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IsaimozhiLyrics · Translation · Meaning

Lyrics & meaning

Naalai Ulagam

From Love Birds · 1996

Lyricist: Vairamuthu
Singers: Unnikrishnan, Sujatha
Music director: A. R. Rahman
Movie name: Love Birds
Movie release year: 1996
Lyrics added on: 28 Nov 2017

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics

↻ English translation

Naalai ulagam illai endraanal

Azhagae enna seivai

Naalai ulagam illai endraanal

Azhagae enna seivai

Kangalai thirandhu

Kaalangal marandhu

Kadasiyil vaanathai paarthu kolven

Mandiyittu amarndhu

Mannagam kunindhu

Kadaisiyil boomikku mutham vaipen

Un maarbinil vizhundhu

Maivizhi kasindhu

Nee mattum vaazha thozhugai seiven

Naalai ulagam illai endraanal

Azhagae enna seivai

Naalai ulagam

Naalai ulagam illai endraanal

Anbae en seivai

Oru nooraandu vaazhndhidum vaazhvai

Oru naalil vaazhndhu kolven

Un idhazhgalin melae idhazhgalai cherthu

Iru vizhi moodikkolven

Maranathai marakkum

Magizhchiyai thandhu

Maranathai marikka vaipen

Naalai ulagam illai endraanal

Azhagae enna seivai

Naalai ulagam illai endraanal

Azhagae enna seivai

Kaadhalin thevai

Irukkindra varaikkum

Boologam azhivadhillai

Female : Aayiram minnal

Therikkindra podhum

Vaanam kizhivadhillai

Kadal nilamaagum

Nilam kadalaagum.

Nam boomi maraivadhillai..ee…

Female : Udalgalum pogum

Unarvugal pogum

Uyir kaadhal azhivadhillai…ee..

Naalai ulagam illai endraanal

Uyirae enna seivaai

Vaanayum vanangi

Mannaiyum vanangi

Unai naan thazhuvikkolven

Aayiram poovil padukkayum amaithu

Unayum anaithu uyir tharippen

En uyir mannil pirigira varaikkum

Un uyir kaathu uyir thurappen

Naalai ulagam illai endraanal

Azhagae enna seivai

If there is no world tomorrow,

my beautiful one, what will you do?

If there is no world tomorrow,

my beautiful one, what will you do?

Opening my eyes,

forgetting the passage of time,

I will look at the sky one last time.

Kneeling down,

bowing to the earth,

I will kiss the ground one last time.

Falling onto your chest,

with tears spilling from my kohl-lined eyes,

I will pray that you alone live on.

If there is no world tomorrow,

my beautiful one, what will you do?

Tomorrow the world...

If there is no world tomorrow,

my love, what will you do?

A lifetime of a hundred years,

I will live out in a single day.

Placing my lips upon your lips,

I will close both my eyes.

Giving you a happiness

that makes one forget death,

I will make death stop in its tracks.

If there is no world tomorrow,

my beautiful one, what will you do?

If there is no world tomorrow,

my beautiful one, what will you do?

As long as there is

a need for love,

this earth will never be destroyed.

Even when a thousand lightning bolts

burst across it,

the sky never tears apart.

The sea may become dry land,

and the land may become sea,

yet our earth will never disappear.

Bodies may fade away,

feelings may pass,

yet living love will never die.

If there is no world tomorrow,

my life, what will you do?

Bowing to the sky,

and bowing to the earth,

I will hold you in my arms.

Making a bed of a thousand flowers,

I will hold you close and cling to life.

Until my breath departs from this earth,

I will guard your life, then surrender mine.

If there is no world tomorrow,

my beautiful one, what will you do?

Male

Female

Female

Male

Female

Male

Male

Male

Male

Male

Female

Male

Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Naalai Ulagam from Love Birds (1996) presents a deeply romantic and existential dialogue between two lovers contemplating the apocalypse. They ask each other what they would do if tomorrow were the last day of the earth. Their answers reveal an unconditional, immortal bond where love transcends physical destruction, time, and mortality itself. The lovers express their willingness to condense a century's worth of joy into a single day, pray for the other's survival over their own, and embrace until their final breath. The song beautifully asserts that as long as love exists in the human heart, the essence of the world and the soul will never truly perish.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Anaphora / Refrain

“Naalai ulagam illai endraanal / Azhagae enna seivai”

The central refrain 'Naalai ulagam illai endraanal / Azhagae enna seivai' is repeated throughout the song to anchor the thematic question of love under apocalyptic conditions.

Hyperbole (Exaggeration)

“Oru nooraandu vaazhndhidum vaazhvai / Oru naalil vaazhndhu kolven”

The lyrical idea of living a century's lifetime in a single day heightens the emotional intensity of their impending last moments.

Antithesis / Paradox

“Kadal nilamaagum / Nilam kadalaagum”

The contrasting idea of sea becoming land and land becoming sea emphasizes that even cosmic cataclysms cannot destroy true love.

Monorhyme / Medial Rhyme (Emonai & Edhugai)

“Udalgalum pogum / Unarvugal pogum”

Vairamuthu uses classical Tamil poetic meters with matching second consonant sounds ('-da-' in Udalgalum/Unarvugal).

Did you know?

Trivia

Composed by A.R. Rahman for the 1996 Prabhu Deva and Nagma starrer 'Love Birds', this song features vocals by Unni Menon and Sujatha Mohan. Lyricist Vairamuthu crafted this unique apocalyptic love poem which stands out as one of the most inventive romantic concepts in 90s Tamil cinema soundtracks.

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