Rootsie&Boopsie
Papa Winnie Lyrics
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The dance hall has to ram
It has to ram in a style and fashion
The nation has to jam,
The nation has to jam
We gonna jam in a style and pattern
Because is I, Papa Winnie,
On the microphone stand
The people doesn't know
Where I really come from
Me tall, me no short,
Me slim, me not fat
And everytime I rap,
Me say the crowd hear me say
You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy,
When skies are gray
You never know, Dear,
How much I love you
So please don't take
My sunshine away
You are the woman,
And I am the man
And everything we do,
Jah knows we do it real strong
We are just modeling up the dance hall,
In a style and
Fashion
Me and my girl, her name is Liana
The talk of the town,
Is that we have two babies,
Twins
One of them fat and one of them slim
We call them Rootsie, Rootsie,
Rootsie and Boopsie, Rootsie, Rootsie, Rootsie and Boopsie
You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy,
When skies are gray
You never know, Dear,
How much I love you
So please don't take
My sunshine away
Sufferation in the land,
Sufferation in the land
Killing all my natian Lord
I can't understand
Famine in the land,
Tribulation getting strong
They always have a plan
To fool we Africans
Creating war in the East
War in the West
War inthe North
And war inthe South
If love were a thing
That money can buy
The rich man would live,
And the poor man would die
You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy,
When skies are gray
You never know, Dear,
How much I love you
So please don't take
My sunshine away
The song “Rootsie & Boopsie” by Papa Winnie, is a reggae hit full of complex lyrics with two apparent themes. The first half of the song talks about the dance hall, where Papa Winnie is the DJ or the “mic stand” and the people must dance, as the hall “ram” and the nation “jam” together. He is introducing his lover, Liana, who is the “talk of the town,” as they model the dancehall ‘in a style and fashion.’ He tells the story of their twin babies, one skinny and the other, fat, which they named Rootsie and Boopsie. There’s a repetitive call-and-response chant of “Rootsie and Boopsie.”
In the second half of the song, Papa Winnie talks about “sufferation” and famine happening in the land where Africans are being killed. He describes how the rich man will live, and the poor man will die if “love” was a thing that one could buy. The last verse emphasizes the loneliness and isolation of life caused by war in East, West, North, and South Africa. The lyrics suggest a longing for the sense of harmony and unity that can only come when people ‘jam together’ in the dancehall.
Line by Line Meaning
The dance hall has to ram,
The dance hall needs to be packed and buzzing with energy
It has to ram in a style and fashion
The dance hall needs to be lively and stylish
The nation has to jam,
The entire nation should be grooving to the music
We gonna jam in a style and pattern
We are going to dance in a particular rhythm and style
Because is I, Papa Winnie,
It's me, Papa Winnie, on the microphone stand
The people doesn't know
People fail to recognize
Where I really come from
My true roots and origins
Me tall, me no short,
I am tall, not short
Me slim, me not fat
I am slim, not fat
And everytime I rap,
And every time I perform
Me say the crowd hear me say
The crowd can hear me
You are my sunshine
You bring joy and happiness to my life
My only sunshine
The one and only thing that brings me happiness
You make me happy,
You bring me true joy
When skies are gray
When everything seems dark
You never know, Dear,
You may not realize, my love
How much I love you
The depth of my affection for you
So please don't take
Don't take for granted
My sunshine away
My joy and happiness
You are the woman,
You are the woman in my life
And I am the man
And I am your man
And everything we do,
In all aspects of our relationship
Jah knows we do it real strong
We have a strong and solid relationship
We are just modeling up the dance hall,
We are just showing off how to dance
In a style and
With a particular flair and energy
Fashion
Style and elegance
Me and my girl, her name is Liana
My partner's name is Liana
The talk of the town,
Everyone is talking about
Is that we have two babies,
That we have two children
Twins
A twin boy and girl
One of them fat and one of them slim
One is overweight while the other is slim
We call them Rootsie, Rootsie,
We call them Rootsie and Boopsie
Rootsie and Boopsie, Rootsie, Rootsie, Rootsie and Boopsie
Our children, who we love so much
Sufferation in the land,
There is much suffering in the country
Killing all my natian Lord
Destroying our nation, dear Lord
I can't understand
I cannot comprehend
Famine in the land,
There is a widespread lack of food
Tribulation getting strong
People are facing more and more difficulties
They always have a plan
They always have a scheme or a strategy
To fool we Africans
To deceive the African people
Creating war in the East
Starting conflicts in the eastern region
War in the West
Fighting and conflict in the western part of the country
War inthe North
There is warfare in the northern region
And war inthe South
There is conflict in the southern areas
If love were a thing
If love could be bought
That money can buy
With wealth and riches
The rich man would live,
The wealthy man would thrive
And the poor man would die
While the poor man would suffer and perish
Writer(s): Carlisle Peters, Silvio Melloni, Roberto Turatti, Gino Zandona', Mario Natale
Contributed by Anna J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.