What’s Wrong With The Youths

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a stark picture of a community grappling with pervasive violence, specifically among its young people. The central question, "What's wrong with the youths-dem?", is repeated with a sense of urgent bewilderment, highlighting the narrator's inability to comprehend the cycle of aggression. This isn't just an abstract query; it's a plea born from witnessing constant bloodshed, as evidenced by the recurring imagery of shooting and killing brothers and sisters. The core tension lies between the narrator's lived experience of the "ghetto" and the baffling, destructive behavior of its youth. The narrator, also "born and raised in the ghetto," questions why those within the same environment are turning on each other, asking "Why you're shooting an' killing your brothers?" This suggests a deep-seated pain and confusion about the breakdown of familial and communal bonds, posing a direct challenge to the very people the narrator shares this background with. The most striking aspect of the craft is the relentless repetition of the central question and the brutal imagery of violence. This creates an almost hypnotic, overwhelming effect, mirroring the inescapable nature of the problem. The simple, direct language, devoid of complex metaphor, underscores the raw, immediate reality of the situation. The plea to "Oh Jah, I say to come now" acts as a desperate invocation for divine intervention against this self-inflicted destruction. Ultimately, the effectiveness of these lyrics stems from their raw honesty and their refusal to offer easy answers. The narrator doesn't claim to understand the root causes but instead channels the community's pain and confusion into a powerful, repetitive lament. The direct address and the stark portrayal of violence make the listener confront the devastating reality of young people harming one another, fostering a sense of shared concern and a yearning for peace.