Bob Marley

1945–1981 · Jamaican reggae musician & songwriter

Bob Marley was the Jamaican singer-songwriter who carried reggae — and songs of resistance like Get Up, Stand Up and Redemption Song — to a global audience. His image as a voice against injustice makes him a natural magnet for pointed political one-liners he never actually wrote. This anti-corruption epigram is one of them: it matches his reputation, but not his documented words.

Traced to source

3 quotes we’ve traced to Bob Marley

“The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively”

Disputed

“Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for”

Disputed

“You will never find justice in a world where criminals make the rules”

Disputed

Not actually Bob Marley

Often misattributed to Bob Marley

Famous lines widely pinned on Bob Marley that we’ve traced to someone else.

“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet”

actually Roger Miller

“The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively”

Unknown — the attribution to Bob Marley is unsupported

“The people who are trying to make this world worse are not taking a day off. How can I? Light up the darkness”

actually Mark Protosevich & Akiva Goldsman (screenwriters)

“Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for”

actually Unknown

“You will never find justice in a world where criminals make the rules”

actually Unknown

Did they really say it?

Thought Bob Marley said something else?

Type a quote you think Bob Marley said — we’ll tell you what we know, or point you to the best sources.