THE CRAZINESS OF TAMIL SONGS!
There is always something that makes a song stand out, be it the music, the lyrics or the voice of the playback singer. Long after the song is over you keep thinking about it and eagerly await it each time you hear the song. But can you truly relate to lyrics without knowing their meaning? So often, we fall in love with songs without understanding the lyrics. So as a consumer of music, you may want to be aware of the meaning or purpose of the song. So, I would like to appreciate the value of a few well-written songs in Tamil by sharing them with you.
To help you understand the beauty of Tamil, here are some heartrending lyrics from some of the popular songs:
The first song is Malargal kaettaen from the movie OK Kanmani. Addicted to this wonderful song by Vairamuthu’s where his lyrics flow out like poetry. It makes you realise the pen is mightier than a sword when heard. The song captures the yearning of a woman to reach her beloved!
“When I was lost in the forests, you were the one who came as the path (map)!
When I was lost in the darkness, you were the one who came as the light!
What shall I get lost in? Oh, beloved! so that you yourself will come?”
The second song is Rasaali from the movie Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada. This song is Pure magic both in terms of lyrics and music. The beauty of poetry is till the realisation of the meaning. But this is one song, where its beauty is multiplied after knowing the meaning
A girl enjoying the bike ride, feeling like a free bird.
The simple yet unmatchable experience of a bike ride.
Exploring different cities and experiencing a unique feel.
All these are interlaced with classical Carnatic music and sprinkled with love.
The cherry on the cake is the beautiful intricate words by Thamarai, that spices up the whole song to a new level.
The music by ARR is just perfect and as ever, it adds emotion to the Tamil words and lets you experience the fresh air on the face as well as the complexity of a seemingly simple experience!
“Yo flying falcon, flying falcon, stop!
Are you fast, or am I faster? tell!
The clock too would lie, I realised!
As the east is turning to the west (As the day passes by)”
The third song is nadhiye nadhiye from the movie Rhythm. Total respect for Vairamuthu! What an imagination! In this song, he compares rivers to femininity and described why they are the same! Beautiful is the one word to describe the song. A special mention for UnniMenon and Rahman’s music, but of course the lyrics take the trophy in this one!
“You are a river when you move; You are a waterfall when you rise; You are the ocean when you stand still!
Similarly for a girl; she is a young woman when she attains puberty, she is a wife when she marries, she is a mother when she gives birth!
Oh, tiny rivers (rivulets), Oh banks of the river! Oh, foam that reaches the shore! In the foam, I see your (feminine) face!”
“The value of a lover is realised in her separation, the value of a wife is realised in her death,
Similarly, the value of water is realised during summertime! Just like a woman, you freeze in shyness, you melt when caressed with fingers, both water and women are similar in their scent,
We are born in the bag of waters (amniotic sac), We finish our existence along the shores of the waterbody (After death, the ashes are dissolved and rituals are performed along the shores of water bodies)”
Not in any particular order, many songs can be added here. I have chosen these songs because I have felt there’s something about these songs that’s absolutely divine.
It’s beautiful how such complex emotions are so beautifully woven into Tamil lyrics, isn’t it?
By-
Nivedha
