Trenchtown Rock

Album: Songs Of Freedom (1975)
Play Video
  • This, I wanna tell you, is the Trenchtown experience
    All the way from Trenchtown, Jamaica
    Bob Marley and the Wailers, come on!

    One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain
    One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain
    So hit me with music, hit me with music now, yeah
    Hit me with music, hit me with music now, got to say

    (Trenchtown rock) I say don't watch that
    (Trenchtown rock) big fish or sprat
    (Trenchtown rock) you reap what you sow
    (Trenchtown rock) and everyone know now
    (Trenchtown rock) don't turn your back
    (Trenchtown rock) give the slum a try
    (Trenchtown rock) never let the children cry
    (Trenchtown rock) 'cause you got to tell Jah-Jah why you're

    (Grooving) Kingston 12
    (Grooving) Kingston 12
    (Grooving) whoa, whoa, whoa, it's Kingston 12
    (Grooving) it's Kingston 12
    No want you fe galang so
    No want you fe galang so
    You want come cold I up
    But you can't come cold I up
    'Cause I'm grooving, yes I'm grooving

    I say one good thing, one good thing
    When it hits you feel no pain
    One good thing about music
    When it hits you feel no pain
    So hit me with music
    Hit me with music now
    Hit me with music, hit me with music, now look at that

    (Trenchtown rock) I say don't watch that
    (Trenchtown rock) if you big fish or sprat
    (Trenchtown rock) you reap what you sow
    (Trenchtown rock) and everyone know now
    (Trenchtown rock) don't turn your back
    (Trenchtown rock) give the slum a try
    (Trenchtown rock) never let the children cry
    (Trenchtown rock) 'cause you got to tell Jah-Jah why you're

    (Grooving, grooving)
    (Grooving, grooving)

    No want you fe galang so
    No want you fe galang so
    Want come cold I up
    But you can't come cold I up
    'Cause I'm grooving, lord, I'm grooving

    I say one good thing, one good thing
    When it hits you feel no pain
    One good thing about music
    When it hits you feel no pain
    So hit me with music
    Hit me with music now
    Hit me with music
    Brutalize me with music

    It's Trenchtown rock
    It's Trenchtown rock
    It's Trenchtown rock
    It's Trenchtown rock
    It's Trenchtown rock
    It's Trenchtown rock
    It's Trenchtown rock
    It's Trenchtown rock Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 13

  • Rod from SwitzerlandAs mentioned before, one of the best lines ever: "One good thing about music, when it hits you
    Feel no pain - so hit me with music…hit me with music“

    So true and beautiful.
  • Ra from UsThis song lifts me up. One of my favorite song and lyrics.
    @ben from Bristol good thought!
  • Norbert from UgandaLove you Bob wherever you are
  • Ed from Regina, SkReleased under Marley's Tuff Gong label, Trenchtown Rock sat atop the Jamaican charts for five months in 1971.

    The track, which praised the virtues of slum-living and portrayed the poor as the righteous, was the first popular track in Jamaica to speak for their marginalized lower class.

    Named in honour of one of Jamaica's most notorious slums, Trenchtown Rock had an enormous social impact and as Peter Tosh remembers brought the Wailers into a twelfth dimension.
  • Musicmama from New York, NyI agree with Richard of New York: "When it hits you feel no pain" is one of the greatest lines ever written. That alone is worth listening to this song, and to Bob Marley. But there's much more to this song! The lyrics are both sublime and visceral. And another thing I love about the recording is the way the backing guitar chords are light enough to carry--almost float-- it but doesn't make the song weightless. It's as if Bob and the Wailers were expressing how grief and the lightness of being are intertwined. This is definitely a major goosebump-producer!
  • Hannah from London, EnglandThe first verse of the song 'Hip Hop' by Dead Prez quotes this song fact fans. x
  • Nattydread from Not Yet Zion, Australiayo i thought we was talkin bout what it means. bob marley was obviously in pain, or was suffering when he was in trenchtown, cos its de main ghetto of kingston, where alot a bad stuff happens. in the line "one good thing bout music, when it hits you ya feel no pain" is that reggae and ska has a good vibe, an it can lift ya spirits even in bad times. when he be talkin bout "you reap what you sow" he talking bout how nothin is for free there, an you gotta woprk for everything you want, cos its hard livin.
  • Richard from New York, NyBen, I couldn't agree more. "when it hits you feel no pain" one of the greatest lyrics of all time.
  • Steven from Toledo, OhThis song is referenced in O.A.R.'s song "Anyway." The song pauses and comes back with, 'A wise man once told me he said, 'When music is the one thing that surrounds you, You feel no pain.'
    -Steve Toledo,OH
  • Sammy from New York, NyYou guys should hear the live version of this from the album Live at the Roxy. It's pretty amazing. Let's get more Marley love!
  • Dan from Irmo, Scthis song is also featured in Jack Johnson's Bob Marely Sublime meledy as the first song he plays
  • Ben from Bristol, EnglandThis song is my all time favourite Bob Marley song ever

    i want the line

    "One good thing about music, when it hits you

    Feel no pain"

    written on my tombstone
  • Chad from Arvada, CoIf you like Marley, or reggae music, Please check out groundation!!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Shaun Morgan of Seether

Shaun Morgan of SeetherSongwriter Interviews

Shaun breaks down the Seether songs, including the one about his brother, the one about Ozzy, and the one that may or may not be about his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee.

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

Stan Ridgway

Stan RidgwaySongwriter Interviews

Go beyond the Wall of Voodoo with this cinematic songwriter.

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.