Talk:Buffalo Soldier (song)/Archive 1

Low Quality
This article reads like a 4th grader essay including phrases such as "This song is a great song in my opinion, about a Buffalo Soldier." 81.100.173.126 (talk) 22:32, 29 September 2011 (UTC)

Banana Splits
He did rip off the Banana Splits song - I thought that was common knowledge! Why is it only now in the news? DavidFarmbrough (talk) 14:06, 20 August 2008 (UTC)


 * I certainly find the "8-6-5 is common" argument to be less than compelling. Both songs feature the run 8-6-5, 8-6-5, 8-6-5 4-3-2-1, in essentially the same rhythm, each using nonsense syllables, as their chorus.


 * I wouldn't build a lawsuit around it, but there's certainly a lot more similarity between "Buffalo Soldier" and the Banana Splits song than between either and, say the, "Gotta Dance" segment in Singin' in the Rain, which is also an 8-6-5 theme.--NapoliRoma (talk) 18:45, 20 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes, and The Dickies version is probably how he heard it -- it was a #7 hit, with plenty of Radio 1 airplay, in the UK shortly before "Buffalo Soldier" was recorded, when Marley was in Britain much of the time. We'll never know for sure, but the question posed by the BBC article, among others, of "how in the world would Bob Marley have ever heard the theme song to this obscure TV show of the 1960s" is pretty easy to answer, especially in view of the fact that there was a great deal of overlap between the fanbases of reggae and new wave at the time. However, an anon keeps deleting any reference to this version. Pro hib it O ni o ns  (T) 10:14, 24 December 2008 (UTC)

The reference to the banana splits should go, there is not enough evidence to support the assertion (ie at all) Mahrooq (talk) 01:14, 6 January 2012 (UTC)

Music video
There was a music video showing 19th-century black soldiers going through a forest etc... AnonMoos (talk) 17:08, 8 April 2014 (UTC)

Recording date
According to David Katz's book, the rhythm track was first recorded in 1978 with Lee Perry, same day as the Rastaman Live Up session. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.106.45.79 (talk) 19:53, 14 April 2016 (UTC)

Historical accuracy?...
One aspect which strikes me as missing from this article is a discussion of how historically accurate (or not) the song is. Of course the "Buffalo Soldiers" existed, but Marley also asserts in the song that they were "driven from the mainland to the heart of the Caribbean" - i.e. that after they finished serving the US Army in the Indian Wars, that they were sent to Jamaica and/or other Caribbean islands, where some of them (or their descendants) would later become Rastas. But how many, if any, of the Buffalo Soldiers were actually sent to the Caribbean after serving? -2003:CA:871E:3654:48A2:7133:6588:63FA (talk) 19:01, 1 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia is not the appropriate place to discuss the historical accuracy of the song but rather the appropriate place to convey what reliable sources have reported from scholars and the like as to whether the song is accurate or not.  Rob van  vee  19:23, 1 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Let me rephrase then: Are there any "reliable sources" which can substantiate the claim that significant numbers of former Buffalo Soldiers were deported to Jamaica or other Caribbean islands - "driven from the mainland to the heart of the Caribbean"?? -2003:CA:871E:366F:48A2:7133:6588:63FA (talk) 00:56, 2 January 2021 (UTC)