Buffalo Soldier (song)

"Buffalo Soldier" is a reggae song written by Bob Marley and Noel "King Sporty" Williams, and recorded by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It did not appear on record until the 1983 posthumous release of Confrontation, when it became one of Marley's best-known songs. The title and lyrics refer to the black U.S. cavalry regiments, known as "Buffalo Soldiers", that fought in the Indian Wars after 1866. Marley linked their fight to a fight for survival, and recasts it as a symbol of black resistance.[1]

"Buffalo Soldier"
Single by Bob Marley and the Wailers
from the album Confrontation
Released1983
Recorded1978
GenreReggae
Length4:17
Songwriter(s)Bob Marley & King Sporty
Bob Marley and the Wailers singles chronology
"Natural Mystic"
(1982)		 "Buffalo Soldier"
(1983)		 "Iron Lion Zion"
(1992)

Background

The origin of the term "Buffalo Soldier" is theorized as given to black troops by Native Americans, who thought African Americans' hair felt and looked like a buffalo's pelt.[2][3] The name was embraced by the troops, who were well acquainted with "the buffalo's fierce bravery and fighting spirit".[2] The Buffalo Soldier's duties were settling railroad disputes, building telegraph lines, repairing and building forts, and otherwise helping settlers colonize lands violently taken from Native Americans. They were also tasked with protecting the colonizing settlers from displaced Native Americans seeking to reclaim their homelands.[2]

The song's bridge, with the lyrics woe! yoe! yo!, was rumored to be inspired by the chorus from the Banana Splits' "The Tra-La-La Song", the 1968 theme from their TV show, written by Mark Barkan and Ritchie Adams. There has been no proof of this, and a story by the BBC in 2008 seems to cast doubts on this origin story.[4]

Chart performance
Chart Peak
position
New Zealand (RIANZ) [5][6] 3
United Kingdom (UK Singles Chart)[7][8] 4
Norway (VG-lista)[5][6] 10
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5][6] 14
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References
  1. Black Heretics, Black Prophets: Radical Political Intellectuals - Bogues, Anthony, Page 198, via Google Books. Accessed 2008-06-28.
  2. National Park Service, Buffalo Soldiers (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on January 4, 2007, retrieved 2007-05-01
  3. Brief History (Buffalo Soldiers National Museum) (PDF), 2008, retrieved 2009-11-30
  4. "Did the Banana Splits inspire Bob Marley?". BBC News Magazine. 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  5. "BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS - BUFFALO SOLDIER (SONG)". australian-charts.com. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  6. "Bob Marley & The Wailers - Buffalo Soldier". hitparade.ch. 1995-2020 Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  7. "Buffalo Soldier". Songfacts. Songfacts. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  8. "Buffalo Soldier". Oficial Charts. The Official UK Charts Company 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
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