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Jadikketha Moodi album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Meesai Vecha Aambalai

From Jadikketha Moodi · 1988

Lyricist
Vairamuthu
Singer
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Music director
Hamsalekha
Movie name
Jadikketha Moodi
Movie release year
1988
Lyrics added on
3 Mar 2021

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Meesai vachcha aamabalaikellaam
Demandaiyyaa demaandu
Ponna peththa appanukellaam
Remandaiyyaa remand
Aamabalaikku meesai vanthaa
Aana mattum laabamaiyyaa
Pennoruththi kuththa vechchaa
Appanukku nashttamaiyyaa
Maappillai velaiyai
Kazhuththil maatti vidavillaiyaa
Meesai vachcha aamabalaikellaam
Demandaiyyaa demaandu
Ponnap peththa appanukellaam
Remandaiyyaa remand
Ho ho ho oooooo
Mookku muzhiyirukka mookkuththi venumaa
Muththu nagai venumaa maganae maganae…ae…ooo…
Kattil mattum koduththa karppam vanthu serumaa
Kaiyil pillai varumaa aiyako aiyako…..ooo….
Muththam onnu kettaa munooru roopaa
Maththathukku saerththu maasam latcham roopaa
Kattiputtu kattil yaeraiyaa….aa….oooh…
Pudavai thodavae vilaiya maanam vetkkamillaiyaa
Meesai vachcha aamabalaikellaam
Demandaiyyaa demaandu
Ponna peththa appanukellaam
Remandaiyyaa remand haeh….hae…
Katti koduththavarukku sottai izhunthirukku
Vatti kadan irukku ammammaa ammammaa…ho…oo…
Ettu muzham vettiyum naalu muzham aanathu
Kovanamthaan meeruthu appappaa appappaa…aa…
Kalyaanam ingae viyaabaaramthaanaa
Katcheri ellaam opparithaanaa
Aampillainga sattam niyaayamaa…oo.ooo
Kaasaiyum koduththu pombalai kanni kazhiyanumaa
Meesai vachcha aamabalaikellaam
Demandaiyyaa demaandu
Ponna peththa appanukellaam
Remandaiyyaa remand
Aamabalaikku meesai vanthaa
Aana mattum laabamaiyyaa
Pennoruththi kuththa vechchaa
Appanukku nashttamaiyyaa
Maappillai velaiyai
Kazhuththil maatti vidavillaiyaa
For every man who grows a mustache,
there is demand, sir, high demand!
For every father who has a daughter,
it is remand, sir, remand!
When a man grows a mustache,
it brings endless profit, sir!
But when a girl comes of age,
it is sheer loss for her father, sir!
The groom's price tag
hasn't been hung around his neck yet, that's all, sir!
For every man who grows a mustache,
there is demand, sir, high demand!
For every father who has a daughter,
it is remand, sir, remand!
Ho ho ho...
When she has pretty features, does she still need a nose stud?
Does she need pearl jewelry too, my son, oh son?
If a cot alone is given, will a pregnancy happen on its own?
Will a baby arrive in your hands? Alas, oh alas!
Three hundred rupees if you ask for a kiss,
and adding the rest, a hundred thousand a month!
Pay the money and then get into bed, sir!
A price just to touch her saree—have you no shame or dignity, sir?
For every man who grows a mustache,
there is demand, sir, high demand!
For every father who has a daughter,
it is remand, sir, remand! Heh... heh...
The father who married her off has gone bald with worry,
drowning in interest and loans, oh goodness, oh goodness!
Even his full-length dhoti has shrunk to half its size,
leaving him stripped down to a loincloth, oh my, oh my!
Has marriage become just a business deal here?
Have all the wedding songs turned into funeral laments?
Is this rule made by men really fair? Oh...
Must a woman pay money just to lose her virginity?
For every man who grows a mustache,
there is demand, sir, high demand!
For every father who has a daughter,
it is remand, sir, remand!
When a man grows a mustache,
it brings endless profit, sir!
But when a girl comes of age,
it is sheer loss for her father, sir!
The groom's price tag around his neck
hasn't been hung yet, that's all, sir!
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Meesai Vachcha Aambalaikellaam is a sharp, satirical Tamil film song that critiques the social evil of the dowry system and patriarchal bias in marriage. Lyricist Vairamuthu uses witty loanwords and colloquial imagery to compare the birth of a boy to financial profit and high market demand, while the birth of a girl is treated as a financial sentence or remand for her father. The song highlights the extreme financial hardship, stress, and indebtedness inflicted on the bride's family, questioning whether marriage has turned into mere commercial trade rather than a sacred union.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Rhyme (Iyaibu / Loanword Paronomasia)

“Demandaiyyaa demaandu / Remandaiyyaa remand”

The pairing of 'Demand' and 'Remand' creates an emphatic, satirical end-rhyme contrasting market privilege against legal confinement.

Antithesis (Muran)

“Aana mattum laabamaiyyaa / Appanukku nashttamaiyyaa”

Contrasts the societal perception of a son bringing profit ('laabam') versus a daughter bringing financial loss ('nashtam').

Hyperbole (Uyirvu Navirtchi)

“Ettu muzham vettiyum naalu muzham aanathu / Kovanamthaan meeruthu”

Exaggerates the shrinking of clothing from eight cubits down to a loincloth to symbolize complete financial ruin due to wedding expenses.

Did you know?

Trivia

The song uses English administrative and commercial terms like 'Demand' and 'Remand' formatted into Tamil folk rhythm, a classic style of Vairamuthu's social commentary lyrics during the late 1980s.

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