna be all right”? The older I get, the more I want to believe.