Stop the apathy! Go out and make your voice heard! Do something!

It is one of his most powerful political statements, dressed in a catchy melody that could be chanted during a protest march. Highly effective, and it hasn't aged at all. One of the most important Reggae songs ever.

i think hes trying to motivate pot heads.

The song is about religious hypocrisy, and also a call to arms to make your own salvation. Don't stand passively by and wait for God to make everything alright. Here are a couple of quotes that I think really explain its meaning: A Marley song called "Babylon System" -- a way of describing the whole political and economic system that made blacks into second-class citizens. Implicit in the Rasta lyrics is the expectation of the book of Revelation chapter 18, which also makes Babylon a metaphor for worldly oppression: "Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great! It has become a dwelling place of demons---" But to get Babylon to fall required not just passive belief, but forthright action. The Bible for Bob Marley was not some book that had all the answers, and that just predicted how God would solve all his problems for him. The Bible for Marley and the Rastas was full of inspiration to take matters into their own hands. Salvation required that people do more than just wait for God to save them -- it required you to get up and stand up. Get up stand up stand up for your rights Get up stand up don't give up the fight..... Most people think great God will come down from the sky Take away everything and make everybody feel high If you know what life is worth you will look for yours on earth Now that you see the light, stand up for your rights" http://www.bobmarleymagazine.com/forum_bmwm/archive/index.php?t-1866.html "It's about religious hypocrisy. The lyricist holds the opinion that religion should bind people together, enable them to live in peace together. Instead, he observes, people argue about the "correct" way to believe ("isms") and end up separated instead of united in love of God ("schisms"). The song also tells people that they should not stay passively waiting for divine intervention if they want to better their lives. And they should not have to wait for the afterlife either. God is not going to "take away everything, and make everybody feel high" - take away all the pain and problems, provide bliss for each of us. God in the mind of this lyricist is "a living man" and he requires us to take action ourselves. We should not let ourselves be talked down to in church. No. "Stand up for your right!". http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=38741&offset=25&page=2#comments Another lyrical interpretation: We're sick and tired of your ism and skism game Die and go to heaven in Jesus' name, Lord We know when we understand Almighty God is a living man "Marley was not a Christian, Bob Marley was a Rastafarian. The Rastafarian 'religion' or should I say 'way of life' was a collection of ideologies of the radical African philosopher Marcus Garvey . Marcus Garvey believed that the white mans god was the devil and that the black mans god, Jah, was the one true god. The whole god being a man lyrics is referring to Haille Selassie, otherwise known as Ras Tafari Makonnen, who become king of Ethiopia, their 'promised land', in 1930. They believe that he was the messiah, and that he died because of sin not for sin as Jesus Christ did. My friends it comes down to this, we can't pick and choose who God is, God is who he is, truth is not relative." http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=38741&offset=0&page=1#comments I think the above posts from several different people offer the best interpretation of this song.

In this song bob was talking about something much greater going on. He is saying that if you know what life is worth, then you will look for god on earth. We know when we understand, Almighty god is a living man. He is saying that God is Man. That You, Me, Everyone you know. That we are god. Look for us here on earth, this is what hes talking about. Because we literally are him, each one of us is god. Its our consciousness, its the thing inside us that powers thought. The entity inside you you call yourself is God. Its everything there is. We are gods because we are an extension of him, we are him. We(God) created all this and we/God are/is still creating all of this. Its in the works, were still perfecting it. Each one of us holds the power of a god, which is the power of creation. The gift of consciousness. "Almighty God is A Living Man" Think about it, god is not just in one person, EX. (Haille Selassie, Jesus Christ, The guru) god is every person, he is thought. People are trying to find god in a church some where or trying to figure out which religion to practice. They look for god in books But they only have to look inside them self to find god. Because you are right there every time. People have been fooled into thinking that they werent god. "You can fool some people some time, but you cant fool all the people all the time." God is Man, we are all God. You are Haille Selassie, You are Jesus Christ, Im you, your Me. Were different personalities but all being powered by the same thing, the thing we are. God