ENTITY · RECORDING / SONG
"Better Must Come" — Delroy Wilson
Well supported
"Better Must Come" (1971), Delroy Wilson's hopeful reggae hit on Dynamic Sounds, adopted as an anthem of Michael Manley's PNP in the 1972 election and remembered both as a people's cry for change and as a case study in political appropriation.
At a glance
- Confidence
- Well supported
- Sources
- Discogs; Lloyd Bradley, Bass Culture; Jamaica Gleaner archive.
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Debate & reception
What people argued about this record — two documented positions each time, kept apart from verified fact. Browse every argument in the archive →
'Better Must Come' as party anthem: people's song or appropriation?
One side
A hopeful people's song
The other
Partisan appropriation of a shared record
Two documented readings of Delroy Wilson's hit becoming a PNP campaign anthem in 1972: some hear a hopeful people's song that naturally spoke to the moment, others a partisan appropriation of a record meant for everyone. Neutral framing; no verdict.
Read the argument →Reggae and the 1972 ballot: authentic voice of change or political co-option?
One side
Authentic voice of the sufferer's demand for change
The other
Cynical co-option by party machinery
Two documented views of reggae's role in the 1972 election: as an authentic expression of the sufferer's demand for change carried into politics, or as a cynical co-option of popular music by party machinery. Neutral framing; no verdict.
Read the argument →Share this record
Compiled and researched by The Jamaica Music Atlas music desk. The sources that informed it are credited above.
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