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Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Naan Paadum Mouna Raagam

From Idhaya Kovil · 1985

Lyricist
Vairamuthu
Singer
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Music director
Ilayaraja
Details
Idhaya Kovil1985

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Male
Naan paadum mounaraagamThe silent melody I sing
En kaadhal rani innumMy queen of love, still
Male
Naan paadum mounaThe silent melody
Raagam ketkavillaiyaaI sing, haven't you heard it?
En kaadhal raniMy queen of love
Innum thoongavillaiyaaHaven't you slept yet?
Male
Kanneeril unnai thedukindrenI search for you in my tears
Ennodu naanae paadukindrenI sing to myself
Male
Naan paadum mounaThe silent melody
Raagam ketkavillaiyaaI sing, haven't you heard it?
En kaadhal raniMy queen of love
Innum thoongavillaiyaaHaven't you slept yet?
Male
Unnai kandu thendralumUpon seeing you, even the gentle breeze
Nindru ponathunduWould pause in its path
Unnai kaana vennilaTo catch a glimpse of you, the white moon
Vanthu povathunduWould come and visit
Male
Yen devi indruWhy today, my goddess,
Nee ennai kolkiraaiAre you tormenting and killing me?
Mul meethu yenadiWhy, my dear, upon thorns
Thoonga solkiraaiDo you tell me to sleep?
Male
Unnai thedi thediyaeSearching endlessly for you
Endhan aavi ponathuMy very life spirit has faded
Kooduthaanae ingu paaduthuOnly the empty nest sings here now
Koodu indru kuyilai thaanae theduthuThe nest today searches for its cuckoo bird
Male
Naan paadum mounaThe silent melody
Raagam ketkavillaiyaaI sing, haven't you heard it?
En kaadhal raniMy queen of love
Innum thoongavillaiyaaHaven't you slept yet?
Male
Kangal ennum solaiyilIn the garden known as eyes
Kaadhal vaangi vanthenI came bringing love
Vaangi vantha pinbu thaanOnly after bringing it
Saabam endru kandenDid I realize it was a curse
Male
Ensaabam theeravaeTo break my curse
Neeyum illaiyaeYou aren't even here
Ensogam paadavaeTo sing my grief
Raagam illaiyaeThere is no tune left
Male
Poovum veezhnthuThe flower has fallen off,
Ponathu kaambuHow can the stem survive?
Enna vaazhvathuHow can it live on?
Male
Kaalam ennai kelvi ketkuthuTime demands an answer from me
Kelvi indru keliyaagi ponathuToday, that question has turned into a mockery
Male
Naan paadum mounaThe silent melody
Raagam ketkavillaiyaaI sing, haven't you heard it?
En kaadhal raniMy queen of love
Innum thoongavillaiyaaHaven't you slept yet?
Male
Kanneeril unnai thedukindrenI search for you in my tears
Ennodu naanae paadukindrenI sing to myself
Male
Naan paadum mounaThe silent melody
Raagam ketkavillaiyaaI sing, haven't you heard it?
En kaadhal raniMy queen of love
Innum thoongavillaiyaaHaven't you slept yet?

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

Naan Paadum Mouna Raagam is a deeply tragic song expressing profound heartbreak and grief over the loss of a beloved partner. The protagonist pours his heart out, singing a silent melody in his loneliness while tears flow. He addresses his lost lover as his queen of love and goddess, lamenting that life without her feels like being forced to sleep on a bed of sharp thorns.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor (Uruvagam)

Kangal ennum solaiyil

Compares the eyes to a garden ('Kangal ennum solaiyil') and compares the abandoned lover to a empty nest searching for its cuckoo ('Koodu indru kuyilai thaanae theduthu').

Personification

Unnai kandu thendralum nindru ponathundu

Attributes human behaviors to nature and abstract concepts, such as breezes stopping to admire her, the moon visiting to see her, and Time asking mockingly hard questions.

Anaphora / Repetition

Unnai thedi thediyae

Repetition of the phrase 'Thedi thediyae' to emphasize the endless and desperate search for the beloved.

Did you know?

Trivia

Composed by Ilaiyaraaja and sung soulfully by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam for the 1985 romantic drama 'Idhaya Kovil', directed by Mani Ratnam. The song remains one of Tamil cinema's most famous tragic melodies.

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