The Traffic Jam
Damian Marley Lyrics

Cho! Stabba dom! (Yeah!)
The singer starts with an energetic sound

Stabba labba dom (Hear dat)
The singer is hyping up the listeners while making an eccentric sound

Stooby labba labba dom ram labba babba labba labba dom, I say (Watch mi lion!)
The singer is making wild sounds as he emphasizes on his message that listeners should watch out for him

[Chorus]...
This is the chorus, which the singer repeats multiple times in-between his verses

This is raggamuffin from di ghetto yutes camp
The singer introduces himself as a raggamuffin from the inner city

Anyway mi go mi seh mi must leff mi stamp
No matter where he goes, he feels compelled to leave his mark

Marijuana weh mi smoke dem seh too ignorant
People say that he's ignorant for smoking marijuana

Just some odda day some puff a whole mek fi one
Just the other day, some people got high from smoking just one puff of marijuana

Then mi bredda Juju and mi idren name Don
Then his friend Juju and another guy named Don come into the picture

Bounce and listen to Gong when mashin' up di traffic jam
They're listening to Gong while stuck in traffic

Police pull mi ova talkin bout him smell bud
The police stopped him for smelling weed

From mi look inna him face and know this bwoy have a plan
He could tell that the police officer had a plan from his face

Juju touch mi pon my shoulda seh di bwoy a demon
Juju touched him on the shoulder and told him that the police officer was a demon

First ting him waan to know is where dat smell is comin' from
The first thing the officer asked him was where the smell was coming from

Are you smokin' marijuana and I said yes I am
He admitted to smoking marijuana when the officer asked him if he was smoking it

True him seh some man trance seh it cost a couple grand
The officer told him that some people claim that it costs a lot of money to be in a trance from smoking weed

Him seh mek mi see di license and registration
He asked to see his license and car registration

Dun know seh raggamuffin nah go answer question
He tells the officer that he's not going to answer questions because he's a raggamuffin

As is says on the paper read di information
He tells the officer to read the information that's on the paper

From mi nah go tek nuh switch or interrogation
He's not going to take any switches or be interrogated

So book mi if yuh book mi carry dung a station
He tells the officer to take him to the station if he's going to arrest him

Mek mi show dem how we did it inna style and pattern
He's confident that he will be fine and tells them to watch how he does it in his own way

I'm di judge, di lawyer Juve I'm my own bails man
He's the judge, the lawyer, and his own bail man

And if yuh check it out dat would be my station
That would be his preferred station, should he ever be arrested

Mi seh sekkle Juju royal for yah run England
He tells Juju that he will take care of the situation and run England

And when mi plane land yuh nah go through nuh customs
When he arrives, he won't go through customs

This is raggamuffin inna different pattern
He's introducing himself once again as a raggamuffin with a unique style

Mi nuh go inna nuh session unless it conk and ram
He won't go to any session unless it's jam-packed and crazy

And from yuh see we face and wanna ask a question
People want to ask him questions as soon as they see his face

And anywhere we go we haffi ra pa pom, pom
Everywhere he goes, something wild or chaotic happens

Well if a ganja dem a look fah dem know where to find us
If people are looking for weed, they know where to find him

Well we a nuh criminal seh rasta ever righteous
He's no criminal, as Rastafarians are righteous people

Some bwoy a scope out di ride a we drive and puff
Some people are checking out the car they're driving and smoking weed

And him jealous a we seh shine and buff
They're jealous of how polished and nice they look

Well from him look inna di car and how di interior plush
They get jealous when they see the car's luxurious interior

And look upon di rims how dem full out and flush
People are staring at the rims and how nice they look

And scope out we jewels him a wonda how much
They're also checking out their jewelry and wondering how much it costs

And him jealous well then prize caan touch (Why)
They're so jealous that they can never have what they have

Then mi seh royal have a new tune fi rise and buss
He tells everyone that Royal has a new song that will become popular

And there extra large size muffin dem a light up
They're smoking huge joints (muffins) and getting really high

A bwoy dig dung di car until him find some stuff
Someone dug through their car until they found something

And him jealous a we so rank and nuff (Lawd)
They're so jealous that it makes them angry (Lawd is an expression of frustration)

Hin exact cau a few stripes deh pon him shoulda
That guy probably got in trouble a few times in his life (using stripes as a metaphor for punishments)

Cau him too par wid we we deh when Demus show love
He's probably too similar to them, so when other people show them love, he gets jealous

Give dem couple C.D. some promo photos
They give out a couple of cds and promo photos

Now him jealous cau everybody knows us
He's jealous because everybody knows them

Yo some feel di wey yuh pass and dem a smile and blush
People look at him and smile, maybe even flirt

And true dem see some man a star dem could a have a light crush
Some people might have a light crush on him because they think he's a star

Now him jealous now even twice as much (Hear dat)
Now they're even more jealous than before (Hear that!)

I think you
He's addressing the court or someone in charge

And your entire organization is corrupt and filthy
He thinks whoever he's addressing is completely corrupt

Herb must be burn! Lawd!
He uses the Rastafarian expression to say that smoking herb is essential and should not be banned

Dem seh yuh a di herbsman, and mi a di farmer
People say he's an herbalist, and he thinks of himself as a farmer

And anywey mi go marijuana deh pon di corner
Everywhere he goes, he sees marijuana on the corner

Jah know, I seh di good sensimelia
He mentions the good quality of marijuana

Then rastaman yuh must glow
A Rastafarian must feel good and enlightened after smoking marijuana

Hey seh yuh a di herbsman, and mi a di farmer
He repeats his previous statement and says he's a farmer

And anywey mi go ganja must deh pon di corner
Everywhere he goes, he sees marijuana on the corner

Jah know, a just di good sensimelia
He repeats his admiration for good marijuana

Then rastaman yuh must glow
He repeats his previous statement, suggesting that a Rastafarian will feel good after smoking marijuana

Yo it's a spiritual lift and we nuh tink bout traffic
Smoking marijuana is a spiritual experience, and they don't worry about traffic when they smoke

Di scent a mi herbs Babylon tek sip
The scent of his marijuana makes Babylon (authorities) take a deep breath

To kill every herb seed dat is there wish
They wish to eliminate every herb seed

Mek a violation all because a one spliff
They can get into trouble just because of one joint

Di AC mek mi high when a sweat start drip
The AC in the car makes them high when they're sweating

Cough mi nuh illy cau mi know mi nuh sick
He coughs, but it's nothing serious because he knows he's not sick

Outlaw chemist who use two chalice
They're outlaws who use two chalices (pipes) to smoke marijuana

Spliff inna mi hand mi have mi ting pon mi hip
He has a joint in his hand and something else on his hip (perhaps a gun)

Move dem mek di rudebwoy flash it and dash it
They move out of the way when the rude boys show up

Mek nuh mistake it a automatic
They shouldn't make a mistake because it's automatic

Fools they crush and mi seh eediat panic
Fools crush (the joints), and they should be careful not to panic

Spliff deh inna mi hand man a move like bionic
He's moving his hand holding the joint like a bionic man

Go deh Buju Banton wid a musical gift
He mentions Buju Banton and his musical talent

Ragga muffin pass di chalice and dash mi and spliff and just
The raggamuffin passes him the pipe and the joint, and they smoke together