My music will go on forever. Maybe it's a fool say that, but

Hear the voice of Bob Marley, prophet of rhythm and messenger of unity, who declared: “My music will go on forever. Maybe it’s a fool say that, but when me know facts me can say facts. My music will go on forever.” These words rise with both boldness and humility, a statement that is less boast than prophecy. For Marley knew that true music is not sound alone, but spirit, and spirit cannot die. He understood that when songs are born from truth, justice, and love, they transcend the mortal life of the one who sings them.

To say “my music will go on forever” is to recognize that music, when it speaks from the heart of the people, becomes eternal. Empires collapse, kings vanish, wealth rots in the ground, but song endures. The psalms of David are still sung, the chants of monks still rise, the folk songs of nameless ancestors still echo in fields and mountains. Marley’s music, rooted in struggle, faith, and the longing for freedom, joined this eternal stream. He knew this, and so he could speak of it not with arrogance, but with certainty.

Consider the songs Marley gave the world—“Redemption Song,” “One Love,” “No Woman, No Cry.” These are not merely melodies but prayers, not merely rhythms but truths. They speak to the poor, the oppressed, the weary, the hopeful. And because suffering and hope will always be part of the human story, these songs will always have a home in the hearts of listeners. Thus, Marley’s prophecy fulfills itself: his music goes on forever because it was born of what is universal.

History confirms this wisdom. Think of Beethoven, who wrote symphonies he could never hear with his ears, yet whose music still resounds across the centuries. Or consider the spirituals sung by enslaved Africans in America, carried across oceans of time, still sung today in churches and schools as hymns of faith and survival. The voices of the dead live on through their songs. In this same lineage, Marley stands, knowing that though his body would fade, his words and melodies would continue to breathe.

The meaning of his words is both heroic and humble. Heroic, because he dares to declare eternity for his art; humble, because he roots that eternity not in himself, but in the power of truth. For Marley says, “When me know facts me can say facts.” He is not claiming immortality through ego, but through the recognition that truth sung in music cannot perish. The fact is this: that the human soul, when expressed through art, becomes indestructible.

The lesson, O seeker, is this: live and create in such a way that what you give cannot die. Do not waste your gifts on vanity, for vanity fades. Root your work in truth, in justice, in compassion, and it will endure beyond you. Whether in song, in deed, in love, or in sacrifice, give the world something that carries the pulse of eternity. For when you align your work with the deep needs of humanity, you too may speak as Marley spoke, knowing your legacy will outlive your years.

And what must you do in your own days? Pour yourself wholly into your craft, whatever it may be. Let your words be honest, your actions be noble, your creations be born of the heart’s fire. Do not fear whether you will be remembered; instead, ensure that what you create carries truth. In this way, you will find your work living on in others, just as Marley’s songs live on today, sung by new voices in every land.

Thus, let Bob Marley’s prophecy ring in your ears: “My music will go on forever.” Take it as both inspiration and instruction. For it is not only music that endures, but any gift born of truth and love. Create such gifts, live with such devotion, and you too will leave behind something eternal—a flame carried forward by generations yet unborn.