Lyrics to
400 Years

This version of 400 Years was released by Bob Marley in 1973.

Our Bob Marley Songs profile has 400 Years lyrics from 1973 and most if not all of the lyrics by Bob Marley that we have here at Decade Lyrics.

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400 years (400 years, 400 years. Wo-o-o-o)
And it’s the same –
The same (wo-o-o-o) philosophy
I’ve said it’s four hundred years;
(400 years, 400 years. Wo-o-o-o, wo-o-o-o)
Look, how long (wo-o-o-o)
And the people they (wo-o-o-o) still can’t see.
Why do they fight against the poor youth of today?
And without these youths, they would be gone –
All gone astray

Come on, let’s make a move:
(make a move, make a move. Wo-o-o-o, wo-o-o-o)
I can (wo-o-o-o) see time (wo-o-o-o) – time has come,
And if-a fools don’t see
(fools don’t see, fools don’t see. Wo-o-o-o)
I can’t save the youth:
The youth (wo-o-o-o) is gonna be strong.
So, won’t you come with me;
I’ll take you to a land of liberty
Where we can live – live a good, good life
And be free.

Look how long: 400 years, (400 years, 400 years) –
Way too long! (wo-o-o-o)
That’s the reason my people (wo-o-o-o) – my people can’t see.
Said, it’s four hundred long years – (400 years, 400 years. Wo-o-o-o)
Give me patience (wo-o-o-o) – same philosophy.

It’s been 400 years, (400 years, 400 years)
Wait so long! Wo-o-o-o, wo-o-o-o.
How long? 400 long, long years.

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Bob Marley has released many songs over the years besides 400 Years. Bob Marley released songs from 1973 to 1995 spanning across albums like Catch A Fire, Burnin', Natty Dread, Live!, Rastaman Vibration, Exodus, Kaya, Babylon By Bus, Survival, Uprising, Confrontation, Rebel Music, and Natural Mystic: The Legend Lives On. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Bob Marley.

If you're a fan of the music of the 1970s looking for more songs from 1973 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and 400 Years by Bob Marley

The lyrics for 400 Years are defined as the words making up the song released by Bob Marley in 1973. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to 400 Years have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only Bob Marley and those working with them know all of the meanings behind all of the lyrics to their songs.

Some folks are interested in word and phrase etymology. It is easy to understand the lyrics to 400 Years by Bob Marley if you think through it. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to 400 Years" means the words set to the music of 400 Years, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Bob Marley. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to 400 Years and the lyrics to 400 Years are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Bob Marley who came here looking just for the lyrics to 400 Years, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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