Tree – English Lyrics

• By: Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne, Smino
• Album: STAR LINE

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the soulful sounds of "Tree" by Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne, and Smino, a song that uses its laid-back vibe to delve into deeper issues. By examining themes of social injustice, family, and the symbolic importance of cannabis, this track offers a unique blend of language and cultural commentary, inviting listeners to unpack its layers of meaning.

[English]

IGH

My mama used to always keep a lil bit of dro

The incense in the window while she folding our clothes

And though life will have its issues there will never be

A problem with the weed

She told me

"Son don't worry don't you have no shame

There's gonna be frustrations in this white man's game

And they're gonna have us tied up once it's legalized

Because it is a tree!"

My mama had to work

(work)

My mama had to birth

(two kids)

My mama drove to church and ironed shirts and kept a smirk

And I think my mama must of work at Saltine at the factor-

Y?

She came home crying said, "I'm tired of these crackers!"

I roll up

For pretty girls thats on they grind getting paid (Hu!)

I roll up

For women who life wasn't no Crystal Staircase

And I roll up

For any my niggas thats stuck in that jam

Torn from their family hustling grams

We love you

We smoking on big Uncle Sam

Dispensary weed is a government scam

My cousin my weedman

The plug is my man's

My whole life look like I've been rubbing a lamp

The blunt like I rolled up a rug in my hand

Stop

Look

Duck in my hand

If it ain't a buck in my hand

Fist full of bullets

I'm flipping the bird

It's a plane

It's a don't give a fuck in my hand

If we roll up we flame up

Yes we flame up

If we pull up ain't no change up

Don't play with our money it's dangerous

Ain't no more sharecropping

This for my mama

I promise I'm fucking the game up

This for my ladies that making it happen

You ready?

I'm ready to flame up

My mama used to always keep a lil bit of dro

The incense in the window while she folding our clothes

And though life will have its issues there will never be

A problem with the weed

She told me

"Son don't worry don't you have no shame

There's gonna be frustrations in this white man's game

And they're gonna have us tied up once it's legalized

Because it is a tree!"

Like my girls like weed homegrown

Angie get stoned

Cheech & Chong

All the casa negros gone

Fuck it get stoned

(Craig and Smokey)

(Uh)

My mama had to work

My step daddy had the work

Don't expect me to pass the purp

Cause Pastor Purp ain't at this church

Oh God forgive me

God forgive me

Holy smokes like religion

I be smoking like an engine

Can't play poker like syringes

Blow a pound like I'm Jenny Craig

I'm cold as Winnipeg

When me and Chance smoking them plants

We turn to Bill & Ted

All my weed be strictly meds

My blunt be thick as legs

Yellow Percocets

White Percocets look like grits & eggs

Smoke a blunt for Chi-Raq

Catch a contact

I don't know where my eyes at

They on her thigh tat

I'm sorry I got side tracked

But I'm gonna hit you with a sidebar

You could pull up in a fly car

I'm a pull off in a flying car

That's cap if they say we cap

I crack they freakin kneecaps

And Chance gave me a 3 cap to cover up all these naps

A dreadlock Rasta

Bandana red like pasta

I steal a nigga bitch like a Mazda

My mama used to keep a little bit of dro

The incense in the window while she folding our clothes

And though life will have its issues there will never be

A problem with the weed

She told me

"Son don't worry don't you have no shame

There's gonna be frustrations in this white man's game

And they're gonna have us tied up once it's legalized

Because it is a tree!"

Like my girls like weed homegrown

Angie get stoned

Cheech & Chong

All the casa negros gone

Fuck it get stoned

(Craig and Smokey]

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
mama /ˈmɑː.mə/ A1	noun - mother
weed /wiːd/ A2	noun - a type of plant, often referring to marijuana
frustration /frʌsˈtreɪ.ʃən/ B2	noun - the feeling of being upset or annoyed as a result of being unable to change or achieve something
game /ɡeɪm/ A2	noun - a structured form of play or competitive activity
tired /ˈtaɪ.ərd/ B1	adjective - feeling in need of rest or sleep
flame /fleɪm/ B2	verb - to burn with a bright flame
smoking /ˈsmoʊ.kɪŋ/ B1	verb - to inhale and exhale the smoke of burning tobacco or other substances
contact /ˈkɒn.tækt/ B1	noun - the state or condition of physical touching
game /ɡeɪm/ A1	noun - activity for fun or competition

Key Grammar Structures

• She told me, 'Son don't worry don't you have no shame'

  ➔ Contractions and Double Negatives

  ➔ The line uses contractions ('don't', 'you') and a double negative ('no shame'), which is common in informal speech. Double negatives are often used for emphasis in certain dialects.

• My mama had to work (work) / My mama had to birth (two kids)

  ➔ Parenthetical Expressions

  ➔ The use of parenthetical expressions ('work', 'two kids') adds emphasis or clarification to the main statement. It’s a stylistic choice to highlight specific details.

• I roll up / For pretty girls thats on they grind getting paid (Hu!)

  ➔ Colloquial Language and Interjections

  ➔ The line uses colloquial language ('thats on they grind') and an interjection ('Hu!'), typical of informal and expressive speech in hip-hop.

• Dispensary weed is a government scam

  ➔ Subject-Verb Agreement

  ➔ The sentence demonstrates proper subject-verb agreement ('weed is'), where the singular subject 'weed' matches the singular verb 'is'.

• If we roll up we flame up / Yes we flame up

  ➔ Conditional Sentences

  ➔ The lines use conditional sentences ('If we roll up... we flame up') to express a hypothetical situation and its result, common in both spoken and written English.