Said I remember when we use to sit

In the government yard in Trench Town.

And then Georgie would make the fire light,

it was logwood burnin’ through the night.

Then we would cook cornmeal porridge

Of which I’ll share with you…

— Bob Marley

THOSE lines from the Bob Marley anthem No Woman No Cry cemented his friend George Headley Robinson, popularly called Georgie, in the annals of pop culture.

Robinson, who died on Wednesday, became a fixture at the Bob Marley Museum at 56 Hope Road in St Andrew. He was further immortalised with his likeness on a mural of a perimeter wall at the property.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Sharon Marley referred to Robinson as an extension of her father, who was left to take care of the family following Bob’s death in 1981.

“He was definitely an extension of our father to us. I mean he spent so much time around Bob that he became part of us and I believe Bob left him here to take care of us and he did that so very well over the years and we must give thanks for all of that,” she shared.

Marley said she will miss the wisdom of Georgie’s years and the link he provided to the past. His culinary abilities also ranked high on his list of attributes.

“Georgie was way up in his 80s. So he was so wise and shared so much of that knowledge with us. His vision was grounded in true Rasta roots and so we took his utterances with deep regard. So to lose an elder like Georgie is to lose a walking piece of history and information. He was also a touch with home… Trench Town. A lot of the things we now know about those early years, we wouldn’t had it not been for Georgie,” she said.

“And, of course, Georgie did make the fire light. He made the best fish tea. All we had to say wi coming and he would jump on his bicycle and head to Greenwich Town for the freshest fish when the boats come in. Then there was the cornmeal and sweet potato puddings… the best. He did the mission that was assigned to him and did it well. His time came to move in to the ancestors. Happy his transition was smooth and it was not COVID or anything like that. We give thanks,” said Marley.

CEO of the Bob Marley Group of Companies Cedella Marley, was the first to announce Robinson’s passing with a post on her Instagram page featuring a video of her sister Sharon, stroking the head of their parents’ lifelong friend who in recent years had had a leg amputated.

The caption read: “We lost our Georgie who kept the (fire emoji) all through the night. Rest well Georgie. Fly away home.”