Sean Paul’s “Temperature” Lyrics Meaning

Not only are the lyrics of Sean Paul’s “Temperature” rendered in patois, but relatedly they also rely quite heavily on local Jamaican colloquialisms. But at the end of the day, even if the verses in particular may be difficult for more conventional English speakers to understand, there really isn’t anything complicated going on, as this is more or less a 21^st century dance-love song from a male perspective. 

But just in the name of translating, so to speak, as much as we can, we will do our best to delineate the main points being put forth verse-by-verse.

Verse 1

The first verse begins with Sean encouraging the ladies in the house to get busy on the dance floor – a common sentiment as far as these kinds of songs tend to go. The vocalist then brings about what is actually the most confusing part of “Temperature”, when he lists a number of Jamaican foods that the addressee, i.e. a sexy lady in the venue that he’s interacting with, doesn’t eat. 

Apparently what he’s trying to get at is said lady being a foreigner. But either way, Sean clarifies that “down in Jamaica we give it to you hot like a sauna”, which, most generally put, alludes to said country being a poppin’ place.

Verses 2 and 3

The second verse commences with Paul admiring the addressee’s sexy, exposing style of dress. And to reiterate, even though said addressee is for the most part referenced in a singular sort of way, she is meant to be a personification of all of the sexy ladies, or let’s say the sexiest lady in the house. 

And Sean assures homegirl that he can “de-stress” her which, judging by the lyrics that follow, is a sexual reference. The vocalist goes on to let the addressee know that he’s flaunting alright, because he has been blessed and therefore feels an obligation to display his blessing. But that said, before closing out the passage Sean lets her know explicitly that he does in fact want to have sex.

But this isn’t a case of his mind being overtaken by lust. Instead, in the third verse the vocalist reveals that he’s truly feeling the addressee, even wanting to start a family with her. And it also becomes more apparent by this point that lyrically, “Temperature” is for the most part a pickup song. Put simply, it is one where the vocalist is tasked with seducing, if you will, the addressee. So the implication is that she’s putting up some resistance, but he’s not taking no for an answer.

Verse 4

And so it is leading into the fourth verse, i.e. Sean assuring the addressee that he is superior to other romantic rivals, insinuating that such is so due to his wealth. And he reiterates that what it is he likes about her is indeed her body – for instance the way her feminine “fat” fits into her tight jeans.

Chorus of “Temperature”

Meanwhile the chorus is where the title of the song comes into play. And comprehensively, the term “temperature” serves as a means for the vocalist to poetically illustrate to the addressee that he will properly take care of her, if given the romantic chance.

In Conclusion

So again, this is what we’ll define as a contemporary love song. Perhaps back in the day, if a guy was trying to get with a woman, he would make a conscientious effort not to harp too much on her looks, you know, not wanting to appear superficial or anything. 

But times have changed, and perhaps we can say that if a woman is putting it out there like the one featured in this narrative, then it’s also acceptable for guys like Sean Paul to react accordingly. After all, as presented he’s a man on top of his game. And beyond being smitten, he is also convinced that the addressee would be making a wise decision by hooking up with him.

Facts about “Temperature”

“Temperature” is a song that officially came to us on 23 February 2006. This was during Sean Paul’s musical heyday of the mid-aughts. 

This track can actually be considered his greatest hit. But why? This is considering for example that it has been certified three times platinum in the United States. It also replicated the same feat in Canada. And in the case of Canada, its ringtone also achieved triple-platinum status. 

Moreover this track topped the Billboard Hot 100 and the European Hot 100.

This track came out as the third single from Sean’s “The Trinity” album. This album, which is Sean’s 3rd studio album, is a product of Atlantic Records alongside Jamaica, Queens-based VP Records.

Sean Paul, perhaps being the most-successful pure-dancehall artist of the early 21^st century, co-wrote Temperature with the following:

• Adrian Marshall (aka Izes)
• Rohan Fuller (aka Snowcone)

The latter co-writer also produced the track.

An interesting report came out in 2009 where a woman was so plagued by epileptic seizures as a result of hearing Sean Paul songs – most notably “Temperature” – that she had to actually have brain surgery to effectively deal with the problem.