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Oru Ponnu Nenacha album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Neethana Nizhal

From Oru Ponnu Nenacha · 1989

Lyricist
S. A. Rajkumar
Singer
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Music director
S. A. Rajkumar
Movie name
Oru Ponnu Nenacha
Movie release year
1989
Lyrics added on
12 Apr 2026

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Needhaana nizhal thaana
Ngyaayangal idhu thaana
Needhaana nizhal thaana
Ngyaayangal idhu thaana
Idhayangal seraamal
Sogam thaana
Iraivaa un vilaiyaattil
Laabam thaana
En kaadhal poyithaana
Ellaamum meithaana
Needhaana nizhal thaana
Ngyaayangal idhu thaana
Needhaana nizhal thaana
Ngyaayangal idhu thaana
Paruvangal dhoorum
Payiraana kaadhal
Pazhi vandha podhum
Uyiraana kaadhal
Vidhi vandhu paazhaachu
Veezhalukku neeraachu
Needhaana nizhal thaana
Ngyaayangal idhu thaana
Needhaana nizhal thaana
Ngyaayangal idhu thaana
Mudiyaadha irvukku pozhudhaedhu
Puriyaadha vaazhkaikku badhil yaedhu
Thudhi paadum manadhukku kuraiyaedhu
Thuyar endraal uravukku vazhiyaedhu
Sollaadha sogam
Nenjukkul paadum
Kallaana pennin
Ullathai thedum
Kaalangal poyaachu
Kannoram neeraachu
Needhaana nizhal thaana
Ngyaayangal idhu thaana
Needhaana nizhal thaana
Ngyaayangal idhu thaana
Idhayangal seraamal
Sogam thaana
Iraivaa un vilaiyaattil
Laabam thaana
En kaadhal poyithaana
Ellaamum meithaana
Needhaana nizhal thaana
Ngyaayangal idhu thaana
Needhaana nizhal thaana
Ngyaayangal idhu thaana
Is it really you, or only a shadow?
Is this what passes for justice?
Is it really you, or only a shadow?
Is this what passes for justice?
Without hearts ever uniting,
is there only sorrow?
O God, in this game of yours,
what is there to gain?
Was my love just a lie?
Is all of this the truth?
Is it really you, or only a shadow?
Is this what passes for justice?
Is it really you, or only a shadow?
Is this what passes for justice?
Through every passing season,
this love grew like a nurtured crop;
even when blamed and shamed,
it was a love dearer than life itself.
Fate intervened and ruined everything,
wasted like water poured on wild weeds.
Is it really you, or only a shadow?
Is this what passes for justice?
Is it really you, or only a shadow?
Is this what passes for justice?
Where is the dawn for a night that never ends?
What answer is there for a life hard to understand?
What fault can there be in a heart that only prays?
If grief is all that remains, what way is left for love?
An unspoken sorrow
mourns inside my chest,
searching for the feelings
in a woman turned to stone.
The years have slipped away,
leaving tears in the corners of my eyes.
Is it really you, or only a shadow?
Is this what passes for justice?
Is it really you, or only a shadow?
Is this what passes for justice?
Without hearts ever uniting,
is there only sorrow?
O God, in this game of yours,
what is there to gain?
Was my love just a lie?
Is all of this the truth?
Is it really you, or only a shadow?
Is this what passes for justice?
Is it really you, or only a shadow?
Is this what passes for justice?
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This melancholic song captures the deep anguish of heartbreak and helplessness against destiny. The speaker laments the painful separation from his beloved, questioning whether the love they shared was real or merely an illusion. He expresses grief over how love, carefully nurtured across seasons like a crop, was ultimately ruined by fate, comparing the wasted emotion to watering useless weeds. Through unanswered philosophical questions directed at God and fate, the song conveys the sorrow of loving someone who has turned cold and distant.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor

Payiraana kaadhal / Veezhalukku neeraachu

Comparing love to a cultivated crop ('payiraana kaadhal') and wasted devotion to watering weeds ('veezhalukku neeraachu').

Rhetorical Question

Needhaana nizhal thaana / Ngyaayangal idhu thaana

Frequent use of unanswered questions ('thaana', 'yaedhu') to emphasize disillusionment, despair, and existential questioning.

Edhugai (Second-letter Rhyme)

Vidhi vandhu paazhaachu / Veezhalukku neeraachu

Rhyming of the second consonant/letter across consecutive lines ('Vidhi' / 'Veezhal').

Did you know?

Trivia

'Oru Ponnu Nenacha' (1989) featured music composed by S. A. Rajkumar, who also penned the lyrics for this emotional song rendered by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam.

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