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Crazy Baldheads Lyrics

Them crazy, them crazy
We gonna chase those crazy
Baldheads out of town
Chase those crazy baldheads
Out of town

I and I build a cabin
I and I plant the corn
Didn't my people before me
Slave for this country
Now you look me with a scorn
Then you eat up all my corn

We gonna chase those crazy baldheads
Chase them crazy
Chase those crazy baldheads out of town

Build your penitentiary, we build your schools
Brainwash education to make us the fools
Hate is your reward for our love
Telling us of your God above

We gonna chase those crazy
Chase those crazy bunkheads
Chase those crazy baldheads out of town

Here comes the conman
Coming with his con plan
We won't take no bribe, we got to stay alive

We gonna chase those crazy
Chase those crazy baldheads
Chase those crazy baldheads out of town
Song Info
Submitted by
kevin On May 24, 2001
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Cover art for Crazy Baldheads lyrics by Bob Marley and the Wailers

Captain Trips is talking out of his ass, and this is coming from a Jamaican. The government is not run by white people and most Jamaican citizens are not Rastafarians. Rastafarians are a minority discriminated against by a large portion of the Jamaican population. However, Bob, in referring to the baldheads here was expanding the plight of rastafarians to that of the majority of the population because in Jamaica "baldhead" and "babylon" is used to refer to the establishment as set up by colonial powers and as they have continued. The song is a post-colonial lament and call-to-arms that could be sung by any former colonial peoples exploited to create wealth for an upper-class that benefits from their hardwork then tries to teach them to hate themselves and adopt the attitudes and perspectives of the oppressive powers that be (Brainwash education). The first poster mostly got it.

Not only that.

In this songs' case, it is also important to understand the friction that occurs between farmers and the wealthy, in an area with a small land base.

Rastas generally eat natural foods, and many are farmers/fishermen (in the subsistence sense.) Many wealthy folk (most who happen to be gov. workers becuase such a small place has such a limited economy,) look down on farmers because they believe farmers must do this because they are not educated enough to do anything else. Rasta ain't no bum.

Rasta are closer to the earth than your common consumer, and...

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@lilchen While I agree, it's coming from a minor voice, he wasn't a Captain or a Minority, neither did he want to be or seem to be . He was a single voice who had resonance with something earth bound not heavens sent. That singular? It became the most positive, respectfully too, voice of our time his time and future time we rely upon. You have no idea what my future may bring or take away from. From a political viewpoint? I think you have no idea, in my humble opinion, you need to go back to junior school and recap what a minor...

Cover art for Crazy Baldheads lyrics by Bob Marley and the Wailers

maybe.. just my guess.. he doesn't like how his people work and work for the goverment and what they get in return is hate, scorn, poverty, and being brainwashed while they get educated. And i guess he wants to chase them outa town and get a better goverment so these things don't happen to his people.

Cover art for Crazy Baldheads lyrics by Bob Marley and the Wailers

Jamaica didn't achieve full independence until 1962. At the time Bob wrote this song (1976), Jamaica was still very much dealing with the social and political ramifications of British rule. As far as the Rastafari, it is and was a popular movement that was made even more popular by Roots music, so the government did try to use the music for their own gain. So yes, there is alot of politics and colonialism in the song, but the real origin of the song is much simpler than that.

The history that the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston (his old house - great trip btw - a must) gives on their tour was that Bob, being from south Kingston, moved into a nice house on the northeast side of town that was an affluent neighborhood with Kingston's who's who's living there. Bob moved in and lived life large. He would have people over for footie matches and jam sessions on the back porch. The neighbourhood wasn't used to all this sort of activity.

After a late night of (more than likely) a lot of medicinal herbs and jamming with friends, his neighbours, who were white by the way, complained. Bob was pissed off enough to write this song. It is true that this song carries the weight of the oppressive colonial history of Jamaica as a whole, the song is also about his @$$h@le neighbours that personified, as you can hear, a lot of what was going wrong with Jamaica at the time.

Song Meaning

Hmmmm...I dunno about this.

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Cover art for Crazy Baldheads lyrics by Bob Marley and the Wailers

what does this song meaaann?

Cover art for Crazy Baldheads lyrics by Bob Marley and the Wailers

maybe.. just my guess.. he doesn't like how his people work and work for the goverment and what they get in return is hate, scorn, poverty, and being brainwashed while they get educated. And i guess he wants to chase them outa town and get a better goverment so these things don't happen to his people.

Cover art for Crazy Baldheads lyrics by Bob Marley and the Wailers

Is he talking about skinheads?

Cover art for Crazy Baldheads lyrics by Bob Marley and the Wailers

takemeaway is close. To understand the meaning of the song, one must understand something about bob. bob is a rastafarian (obviously). They believe a verse in the bible indicates that one must not cut his hair to remain holy. this practice is primarily a black-jamaican one. the government is really messed up in jamaica, it's ran by all white christians, but the majority of the citizens are black and rastafarian. Thus the government, are the "crazy baldheads."

Cover art for Crazy Baldheads lyrics by Bob Marley and the Wailers

hmm...i'd have to say that captain trips is right. but to elaborate even further, i think that marley is speaking out in particular about the christian missions to convert rastafarian people/other religions to christianity ("telling us of your god above"), and, as already stated, their political/economic/social monopoly in jamaica, despite the difference in numbers. one <3 ~ Che

Cover art for Crazy Baldheads lyrics by Bob Marley and the Wailers

Its not the just the gov't or the christians. If you weren't Rasta, you were a baldhead. He's talking about all non Rastas in general.

you're rigth. Balheads for rastas are the non-rastas.

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Cover art for Crazy Baldheads lyrics by Bob Marley and the Wailers

the baldheads = people with no dreadlocks

@sunmoonandstars ye to be more exact, people that cut their hai