[Verse 1] Way back in da bush by da ‘ōhiʻa trees, I wen plant my seed, just me an da breeze. Old kine style, straight from da ‘ohana, Golden kine bud, no mo’ drama. She grow tall, slow kine, full ah mana— No mainland weed, dis da real kamaʻāina. But now, I stay low when I hear dat sound— Blades slappin’ loud, choppin’ da ground. [Chorus] Choppah flyin’ like we stay in war, Lookin’ fo’ green, but takin’ mo’. Dey call um dope, but braddah, no— Dis da laʻau, not someting fo’ throw. I no sell ice, I grow da cure, But dey rope down armed, actin’ all sure. I just tryin’ fo’ feed my kaykey, yeah? But dey treat me like I get someting bad. [Verse 2] Befo’ dey wen come wit badge an gun, We share da pakalōlō under da sun. No need hide, no need rush— Smoke one cone, pau, no fuss. Now get trail in da gulch, hush-hush moves, Trim at night, watch da news. We lost da names, da old kine bud— Green Harvest wen flood us wit mud. [Chorus] Choppah flyin’ like we stay in war, Lookin’ fo’ green, but takin’ mo’. Dey say illegal, I say pono— Dis one gift from da gods, you know? We hide ‘em deep, pray fo’ rain, Watch ‘em burn what ease da pain. But still she grow, da sweet old kine, Da last thing real from dis bloodline. [Bridge] Dey wen take our ʻāina, our hula, our song, Now dey like take what we had all along. But I stay here, still plant, still stay— My kaykey go learn da Hawaiian way. We talk story ‘bout da strains we lost, Whispah names like we countin’ da cost. But every moon dat rise ova’ da field, She come back strong—never go yield. [Final Chorus] Still da choppah fly like some big boss, But I no scared, I know my loss. I get dirt, get soul, get time, An da mana in da mountain mine. Let ‘em come wit rope an gun— Dis our home, not jus’ one run. From ashes we grow, you go see— Dis island green, she stay part ah me. [Outro] Choppah ova Puna? Try come. We still here. We still plantin’. We not done.
