Released in April 1976, Bob Marley & The Wailers’ song “War” appears on the group’s album Rastaman Vibration. The song is directly inspired by a 1963 speech delivered by Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I before the United Nations General Assembly. Within the Rastafarian faith, Selassie is revered by many as a divine figure or a prophetic messenger of God, a belief that deeply influenced Marley’s worldview and music.

The lyrics confront themes of equality, justice, and global peace. Marley powerfully declares, “Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, everywhere is war.” These words serve as a direct condemnation of racism and discrimination in all forms. The message is reinforced later in the song with the line, “Until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race, dis a war,” emphasizing that true peace cannot exist without universal human rights.

“War” continues to resonate in modern culture because its message remains unfinished business. The speech from which the song is drawn called for an end to racism, colonialism, and global inequality, issues that persist today. Many argue that this enduring relevance is why the song still holds such power, as racial inequality and social injustice remain present both in the United States and around the world.