Ghetto Youth
Me's a ghetto youth
Me come from straight dung ina the ghetto
Seen, Rockfort, Warica
Seen, Matches Lane
Jungle Heights
All I and I are one.
Me a tell ya
All Bull Bay Heights and dem heights dey.
Yeah
Big dem up
Seen, I you a hear me
Wicked ina de ghetto mi bredda
Wicked to the max
And you done know the man have youth and youth
A come up (translation- boys become men)
And you see when
And the father drop out
Dem no know no father so dem come up tun gunman. (tun=turn)
Me done know, because a so de ghetto (so=how)
Run a so the politician do it
Dem bring in a bag a gun
And barrage a ting and seen run pon youth and then
When you check it out.
Dem send dem police friend to come for dem gun
And dem say dem not running gun and dem tings deh.
And bere tings in a ghetto (translation-that's how
Things are in the ghetto)
Seen, man no stop kill man.
Seen, man no stop rob man.
A no dem tings deh we want ina Jamaica (trans.- we
Don't want those things in the ghetto)
We want love, unity, seen, strength and energy.
Yeah, we want a whole heap of things to go on for the
Ghetto youth all next year.
You done know me as one a dem uprighting ghetto
Youth,
Seen, so we a start from way down dey so.
"we start at the bottom of the barrel")
We no just a come from no way and a come up ya so.
(trans- we don't just come from nowhere, we're right here)
A way dung de so man a come from.
Say man a come way from the rock, when me say de rock,
Me mean the rock,
Seen
Dem have flour mill and cement company
The most worst industry inna di whole Caribbean country
Man know from man did bawn(born)
We no got no royalty, know what me say?
Yeah, buil'(build)up all one place we dem call Texaco
Them sinting(thing)we'(where) dem a store.
Gas fi'(for) plane, gas to this, gas to that, gas to everything.
An' if a likkle fire ever get weh?=(If a little fire ever gets away i.e. started
Wow, mi nu' say di word.
Mi' don know seh(I already know that) my little friend over there .
Chu, mi nah lef' him at all(I'm not leaving him at all
See Tricky?
Gwan hol' tings.(Keep doing your thing)
You don' know yuh a up front man.(You already know you're an honest man)
Yes me brother, Sky de yesuh.(Sky is over here)
And a easy we a easy an' a buss one reason and tings.
I tell ya, the youth.
You a god blessed picnee, trust me.
I want to show y'all a thing about the ghetto.
See the ghetto
Yu'(you)see Kisco pop (cheap)
Sugary soda that was sold in Jamaica and many other
Third World British exploited countries), lollipop, an all of them pop there.
Yeah, I and I a juggle them from mi a' nine from down dessuh (there).
See yu know is cool me just a go a sister mammy
See ya don't know man a'(is) ghetto youth, see?
Straight boy original, see?
Yeah, and noboby can fool we and no bigga' heads
(those who think they're more powerful)can come use we.
Yeah, that's the way we run things.
We just DEAL wid tings, we sell suck suck an' them things.
An' ping pong and them thing an'star and daily news an' enquire
And X news for earn our own paper.
Yeah, cause we nah let nu'(we're not gonna let)
Some boy come tell about 6 to 6 and 6 to 12
And nuh half hour this and
Half hour dat and you drink champagne and cock up (put up)
Yu' foot an' inna place an' ting unda' AC(ting=things)
(unda'=under)
An' we ah out dessuh a bruk our hand and our neck fi yu'
(And we're out there breaking our hand and neck for you)
We nuh work dem de ways(We don't work those ways)
That's how the ghetto youth live.
That's why them ever try to elevate us, I and I ya see?
Dem nuh want (they don't want)I and I elevate out of the slum.
Cause dem know who, we have 'hole heap of wisdom
Same way we mek paper, we mek use of dat too
See?
We done know seh(we already knew that)
Our mother and our father never have nothing, from way down dessuh.
Trust me me brother.
See that's how I and I come up.
Go to school without lunch money and them sittin' (things) there.
That's why I and I no love nuh big heads(conceited older person).
Only thing I love a'the little youth dem a wear khaki suit
(Jamaican school children uniform)
From yu' wear uniform me and you nuh friend me brother.
I tell ya, mi nuh shame fi talk or chant or anything ya want.
I and I know.
Liberty a liberty, yu see?
Reality a reality see?
We no promote none of them boy over there.
See them stay over one side and go and eat them
Turkey and drink them what they want to drink them.
De way dem a gwan' suh when dem drink dem Guinness
And kick back and go and meditate and see?
Yeah, live with people mek people live with we.
Ya know what me say?
Yeah, 'cause when I tell ya me brother,
See a pure chain and bondage dem a have we unda, see?
Babylon release the chain but them a use dem brain, see?
Trust me.
That's why I and I nuh gauze(bother) fi dem see?
Guy dem we a buil' up dem big pretty church and nah build nuh school.