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Lyrics & meaning

Pottalum Yerala En Puthi

From Ullathil Nalla Ullam · 1988

Lyricist
Gangai Amaran
Singer
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Music director
Gangai Amaran
Movie name
Ullathil Nalla Ullam
Movie release year
1988
Lyrics added on
17 Feb 2021

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Pottalum yerala hae en buthi maarala
Ennannu thonala enna solla
Pottalum yerala hae en buthi maarala
Ennannu thonala enna solla
Unnala ponnen mosam
Ellamae vesham vesham
Ennachu paasam naesam
Sonnala vaarthaiyum koosum
Pottalum yerala en buthi maarala
Ennannu thonala enna solla
Thaaiyodu paasam enna
Ariyaama vaazhndhenae
Thanikaattu raaja pola
Naan melae irunthenae
Anbaana paarvaiyai paarthu
Anaichaalae manasodu
Pennoda kaadhalinaala
Hae naan vandhen theruvoda
Thaaladha thukkathilae
Eppodhum thookam illae
Thaanagaama thalladi naan irundha vela
Pottalum yerala en buthi maarala
Ennannu thonala enna solla
Unnala ponnen mosam
Ellamae vesham vesham
Ennachu paasam naesam
Sonnala vaarthaiyum koosum
Pottalum yerala en buthi maarala
Ennannu thonala …enna solla
Thaalattu paattu satham
En kaadhil kettadhillai
Thaaiyena thottu thottu
Paal kooda ootavilla
Illadha sondham bandham
Ellamae kondu vandhaa
Pollaadha kaalai nenja
Punnaga aakkiputta
Sonnalum aaravilla en paadha verayilla
Kannadi putti onnu kai vandha velai
Pottalum yerala en buthi maarala
Ennannu thonala enna solla
Unnala ponnen mosam
Ellamae vesham vesham
Ennachu paasam naesam
Sonnala vaarthaiyum koosum
Pottalum yerala en buthi maarala
Ennannu thonala haha enna solla
Even if I drink, it doesn't hit me; hey, my mind hasn't changed.
I don't know what to think, what can I say?
Even if I drink, it doesn't hit me; hey, my mind hasn't changed.
I don't know what to think, what can I say?
Because of you, I have been ruined.
Everything was just an act, a total charade.
What happened to all that love and affection?
If I talk about it, even the words feel ashamed.
Even if I drink, it doesn't hit me, my mind hasn't changed.
I don't know what to think, what can I say?
What a mother's affection feels like,
I lived my life without ever knowing.
Like a king of his own forest,
I used to live high above.
Looking at me with loving eyes,
she embraced me in her heart.
Was it because of that woman's love,
hey, that I have ended up on the streets?
In unbearable sorrow,
there is no sleep for me anymore.
At a time when I stumbled, losing control of myself,
Even if I drink, it doesn't hit me, my mind hasn't changed.
I don't know what to think, what can I say?
Because of you, I have been ruined.
Everything was just an act, a total charade.
What happened to all that love and affection?
If I talk about it, even the words feel ashamed.
Even if I drink, it doesn't hit me, my mind hasn't changed.
I don't know what to think... what can I say?
The soothing sound of a lullaby,
my ears have never heard.
Tenderly caressing me like a mother,
no one even fed me milk.
The family and bonds I never had,
she brought them all into my life.
Cruel fate struck, and my heart...
...she turned it into a painful wound.
Even if I speak of it, the pain doesn't heal, and I have no other way.
When a glass bottle finally found its way to my hand,
Even if I drink, it doesn't hit me, my mind hasn't changed.
I don't know what to think, what can I say?
Because of you, I have been ruined.
Everything was just an act, a total charade.
What happened to all that love and affection?
If I talk about it, even the words feel ashamed.
Even if I drink, it doesn't hit me, my mind hasn't changed.
I don't know what to think, haha, what can I say?
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Pottalum Yerala is a sorrowful song depicting a man attempting to drown his heartbreak in alcohol, only to find that even intoxication cannot dull his acute sense of betrayal. He reminisces about growing up as an isolated orphan who never experienced a mother's affection or family warmth, living independently like a solitary king of a forest. When a woman offered him love and introduced him to affection, he gave her his heart, only to be deceived and left destitute on the streets. The lyrics reflect his agonizing realization that his inner pain is too deep for alcohol to cure, leaving him lost, sleepless, and brokenhearted. Gangai Amaran's evocative writing and SPB's nuanced vocal delivery bring out the grief and bitter irony of his condition.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Simile (Upamai)

“Thanikaattu raaja pola”

Compares his former independent and fierce life to that of a solitary king ruling a forest.

Metaphor (Uruvagam)

“Pollaadha kaalai nenja”

Compares his tough, unyielding heart to a fierce wild bull (kaalai).

Reduplication (Adukkuthodar)

“Ellamae vesham vesham”

Repetition of 'vesham' emphasizes the total falseness and hypocrisy of the affection he received.

Emonai (Initial Rhyme / Alliteration)

“Unnala ponnen mosam / Ellamae vesham vesham”

Use of similar starting vowels (U/E) creates a rhythmic cadence in the verse.

Did you know?

Trivia

Composed and written by Gangai Amaran for the 1988 movie Ullathil Nalla Ullam, the song is celebrated for S. P. Balasubrahmanyam's expressive rendering, complete with drunken staggers, bitter laughter, and melancholic pauses integrated seamlessly into the vocal performance.

Keep listening

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