In his book, The Words and Music of Bob Marley, David Moskowitz explains that the song is about Marley’s falling out with his manager, Don Taylor who had been skimming money off of Marley’s concert earnings. In the fallout, Taylor also threatened to ruin Marley’s image. “Bad Card” is a defiant song in which Marley makes clear that despite the machinations of those he considered allies, his music would endure.