Every man gotta right to decide his own destiny
And in this judgment there is no partiality
So arm in arms with arms
We'll fight this little struggle
'Cause that's the only way
We can overcome our little trouble

Brother, you're right, you're right
You're right, you're right, you're so right
We gon' fight (we gon' fight)
We'll have to fight (we gon' fight)
We gonna fight (we gon' fight)
Fight for our rights

Natty dread it inna (Zimbabwe)
Set it up in (Zimbabwe)
Mash it up-a inna Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
Africans ah liberate (Zimbabwe), mh

No more internal power struggle
We come together to overcome the little trouble
Soon we'll find out who is the real revolutionary
'Cause I don't want my people to be contrary

And, brother, you're right, you're right
You're right, you're right, you're so right
We'll have to fight (we gon' fight)
We gonna fight (we gon' fight)
We'll have to fight (we gon' fight)
Fighting for our rights

Mash it up inna (Zimbabwe)
Natty trash it inna (Zimbabwe)
Africans ah liberate Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
I and I ah liberate Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)

Brother, you're right, you're right
You're right, you're right, you're so right
We gon' fight (we gon' fight)
We'll have to fight (we gon' fight)
We gonna fight (we gon' fight)
Fighting for our rights

To divide and rule could only tear us apart
In every man chest, mh, there beats a heart
So soon we'll find out who is the real revolutionaries
And I don't want my people to be tricked by mercenaries

Brother, you're right, you're right
You're right, you're right, you're so right
We'll have to fight (we gon' fight)
We gonna fight (we gon' fight)
We'll have to fight (we gon' fight)
Fighting for our rights

Natty trash it inna Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
Mash it up inna Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
Set it up inna Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
Africans ah liberate Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
Africans ah liberate Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
Natty dub it inna Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
Set it up inna Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
Africans ah liberate Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)

Every man got a right to decide his


Lyrics submitted by uNifusE

Zimbabwe Lyrics as written by Bob Marley Mathieu Andre Boogaerts

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Zimbabwe song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

7 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    This song means so much to me. If you want to be free, you've got to fight, whether from addiction, war, slavery, oppression, depression or anything. Sublime did an excellent cover of this.

    silent_thunderon March 30, 2006   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I think what Bob is trying to say in this song is that we have to fight for everything we do, if it really means something to us. It's about actually overcoming the struggle, the struggle itself is trivial but it has to be overcome. When he says "and soon we'll find out who are the real revolutionaries cause I don't want my people to be contrary" he means we need to actually overcome the problem, not simply discuss it, but overcome it. If there is no attempt to overcome the struggle, and yet people complain then it's a contradiction.

    abuseforapieon January 04, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song was written in response to the African nation of Rhodesia gaining it's independence and gaining the name Zimbabwe. Bob was later asked to perform at the Zimbabwe independence ceremony in 1980. There he was able to perform this song in front of 80,000 screaming Zimbabwean fans.

    OceanOfChaoson May 13, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I dont want my people to be tricked by Mugabe

    selassieion March 28, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I dont want my people to be tricked by Mugabe

    selassieion March 28, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    yes, it is beautiful. Bob was so honored to be able to write this song and perform it at the independance concert!

    BobMarleyfan90on June 15, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Africans have certainly "mashed up" Zimbabwe.

    Yes, Bob was sometimes prophetic...

    Hmmmmmmmmmm

    NomadMonadon February 11, 2014   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.