The Meaning of Ziggy Marley’s “Love Is My Religion”
Ziggy Marley’s “Love Is My Religion” is the upbeat title track to the artist’s second solo album, released in 2006. As one of his most popular songs, “Love Is My Religion” presents a life philosophy that shows how Ziggy, as the oldest son of reggae legend Bob Marley, shares many of the same values as his father.
The message is that Ziggy devotes himself love in the same way that people devote themselves to religion. He takes this idea and builds upon it, revealing that the love we need exists within ourselves, and when we find it we can understand what life is all about.
Marley explained this during a 2007 interview with Riff Magazine:
Let’s say what religion is. Religion is (an) institutionalized concept of a higher deity, of higher concepts and higher philosophy. I tell people that the true religion of this thing that you’re looking for which you call God … is love.
Ziggy Marley on the meaning of “Love Is My Religion”, 2007.
Of course, this is sung over a catchy melody that makes “Love Is My Religion” not only a positive vibrational message, but also a great song to hear out in the sunshine.
“Love Is My Religion” Lyrics Meaning
Now that we’ve got the basics covered, let’s take a closer look at the lyrics and see how Marley weaves this message of love’s universal power into the song, in a way that is both inspirational and lighthearted.
It starts with the intro:
Love is my religion
Intro to “Love Is My Religion” by Ziggy Marley.
Love is my religion
Love is my religion
I’ll take you to the temple tonight
When Marley sings that he will “take you to the temple tonight”, he means that he’s going to teach you the ways of love. This can be taken in many different ways, from opening one’s heart to the world, to a more romantic view of love.
The first verse provides some more insight into this love, and also brings in a reference to one of his father’s most famous songs:
All my days I’ve been searching
First verse to “Love Is My Religion” by Ziggy Marley.
To find out what this life is worth
Through the books and bibles of time
I’ve made up my mind
I don’t condemn, I don’t convert
This is a calling have you heard
Bring all the lovers to the fold
‘Cause no one is gonna lose their soul
The reference comes in the second line, to Bob Marley’s song “Get Up, Stand Up”, which says: “But if you know what life is worth / You would look for yours on earth.”
It seems that Ziggy took this to heart as a younger man, hearing his father’s music, and went searching for the answer to that question. He’s gone through all the religious texts, and he’s figured it out. He doesn’t plan to judge or force the message to anyone, but he still still encourages love in those who can hear him.
Ziggy invites all the lovers to gather around, come together, without fear of losing their soul, and embrace the transformative power of love.
The hook is up next, further emphasizing the freedom that people have to choose their own path:
Hey you can take it or leave it
Hook to “Love Is My Religion” by Ziggy Marley.
And you don’t have to believe it
The second verse continues to expand upon the freedom that love allows:
I don’t want to fight
Second verse to “Love Is My Religion” by Ziggy Marley.
Hey let’s go fly a kite
There’s nothing that we can’t cure
And I’ll keep you in my arms for sure
So don’t let nobody stop us
Free spirits have to soar
With you I share the gift
The gift that we now know oh oh oh
Marley first offers a simple example of the power of love, that a shared, enjoyable activity between two people who are fighting is often enough to dissolve the tension between them.
Next, he explores the balance between keeping a lover close and allowing them the freedom to be themselves and become the person they want to be. The idea here is that true love is the gift that allows for a balance between freedom and embrace, and once you know it you can liberate your soul.
We get one more hook before the third and final verse:
Well I’m done searching now
Thirds verse to “Love Is My Religion” by Ziggy Marley.
I found out what this life is worth
Not in the books that I find
But by searching my mind
I don’t condemn, I don’t convert
This is the calling have you heard
Bring all the lovers to the fold
No one is gonna lose their soul
This verse is much the same as the first verse, except here we can see the passage of time, as in the first verse he was still searching for the answer, and here he has found it. He’s done searching, and he knows the answer can’t be found in any books, but rather it resides inside the heart of each and every human being, and it simply must be set free.
Watch the music video for “Love Is My Religion” by Ziggy Marley below, and the alternative acoustic version from the album below that.