Move
Damian Marley Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Uh, uh-huh hmm

Babylon position the queen and set the pawn
And start transform like Deceptacon
Anytime delegates have a discrepence
Well a bare tension with some long weapons
Night vision upon the attack mission
Colaliton of folly-ticians get switch on
If you look in the face of the newly born
The newly born face malnutrition
Suspicion to what is them ambition
Total destruction start to ignition
And the world still a fight over religion
Everyone have a right to a decision
Superstition the people reflect upon, something nuh right
I man suspect a con
Cause them lost inna darkness beyond
And none shall escape except the ones, who
Exodus with no question,
Better put on your khaki uniform
If you-a' driver, leave unnu engine on
If you-a' rider jump pon a unicorn
Lace your shoes if you a pedestrian
Run for the border like a Mexican
Underarm smell green like a Leprechaun
Survival of Jah people

Exodus, movement of Jah people

Boom! Chicken merry, Hawk is near
Tell them beware, but them still won't hear
Life is a road so you drive with care
Tire can't bust cause you got no spare
Whole-heap of lust in your atmosphere
Step pon di gas and you start draw gear
Dis Rastafari you do not dare
Some don't share and then that's not fair
Make a move, before they make a move and you
Making moves and still move and go thru
Moving things weh you not supposed to move
Watch your move and where you moving to
Who you move with, you move with you crew
Move some fool from up off the avenue
Move a pound and boost your revenue
Move uptown and overlook the view
Move around and get from one to two
Make a wrong move in the game you lose
I stand up and I refuse to move
Substance weh mi know mi nah go use
Metric measurement mi nah go choose
Moving on and you still need a clue
Car keys are the only keys wi' move
Moving on, Lord!

Exodus, movement of Jah people

Boom! Music, business as usual
Mi' spliff and Guiness as usual
Royal and muffin as usual
Highgrade we puffin as usual
Fight down the system as usual
The system fight we down as usual
The cops dem a watch we as usual
And a we a watch the cops as usual
No strap would be unusual
Roll wid it inna we lap as usual
Always ready fi clap as usual
Rastaman deh pon top as usual
Standard never drop as usual
Man-a' cream of the crop as usual
Run right 'round the clock as usual
Movement non-stop as usual





Exodus, movement of Jah people
Exodus, movement of Jah people

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Damian Marley’s song β€œMove” talks about the struggle of people against the oppressive system controlled by the government or those in authority. The β€œBabylon” mentioned in the song is a term commonly used in Rastafarian culture to refer to oppressive systems, whether social, political, or economic. It is a metaphor for the corrupt government that manipulates its citizens like a chess game. The β€œqueen” represents the government leaders, and the β€œpawn” represents the people, who are under the government’s control or manipulation.


The song also highlights the people's distrust of those in power who they believe have hidden motives and ambitions. Damian Marley emphasizes the people's urge to move or take action, either individually or as a group, to resist being oppressed. He advises people to be aware and cautious of their movements, to always be informed of their surroundings, and to move with a purpose.


Finally, the chorus of the song, "Exodus, movement of Jah people," refers to the Rastafarian belief in the ultimate redemption of African people from oppression and discrimination. The song is a call to action for people to unite and move towards freedom.


Line by Line Meaning

Babylon position the queen and set the pawn
Those in power manipulate and control the situation to maintain their position.


And start transform like Deceptacon
The powers that be start to change like a villainous robot from Transformers.


Anytime delegates have a discrepence
Whenever there is a disagreement among those in power.


Well a bare tension with some long weapons
This causes a lot of tension and results in people resorting to weapons to get their way.


Night vision upon the attack mission
Those in power have the advantage and sneak up on the opposition in the dark.


Colaliton of folly-ticians get switch on
The coalition of foolish politicians realizes they have been tricked and manipulated.


If you look in the face of the newly born
If you look at the faces of the new generations,


The newly born face malnutrition
You'll see that they are facing malnutrition and hunger.


Suspicion to what is them ambition
We are suspicious of what their true motivations are.


Total destruction start to ignition
The situation is rapidly moving towards complete destruction.


And the world still a fight over religion
People are still fighting over religion regardless of the state of the world.


Everyone have a right to a decision
Everyone has the right to make their own decision.


Superstition the people reflect upon, something nuh right
The people reflect on superstitions and feel that something is not right.


I man suspect a con
I suspect a con or a deceitful scheme.


Cause them lost inna darkness beyond
Because those in power are lost in their own darkness and ignorance.


