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Chop 'Em Down Lyrics
Chorus:
From the forest itself comes the handle for the axe
Split this wilderness listen up this ain't where it's at
Clear a path so that you could find your way back
Chop 'em down, chop 'em down; chop 'em down, chop 'em down
Time flies by like clouds passing in the sky lifetimes hear and gone like the blink of an eye
March through this desert one-step at a time, march through the desert one step at a time
Chorus: From the forest itself comes the handle for the ax,
Drop the staff Moshe rabbainu split the ocean in half,
March through the desert this ain't where it's at
Chop 'em down, Chop 'em down
Patterns engraved not so easily erased, still wandering trying to find your place
Playing the game I see pain on your face now a day's the yiddin like children sold as slaves
Strange ways running through the maze, strange ways always lost in the desert trying to
find to find your place lost in the desert trying to find your place
Chorus
Joseph descended sold as a slave,
thrown into a dungeon cause he wouldn't be swayed
Interpreted pharaoh's dreams and Egypt was saved
stock piled food for seven years of rain
then sold to all the nations when the drought came
Joseph rose to power and the yiddin stayed
They started to build and success was made
Pharos getting worried let's make them pay bound in chains
First born was sent down to their graves
Moshe was saved and a prince he was raised
Hashem spoke to him hears a message to relay
Take my Nation from Mitzrayim (Egypt) I see the suffering
Hard hearts ego breaks take sparks and make way
Trail blaze through the wasteland breaking the chains
Last generation just the ruminants
March through the desert leaving footprints
Peel off the lid this is just plastic, get into it, get into it
Heavy hitter stepping solid never quitter jump into the ocean before it split got a jump into it
Rip through Egypt rip through it,
get into it, 600,000 witnessed it, no you didn't forget
In the spiritual desert things are not what they seem
snakes camouflaged just fit the scene
Put your faith in a mirage it's just a smoke screen
The king is sitting on his thrown of glory
From the forest itself comes the handle for the axe
Split this wilderness listen up this ain't where it's at
Clear a path so that you could find your way back
Chop 'em down, chop 'em down; chop 'em down, chop 'em down
March through this desert one-step at a time, march through the desert one step at a time
Drop the staff Moshe rabbainu split the ocean in half,
March through the desert this ain't where it's at
Chop 'em down, Chop 'em down
Playing the game I see pain on your face now a day's the yiddin like children sold as slaves
Strange ways running through the maze, strange ways always lost in the desert trying to
find to find your place lost in the desert trying to find your place
thrown into a dungeon cause he wouldn't be swayed
Interpreted pharaoh's dreams and Egypt was saved
stock piled food for seven years of rain
then sold to all the nations when the drought came
Joseph rose to power and the yiddin stayed
They started to build and success was made
Pharos getting worried let's make them pay bound in chains
First born was sent down to their graves
Moshe was saved and a prince he was raised
Hashem spoke to him hears a message to relay
Take my Nation from Mitzrayim (Egypt) I see the suffering
Hard hearts ego breaks take sparks and make way
Trail blaze through the wasteland breaking the chains
Last generation just the ruminants
March through the desert leaving footprints
Peel off the lid this is just plastic, get into it, get into it
Heavy hitter stepping solid never quitter jump into the ocean before it split got a jump into it
Rip through Egypt rip through it,
get into it, 600,000 witnessed it, no you didn't forget
In the spiritual desert things are not what they seem
snakes camouflaged just fit the scene
Put your faith in a mirage it's just a smoke screen
The king is sitting on his thrown of glory
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anti-enviromental? clearly, chop em down is a metaphor he is using, and not a call to chop down the rain forests. this is the story of the slaves in egypt liberating themselves, and then "walk through the desert". in the desert, there arent forests to be chopping down, only the oppressor.
as for him being a religious fanatic, well, that would describe many reggae musicians. rastafari and hasidism are pretty similiar, and the themes in matisyahu's music are the same as most rasta roots music only he says hashem instead of jah.
i agree with dirtyshame, this is a great song and does not deserve a comment of such misinformed ingnorance
"From the forest itself comes the handle for the axe"
That's profound man.. (I'm not being sarcastic, i really think that's a great lyric)
I'm not Jewish but I have to say, I love this man! I play his cd very loud and my mother tells everyone to avoid me because I'm having my "Jewish rapper time." "From the forest itself comes the handle for the ax" and "put your faith in the mirage, it's just a smokescreen" are very big lyrics for. The first says, to me, that everything becomes the end for itself, it shows the circle of life. The second is just really, really awesome.
First comment? C'mon Matisyahu is sick.. Listen to them and enjoy yourself..
yes reference bob marley's "small axe" Its cool to hear the esoteric judaism in reggae beats coming at me. always meant to study it some - now i can put it off longer for the cliffs notes of music - nice lyrics
You mean those 600.000 men, women, and children freed themselves? Man, all this time I thought God did it.
Hasidic Judaism...nothing to do with religious fanatisicsm or the burning/cutting of any forests...please check yourselves before you wreck yourselves as Ice Cube would say. It's Scripture......in a Dub way.
I went to a Lutheran grade school and a Catholic high school.....we learned this story....read a fucking book.
You are right and wrong, Sully2018. While Hashem did help the Jews escape by empowering Moses with the use of the plagues, it was the strength and will of the people that ultimately made them free. Most Jews will teach, as I do, that Hashem gives man life, and He gives him power, but it is ultimately the free will of man to do with the power what he wishes. The slaves could have said "oh, but we'll never make it out...", but they didn't, they "chopped 'em down", e.g. the Pharoah and his armies, and then marched through the desert to freedom. Matisyahu makes me proud to be a Jew :)