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Motor Sundaram Pillai album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Gubu Gubu Naan Engine

From Motor Sundaram Pillai · 1966

Lyricist
Kothamangalam Subbu
Singers
A. L. Raghavan, L. R. Eswari
Music director
M. S. Vishwanathan
Movie name
Motor Sundaram Pillai
Movie release year
1966
Lyrics added on
30 Jun 2020

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Gubu gubu gubu gubu naan engine
Male :Dagu dagu dagu dagu dagu naan vandi
Female :Aha gubu gubu gubu gubu naan engine
Male :Haan dagu dagu dagu dagu dagu naan vandi
Engine vaegam ilamayin vaegam
En pinnaalae thodaraathae
Engine vaegam ilamayin vaegam
En pinnaalae thodaraathae
Engine mattum railaagaathu
Ennai vittu pogaathae
Engine mattum railaagaathu
Ennai vittu pogaathae
Oho ennai vittu pogaathae
Gubu gubu gubu gubu naan engine
Male :Aa dagu dagu dagu dagu dagu naan vandi
Female :Aha gubu gubu gubu gubu naan engine
Male :Haan dagu dagu dagu dagu dagu naan vandi
Engine vaegam ilamayin vaegam
En pinnaalae thodaraathae
Appavukku adangiya ponnu
Avaridam sedhiya kooru
Appavukku adangiya ponnu
Avaridam sedhiya kooru
Avar appozhuthae kodupaaru
Aanum ponnum oppukkondaal
Amma appa yaaru
Idhu aandu arupathi aaru
Engine vandi rendum polae
Endrum ondraai irupom
Gubu gubu gubu gubu naan engine
Male :Aa dagu dagu dagu dagu dagu naan vandi
Female :Gubu gubu gubu gubu naan engine
Male :Aha….dagu dagu dagu dagu dagu naan vandi
Female :Engine vaegam ilamayin vaegam
En pinnaalae thodaraathae
College girl-ai follow panni
Kandapadi paesaathae
Un kaadhalai alli veesaathae
Male :Ooril pirandha ovvoruvarukkum
Freedom irukkuthu love panna
Aanaal lovela success-u
Aagaati pona divorce-u
India naatu panpaatukku
Yaerkaathaiyaa un paechu
India naatu panpaatukku
Yaerkaathaiyaa un paechu
Ennakku thirumanam aachu
Male :Aa….
Female :Uh hmmm
Ennakku thirumanam aachu
Ithanai naeram idhanai solla
Yaen theriyaamal pochu
Please excuse me time aachu
Gubu gubu gubu gubu naan engine
Male :Ahaan dagu dagu dagu dagu dagu naan vandi
Female :Gubu gubu gubu gubu naan engine
Male :Dagu dagu dagu dagu dagu naan vandi
Engine vaegam ilamayin vaegam
En pinnaalae thodaraathae
Chug, chug, chug, chug, I am the engine!
Male: Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, I am the carriage!
Female: Aha, chug, chug, chug, chug, I am the engine!
Male: Haan, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, I am the carriage!
The engine's speed is the speed of youth!
Don't follow behind me!
The engine's speed is the speed of youth!
Don't follow behind me!
An engine alone doesn't make a train,
So don't leave me and go!
An engine alone doesn't make a train,
So don't leave me and go!
Oho, don't leave me and go!
Chug, chug, chug, chug, I am the engine!
Male: Ah, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, I am the carriage!
Female: Aha, chug, chug, chug, chug, I am the engine!
Male: Haan, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, I am the carriage!
The engine's speed is the speed of youth!
Don't follow behind me!
I am an obedient daughter to my father,
Go give your proposal to him!
I am an obedient daughter to my father,
Go give your proposal to him!
He will give you a fitting answer right away!
If a boy and a girl agree with each other,
Who are parents to stand in the way?
This is the year nineteen sixty-six!
Just like an engine and its carriage,
Let us always stay together!
Chug, chug, chug, chug, I am the engine!
Male: Ah, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, I am the carriage!
Female: Chug, chug, chug, chug, I am the engine!
Male: Aha... clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, I am the carriage!
Female: The engine's speed is the speed of youth!
Don't follow behind me!
Following a college girl around,
Don't talk nonsense!
Don't throw your love around!
Male: Everyone born into this world
Has the freedom to fall in love!
And if love isn't a success,
If it doesn't work out, there is divorce!
Against the culture of our Indian land,
Your talk is completely unacceptable, mister!
Against the culture of our Indian land,
Your talk is completely unacceptable, mister!
I am already married!
Male: Ah...
Female: Uh-huh...
I am already married!
Why didn't it occur to me
To tell you this all this while?
Please excuse me, it's time to go!
Chug, chug, chug, chug, I am the engine!
Male: Ahaan, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, I am the carriage!
Female: Chug, chug, chug, chug, I am the engine!
Male: Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, I am the carriage!
The engine's speed is the speed of youth!
Don't follow behind me!
Female
Female
Male
Female
Female
Female
Male
Female
Female
Female
Male
Female

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

'Gubu gubu gubu gubu naan engine' is a lighthearted and humorous duet featuring modern metaphors of trains and carriages to depict a romantic chase between a young man and woman. The female lead compares herself to a fast-moving steam engine driven by youthful vigor, warning the man not to pursue her blindly. The male lead playfully counters that an engine cannot form a train without its carriage, asserting that they belong together and citing the progressive mindset of 1966.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Onomatopoeia (Oliyakku / Irattai Kilavi)

Gubu gubu gubu gubu naan engine / Dagu dagu dagu dagu dagu naan vandi

The words 'Gubu gubu' mimic the chugging sound of a steam engine, while 'Dagu dagu' mimics the rhythmic clatter of carriage wheels on a track.

Extended Metaphor (Urubagam)

Engine mattum railaagaathu / Ennai vittu pogaathae

The train engine and carriage are used as a extended metaphor for a romantic pair, illustrating how one is incomplete without the other.

Iyaipu (End Rhyming)

Ennakku thirumanam aachu / Yaen theriyaamal pochu / time aachu

The deliberate use of end-rhyming Tamil/English hybrid words ('aachu', 'pochu', 'time aachu') adds a comical, rhythmic cadence to the climax of the song.

Did you know?

Trivia

Written by Kothamangalam Subbu for the 1966 Sivaji Ganesan starrer 'Motor Sundaram Pillai', this song captures the mid-60s modern youthful banter in Tamil cinema. The line 'Idhu aandu arupathi aaru' specifically references the year the film was released (1966), making it a self-referential period touchstone.

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