And none shall escape except the ones, who
No one will escape except those who


Exodus with no question,
Leave without question or hesitation,


Better put on your khaki uniform
Get ready for action by putting on your uniform.


If you-a' driver, leave unnu engine on
If you're a driver, leave your engine running.


If you-a' rider jump pon a unicorn
If you're a passenger, jump on a mythical creature to escape.


Lace your shoes if you a pedestrian
Get ready to run if you're on foot.


Run for the border like a Mexican
Flee for safety like a Mexican.


Underarm smell green like a Leprechaun
Your underarms smell because you're nervous.


Survival of Jah people
It's about the survival of the Rastafarian people.


Boom! Chicken merry, Hawk is near
When things seem to be going well, danger is lurking nearby.


Tell them beware, but them still won't hear
Warn them, but they still won't listen.


Life is a road so you drive with care
Life is full of unexpected obstacles, so be cautious when making decisions.


Tire can't bust cause you got no spare
You don't have a backup plan if things go wrong.


Whole-heap of lust in your atmosphere
There is a lot of temptation and desire around you.


Step pon di gas and you start draw gear
You step on the gas and start moving forward.


Dis Rastafari you do not dare
Don't cross the Rastafarian people.


Some don't share and then that's not fair
Some don't share and that's not fair to others.


Make a move, before they make a move and you
Take action before others do something to you.


Making moves and still move and go thru
Continue to make moves and push forward.


Moving things weh you not supposed to move
Moving things that you're not supposed to move, in other words, breaking the rules or doing something risky.


Watch your move and where you moving to
Be careful and thoughtful about your actions and the direction you're heading.


Who you move with, you move with you crew
The people you associate with influence your actions and decision-making.


Move some fool from up off the avenue
Remove someone who's being foolish or a negative influence from your life.


Move a pound and boost your revenue
Make a profitable deal and increase your earnings.


Move uptown and overlook the view
Move to a better place with a great view.


Move around and get from one to two
Move around and experience different things in life.


Make a wrong move in the game you lose
Making the wrong decision can result in failure.


I stand up and I refuse to move
I refuse to back down or change my stance.


Substance weh mi know mi nah go use
I won't use substances I'm aware are harmful.


Metric measurement mi nah go choose
I won't choose metric measurements over others.


Moving on and you still need a clue
Even though you're moving forward, you need guidance and direction.


Car keys are the only keys wi' move
The only keys we're concerned with are the keys to our car.


Exodus, movement of Jah people
We are moving towards exodus, the movement of the Rastafarian people.


Boom! Music, business as usual
Music business is operating normally.


Mi' spliff and Guiness as usual
I'm smoking weed and drinking Guinness like always.


Royal and muffin as usual
I'm enjoying royal and muffins like usual.


Highgrade we puffin as usual
I'm smoking high-quality marijuana like usual.


Fight down the system as usual
We're fighting against the system as always.


The system fight we down as usual
The system is fighting back against us as usual.


The cops dem a watch we as usual
The police are watching us as usual.


And a we a watch the cops as usual
And we are watching the police as usual.


No strap would be unusual
It would be unusual not to carry a weapon.


Roll wid it inna we lap as usual
We always have our weapon with us.


Always ready fi clap as usual
We're always ready to shoot like usual.


Rastaman deh pon top as usual
The Rastafarian people are still on top.


Standard never drop as usual
Our standards never drop, we always maintain them.


Man-a' cream of the crop as usual
We're still the best of the best.


Run right 'round the clock as usual
We're running around the clock just like usual.


Movement non-stop as usual
Our movement never stops.




Lyrics Β© Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB MARLEY, DAMIAN ROBERT NESTA MARLEY, STEPHEN MARLEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

Sarah Kiki

This is by far one of my favourite tunes ever

amy parra

Fantastic song

Luxky Charm

Im greatful for My mother playing music like this when i was growing up. ❀

Garkuwan Chindo

You took the words right out my mouth
.and I'm African

amy parra

That's freaking awesome! β™‘β™‘β™‘

You Forget 1000 Things A Day

The percussion was SICK in this song.

Pamela Scott

Impossible not to "MOVE" to this beat aye πŸ’™πŸ’™πŸ’™

Tammie Higgs

Damian is phenomenally fantastic!

Tatiana Assis

Amo essa musica πŸ’šπŸ’›

amy parra

Saw Damian Mar at Bonnaroo back in 2006. His set changed my view on all music and where we were. The dude is a badazz.

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