Yardie Nostalgia (Way Back When)

[Style: Maintain original vocal timbre and performance] [Voice: Consistent, same singer] [Vocal: Established] [Intro] [Airhorns] [Wheel Up] Yeah man, strictly memory lane! Pull up dat riddim, make we take a trip! [Chorus, Melodic Singjay] Back inna di days, when mi was a yute Now man fully grown, wearing tailored suit But some days mi sit and wish mi was a yute again Back inna di days, when mi was a yute Now man fully grown, wearing tailored suit But some days mi sit and wish mi was a yute again [Verse 1, Rapid syncopation] I remember (Back inna di days) When mi was a little pickney, rolling inna the clay [Anaphora] When we run di street, barefoot and free When we run di joke, laughing under the tree When we run di town, just my bredrins and me [Assonance] Sweet breeze sweep the street, feeling the heat, moving the feet Begging big bro to tag along, singing a song, nothing went wrong Y'all remember way back when, nineteen-eighty-five? Catching a ride on the minibus, feeling alive [Zeugma] Mi catch a vibe and a taxi down to Half-Way Tree We stay mad for ten minutes, then we drinking the tea Playing dandy shandy with the girls by the zinc fence Before the world got cold and the dollars made sense. Sometimes I still sit and reminisce, then Think about the years I was raised, back inna di days [Chorus, Catchy/Rhythmic] Back inna di days, when mi was a yute Now man fully grown, wearing tailored suit But some days mi sit and wish mi was a yute again Back inna di days, when mi was a yute Now man fully grown, wearing tailored suit But some days mi sit and wish mi was a yute again [Refrain, Call and Response] And everybody say (Mi member way back when) And everybody say (Mi member way back when) And everybody say (Mi member way back when) What? (Back inna di day) When? (Back inna di day) [Verse 2, Heavy bass drop, Dancehall Toasting] I'm still back in the days, moving to eighty-eight Junior high school, khaki uniform looking great But let me finish this reminiscing and telling 'Bout when the gyal dem belling out, sweet perfumes smelling [Antanclasis] We used to leave the yard, just to make a yard Playing our cards right when the times got hard We used to pitch marbles, now man pitch the vision [Tongue in Cheek / Double Entendre] She said she loved my stroke when we swam, now she love my rhythm We rocked the mesh marinas, Clarks upon the feet While the sound system boxes blocked up the street I miss those days, so I pout like a grown jerk Wishing all I had to do was finish mi schoolwork It's true, you don't realize what you got 'til it fly away But I will never forget how we used to play. Sometimes I still sit and reminisce, then Think about the years I was raised, back inna di days [Chorus, Catchy/Rhythmic] Back inna di days, when mi was a yute Now man fully grown, wearing tailored suit But some days mi sit and wish mi was a yute again Back inna di days, when mi was a yute Now man fully grown, wearing tailored suit But some days mi sit and wish mi was a yute again [Refrain, Call and Response] And everybody say (Mi member way back when) And everybody say (Mi member way back when) And everybody say (Mi member way back when) What? (Back inna di day) When? (Back inna di day) [Verse 3, Double time flow, driving rhythm] Well, it’s the original yute, all grown up and bold Figure I'm a big man now, breaking the mold Holding down a steady job, crew steady mobbing To the reggae bassline, head steady bobbing [Zeugma] I lost my doubts and my fake friends on the way up [Antanclasis] We used to draw the line, now we draw the crowd Speaking out loud, making the ancestors proud From the country to Kingston, I figured a way out Gave it all that I had, put away all the doubt So we on our way up, holding the trophy But sometimes I still sit, drinking my coffee, then Think about the years I was raised, back inna di days [Chorus, Catchy/Rhythmic] Back inna di days, when mi was a yute Now man fully grown, wearing tailored suit But some days mi sit and wish mi was a yute again Back inna di days, when mi was a yute Now man fully grown, wearing tailored suit But some days mi sit and wish mi was a yute again [Outro, Dub echo and Ad-libs] [Reload] Yeah man. The days of youth. You can't buy back time, seen? Bless up the youths. Remember where you come from. (Back in the days...) [Fade out with heavy bass reverb]