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I’m not exactly sure these are Barack Obama’s favorite Bob Marley songs but these are the songs that most reflect his struggle and journey.

1. One Love

This is one of Bob Marley’s most popular songs. Will I Am sang it at Obama’s Inaugural concert. This song represents the unity and love that Obama used as a rallying point in his historic campaign.

2. Redemption Song

In this song Marley talks about emancipating yourself from mental slavery and forwarding his generation. Obama’s victory has freed many from the chains of mental slavery and he is forwarding this generation triumphantly.The songs represents the hope and freedom that Obama has brought back as well as the struggle for people of African descent every where

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3. One Drop

This song has a double meaning. The One Drop refers to both the reggae beat and the One Drop rule that determines that any one with black blood is black. As a fellow biracial, Obama has also carried the torch for people of African descent. Bob also talks about the same struggles of working class people that Obama would come to represent.
They made their world so hard (so hard):
Every day we got to keep on fighting (fighting);

4. Small Axe

This song could have been the theme for Barack Obama’s campaign. Marley’s metaphor of the big tree cutting down the small axe represents the underdog taking on Goliath. Barack Obama managed to take down the big trees of Hillary Clinton and john McCain with the small axe of internet and grassroots campaigning.

5. War

This song is taken from a Haille Selassie speech at the United Nations. It is the ultimate critique against state sponsored racism. Barack Obama’s victory was a result of the worldwide fight against racism that Marley played a major role in. Although the color of a man’s skin still has more significance than the color of his eyes, Barack Obama has taken us closer to Marley’s dream of of lasting peace,
world citizenship and a rule of international morality.

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