Kaaththirunthen
From Ninaithale Inikkum 1979 Film · 1979
- Lyricist
- Kannadasan
- Singer
- S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
- Music director
- M. S. Vishwanathan
- Details
- Ninaithale Inikkum 1979 Film1979
Lyrics & meaning
| ♫ Tanglish lyrics | ↻ English translation |
|---|---|
| Male | |
| What a waiting what a waiting | What a long wait, what a long wait! |
| Lovely birds tell my darling | Lovely birds, please go tell my darling! |
| You are watching | You are just watching, |
| You are watching | You are just watching. |
| Love is but a game of waiting | Love is but a game of waiting. |
| Male | |
| Kaathirundhen kaathirundhen | I kept waiting, I kept waiting, |
| Kaadhal manam nogum varai | Until my loving heart began to ache. |
| Paarthirundhaai paarthirundhaai | You just kept watching, you just kept watching; |
| Pachchai kili saatchi sollu | Oh green parrot, bear witness to this! |
| Naathu vachchu kaathirundha | If one had planted saplings and waited, |
| Nellu kooda velanjirukum | Even the paddy crop would have grown and yielded grain by now. |
| Kaaka vachchu kanni vandha | When a young maiden is made to wait like this, |
| Kaadhal undaa kettu sollu | Ask him if true love really exists! |
| Male | |
| Hmmmm… | Hmmmm... |
| What a waiting what a waiting | What a long wait, what a long wait! |
| Lovely birds tell my darling | Lovely birds, please go tell my darling! |
| You are watching | You are just watching, |
| You are watching | You are just watching. |
| Love is but a game of waiting | Love is but a game of waiting. |
| Chorus | |
| Ru..ru..ru…ru…ru…… | Ru..ru..ru...ru...ru...... |
| Papapaba papa rururururu | Papapaba papa rururururu |
| Male | |
| Kaathirundhen kaathirundhen | I kept waiting, I kept waiting, |
| Kaadhal manam nogum varai | Until my loving heart began to ache. |
| Paarthirundhaai paarthirundhaai | You just kept watching, you just kept watching; |
| Pachchai kili saatchi sollu | Oh green parrot, bear witness to this! |
What a waiting what a waiting
Lovely birds tell my darling
You are watching
You are watching
Love is but a game of waiting
What a long wait, what a long wait!
Lovely birds, please go tell my darling!
You are just watching,
You are just watching.
Love is but a game of waiting.
காத்திருந்தேன் காத்திருந்தேன்
காதல் மனம் நோகும் வரை
பார்த்திருந்தாய் பார்த்திருந்தாய்
பச்சை கிளி சாட்சி சொல்லு
நாத்து வச்சு காத்திருந்தா
நெல்லு கூட வெளைஞ்சிருக்கு
காக்க வச்சு கன்னி வந்தா
காதல் உண்டா கேட்டு சொல்லு
I kept waiting, I kept waiting,
Until my loving heart began to ache.
You just kept watching, you just kept watching;
Oh green parrot, bear witness to this!
If one had planted saplings and waited,
Even the paddy crop would have grown and yielded grain by now.
When a young maiden is made to wait like this,
Ask him if true love really exists!
ஹ்ம்ம்ம்......
What a waiting what a waiting
Lovely birds tell my darling
You are watching
You are watching
Love is but a game of waiting
Hmmmm...
What a long wait, what a long wait!
Lovely birds, please go tell my darling!
You are just watching,
You are just watching.
Love is but a game of waiting.
ரு......ரு......ரு.....ரு.....ரு....ரு....
பபபப பப ருருருருரு
Ru..ru..ru...ru...ru......
Papapaba papa rururururu
விசில் :
......................................
I kept waiting, I kept waiting,
Until my loving heart began to ache.
You just kept watching, you just kept watching;
Oh green parrot, bear witness to this!
காத்திருந்தேன் காத்திருந்தேன்
காதல் மனம் நோகும் வரை
பார்த்திருந்தாய் பார்த்திருந்தாய்
பச்சை கிளி சாட்சி சொல்லு
What a waiting what a waiting
What a long wait, what a long wait!
Lovely birds tell my darling
Lovely birds, please go tell my darling!
You are watching
You are just watching,
You are watching
You are just watching.
Love is but a game of waiting
Love is but a game of waiting.
Kaathirundhen kaathirundhen
I kept waiting, I kept waiting,
Kaadhal manam nogum varai
Until my loving heart began to ache.
Paarthirundhaai paarthirundhaai
You just kept watching, you just kept watching;
Pachchai kili saatchi sollu
Oh green parrot, bear witness to this!
Naathu vachchu kaathirundha
If one had planted saplings and waited,
Nellu kooda velanjirukum
Even the paddy crop would have grown and yielded grain by now.
Kaaka vachchu kanni vandha
When a young maiden is made to wait like this,
Kaadhal undaa kettu sollu
Ask him if true love really exists!
Hmmmm…
Hmmmm...
What a waiting what a waiting
What a long wait, what a long wait!
Lovely birds tell my darling
Lovely birds, please go tell my darling!
You are watching
You are just watching,
You are watching
You are just watching.
Love is but a game of waiting
Love is but a game of waiting.
Ru..ru..ru…ru…ru……
Ru..ru..ru...ru...ru......
Papapaba papa rururururu
Papapaba papa rururururu
Kaathirundhen kaathirundhen
I kept waiting, I kept waiting,
Kaadhal manam nogum varai
Until my loving heart began to ache.
Paarthirundhaai paarthirundhaai
You just kept watching, you just kept watching;
Pachchai kili saatchi sollu
Oh green parrot, bear witness to this!
Beyond the translation
Song interpretation
This song captures the playful frustration and yearning of a maiden waiting for her lover. Combining catchy English lines with deep Tamil folk metaphors, she complains about how her lover passively watches her wait until her heart aches. She calls upon nature—specifically green parrots and songbirds—to act as messengers and witnesses to her pain. In a humorous yet poignant metaphor, she notes that even agricultural paddy crops planted at the same time would have fully matured and yielded harvest, contrasting the productivity of nature with the stagnant, agonizing delay of her romance.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Anaphora / Repetition (Adukkuthodar)
“Kaathirundhen kaathirundhen”
Emphasis through repetition of words like 'Kaathirundhen kaathirundhen' (I waited, I waited) and 'Paarthirundhaai paarthirundhaai' (You watched, you watched) to highlight the prolonged passage of time.
Apostrophe (Addressing inanimate or absent beings)
“Pachchai kili saatchi sollu”
Addressing nature and birds ('Pachchai kili saatchi sollu' and 'Lovely birds tell my darling') to act as witnesses and emissaries for her inner romantic angst.
Agricultural Metaphor / Analogy
“Naathu vachchu kaathirundha / Nellu kooda velanjirukum”
Comparing the waiting time in love with the seasonal growth cycle of paddy ('Naathu vachchu... Nellu kooda velanjirukum') to show how excessively long the lover has made her wait.
Second-letter Rhyme (Etukai)
“Naathu vachchu kaathirundha / Kaaka vachchu kanni vandha”
Assonance/rhyming in the second letter between lines 'Naathu vachchu' and 'Kaaka vachchu'.
Did you know?
Trivia
From the iconic 1979 K. Balachander musical film 'Ninaithale Inikkum' starring Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, the soundtrack was composed by M. S. Viswanathan with lyrics by Kannadasan. This song stands out for its contemporary late-70s Western pop influence mixed with traditional Tamil lyricism, reflecting the film's youthful, band-tour storyline set in Reunion Island.
Keep listening
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