11/02/2026
What kind of reggae song are you?
The dancehall anthem that gets everybody moving but fades when the party’s over?
The roots tune that gives somebody a little hope when life has knocked them on their ass?
Or the rebel song that speaks truth, questions authority, and leaves its mark long after the music stops?
I’ve spent most of my life listening to reggae, and I can tell you it’s a hell of a lot more than entertainment.
I was ten years old when Jimmy Cliff’s “Reggae Night” first caught my attention. I had no idea where that music would take me or how much it would eventually mean.
Forty-one years later, I was lying in a hospital bed, waking up from a liver transplant. When they pulled the breathing tube out, “Reggae Night” was playing.
The same damn song.
Think about that for a minute.
Between those two moments were decades of adventures, questionable decisions, incredible people, some pretty dark days, and eventually a failing liver that nearly brought the whole thing to an end.
And through it all, there was reggae.
Marley, Culture, Burning Spear, Jimmy Cliff. They weren’t just making records for people to dance to. They were telling stories about struggle, injustice, faith, survival, and the hope that tomorrow might actually be better than today.
I’ve leaned on those messages more times than I can count. Especially during those hours before sunrise when you’re awake with your own thoughts and wondering what comes next.
An organ donor gave me another shot at life. An incredible medical team made sure I got to take it.
But the music helped me get through the journey.
And I suppose that’s why reggae means something different to me than just a good bassline and a cold drink.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good party tune. But some songs stay with you. Some become part of your story. And every now and then, one comes back around forty-one years later, right when you need it.
So what kind of reggae song are you?
The one people dance to? The one that gives somebody hope? Or the one that leaves this world a little better than you found it?
Maybe we ought to try being all three.
Peace be the journey.
The Island Rhythm
What’s the one reggae song that’s carried you through something? I’d love to hear it.
