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Chinna Kuyil Paaduthu album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Chinna Kuyil Oru

From Chinna Kuyil Paaduthu · 1987

Lyricist
Vaali
Singer
Ilayaraja
Music director
Ilayaraja
Movie name
Chinna Kuyil Paaduthu
Movie release year
1987
Lyrics added on
4 Dec 2018

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Chinna kuyil oru paattu paadudhu
Than ammaa kuyil engaennu thedudhu
Chinna kuyil oru paattu paadudhu
Than ammaa kuyil engaennu thedudhu
Chinna kuyil oru paattu paadudhu
Than ammaa kuyil engaennu thedudhu
Enna seiyum indha kuyil kannammaa
Paavamadi chinna kuyil ammammaa
Chinna kuyil oru paattu paadudhu
Than ammaa kuyil engaennu thedudhu
Annai kuyil thannai
Indha pillai kuyil paarkkalae
Pillai kuyil yekkam thannai
Thandhai kuyil theerkkalae
Chinna kuyil thaayin anbai
Dhinam dhinam kaanaamae
Ullathilae vaattam kondu
Urugudhu thoongaamae
Thandhai ullam eppodhum boomiyilae
Pongi varum thaai ullam aagaadhae
Endha thunai aanaalum vaazhkkaiyilae
Sondha thunai thaai pola kidaiyaadhae
Thaayai pola pesum dheivam yedhum illae
Chinna kuyil oru paattu paadudhu
Than ammaa kuyil engaennu thedudhu
Pillai kuyil vaazhum koottil
Peththa kuyil vaazhndhadhu
Peththa kuyil koottai vittu
Kaattu pakkam parandhadhu
Annai kuyil koottil veror
Aasai kuyil vandhadhu
Thandhai kuyil ullam noga
Sandai ittu ponadhu
Aadharavu illaadha siru kuyilum
Vaadudhammaa neer illaa vayal pola
Thaayin madi kaanaadha pillai kuyil
Sindhudhammaa kanneerai nadhi pola
Yekkam theerum naalum
Endru thaan varumo
Chinna kuyil oru paattu paadudhu
Than ammaa kuyil engaennu thedudhu
Enna seiyum indha kuyil kannammaa
Paavamadi chinna kuyil ammammaa
Chinna kuyil oru paattu paadudhu
Than ammaa kuyil engaennu thedudhu
A little cuckoo is singing a song,
Searching for where its mother cuckoo is.
A little cuckoo is singing a song,
Searching for where its mother cuckoo is.
A little cuckoo is singing a song,
Searching for where its mother cuckoo is.
What can this poor cuckoo do, my dear?
Oh, how pitiful is this little cuckoo!
A little cuckoo is singing a song,
Searching for where its mother cuckoo is.
Its mother cuckoo,
this baby cuckoo has never seen.
The deep longing of this baby cuckoo,
the father cuckoo could not soothe.
Without feeling a mother's love
day after day,
sorrowing deep inside its heart,
the little cuckoo melts away without sleep.
On this earth, a father's heart
can never equal an overflowing mother's heart.
Whatever companions you find in life,
there is no true companion like a mother.
There is no living god like a mother.
A little cuckoo is singing a song,
Searching for where its mother cuckoo is.
In the nest where the baby cuckoo lives,
the mother who bore it once lived.
Leaving that nest behind,
the mother flew away into the wild.
Into the mother cuckoo's nest,
another beloved cuckoo arrived.
Hurting the father cuckoo's heart,
she fought and went away too.
With no one to care for it,
the little cuckoo withers like a waterless field.
Never having known a mother's lap,
the baby cuckoo sheds tears like a river.
The day its longing will end—
when will it ever arrive?
A little cuckoo is singing a song,
Searching for where its mother cuckoo is.
What can this poor cuckoo do, my dear?
Oh, how pitiful is this little cuckoo!
A little cuckoo is singing a song,
Searching for where its mother cuckoo is.
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This emotional song uses the metaphor of a young bird (chinna kuyil) searching for its missing mother bird. The child bird is filled with immense sorrow, missing the warmth and love of its mother, which even the caring father bird cannot fully replace. It highlights the irreplaceable nature of maternal affection, declaring that no deity or worldly companion can compare to a mother's love. The lyrics narrate how another bird entered the nest, leading to conflict and the mother's departure into the wild. Deprived of a mother's lap, the young bird's life feels like a dry, waterless crop field, weeping tears like a river as it waits and wonders when its aching longing will finally end.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor (Uruvagaim)

“Chinna kuyil oru paattu paadudhu”

The young child longing for motherly affection is poetically portrayed as a 'chinna kuyil' (little cuckoo) searching for its 'ammaa kuyil'.

Simile (Uvamai)

“Vaadudhammaa neer illaa vayal pola”

Comparing the helpless child bird's suffering to a field parched without water ('neer illaa vayal pola').

Simile (Uvamai)

“Sindhudhammaa kanneerai nadhi pola”

Comparing the child's continuous flow of tears to a river ('nadhi pola').

Monoreyme / Repetition (Emonai & Anaphora)

“Pillai kuyil vaazhum koottil / Peththa kuyil vaazhndhadhu”

Repeated use of 'kuyil' across lines creates a musical and rhythmic motif emphasizing the central subject.

Did you know?

Trivia

The song uses the 'Kuyil' (cuckoo) imagery, a traditional motif in classical and modern Tamil poetry used to symbolize soft emotion, sweet voice, and deep emotional longing.

Keep listening

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Amma Nee Kannamoochi1985
Ketti MelamGriefMotherhood
Kana Karunguyile1989
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Mazhai Mega Vanna2002
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Kuthiraiyilee Naan1977
Avar Enakke SonthamMelancholicWistful
Amma Endralle2001
NandhaGriefMotherhood
Kaattiloru Singakuttiyam1980
Anbukku Naan AdimaiStorytellingFolk Influenced

From the same album

More songs from Chinna Kuyil Paaduthu

View album
Appavukku Paiyan1987
Chinna Kuyil PaaduthuHumorous
Unnai Naane1987
Chinna Kuyil PaaduthuTender
Kannumani Kannumani1987
Chinna Kuyil PaaduthuPassionate
Chithirai Masathu1987
Chinna Kuyil PaaduthuPlayful

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