Man, here it goes.

I prefer the Eric Clapton version to the Bob Marley original.

Do I have to justify myself? I feel like praising too much of the Clapton version will just look like I'm tearing apart the Marley version, which is also so, so good. This is a really close call!

But actually it's not.

The lyrical content is the exact same in both versions, so there is no question about the sentiment unifying them.

Musically, the Clapton version is so upbeat and sharp, with an absolutely delicious funk drumbeat. The guitar lead in the choruses cannot be overpraised for its understated cool. The flowing blues organ is perfect. The vocal melody is refined into a crystalline catchy pop formation.

The Marley version is some beautiful, minor-key introspective, radical reggae (more rocksteady, actually). The lyrics discussing police harassment are explosive coming from Marley's rough, desperate experiences. My heart is with this version.

But that Clapton version is so cool. Can we not just celebrate this one unlikely alignment of two mythic but distant contemporaries?

Also, from some very basic research, I was interested to read about some different subtext possible in the song. Marley's former girlfriend apparently claimed the song was truly about Marley's opposition to birth control (and I would assume abortion), citing the line "Sheriff John Brown always hated me, For what, I don't know: Every time I plant a seed, He said kill it before it grow." In her account, the term "sheriff" was conveniently used to replace the intended title "doctor." Marley's conservatism is de-emphasized in most accounts of him, but his religious convictions were real and deep. Had he lived, he could be the Jamaican Nugent of today. Put that in your pipe.

Marley's version still gets the link.

Clapton's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRgcwT9X2J8