- Lyricist
- Vairamuthu
- Singers
- Malaysia Vasudevan, Gangai Amaran
- Music director
- Ilayaraja
- Movie name
- Karimedu Karuvayan
- Movie release year
- 1985
- Lyrics added on
- 11 Jan 2019
Lyrics & meaning
♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Ulagam suthudhadaa
Idam irundhu valamaaga
Oru vaarthai illaiyadaa
Idhu varaiyil podhuvaaga
Yeppaadu pattaalum
Thirundhaadhu boomi
Ada yekkedu kettaalum
Namakkendaa saami
Sonnaalae pollaappu
Venaandaa veen vambu
Ulagam suthudhadaa
Idam irundhu valamaaga
Oru vaarthai illaiyadaa
Idhu varaiyil podhuvaaga hae haei
Thannannaa thannannaa
Thannannaa naa
Thannannaa thannannaa thannannaa
Aahahaa Aahahaa
Thannaanaa thannaa naanaa
Thannaanaa thannaa naanaa
Theru oram dhenam thorum
Meda pottu
Harichandhiraa sri valli aadi paathom
Ae appadi podu
Male :Yeppadi
Male :Ae achak ae achak
Kittappaa chinnappaa
Mettu pottu
Thillaanaa themmaangu
Paadi paathom
Ellaarkkum sedhi sonnom
Ada onnaa rendaa
Ethanaiyo needhi sonnom..onn
Annaachi enna aachu
Ellorukkum kottaavi vandhu pochu
Naai vaala neraakka
Yaaraala aagum
Oor pora pokkoda ponaa thaan
Thodhaagum
Ulagam suthudhadaa
Idam irundhu valamaaga
Aah durrr
Oru vaarthai illaiyadaa
Idhu varaiyil podhuvaaga
Edhulaeyum engaeyum
Oozhal endru
Ippodhu kooppaadu poduven naan
Ada aamaa saami haiyo
Male :Ada adichu udu
Naanae thaan oru naalil
Mandhiri aanaa
Adhaiyae thaan thappaama
Pannuven naan
Nallavanga yaarum illa
Indhiyaavil appadi or oorum illa
Haa haa hae hae
Annaatha sonna solla
Kaakkuravan munneri vandhadhilla
Hae hae…………..
Naan solli nee solli
Yevan kekka poraan
Ellaarum nirvaanam
Namakkendaa pudhu vaetti
Ulagam suthudhadaa
Idam irundhu valamaaga
Aah durrr…..
Oru vaarthai illaiyadaa
Idhu varaiyil podhuvaaga
Hae hae……………….
Annan naan paanjaali
Naadagam paathu
Anju pera pennorutthi thedi ponaa
Aa jiyaan jikkaa
Aa jikaan jikkaa
Kannagiyin naadagatha
Paathavan thaanae
Maadhaviyin veettukkullae
Odi ponaan
Kalloda paala vechaa
Namma sanam kalla thaanae
Alli kudikkum
Haei haei haei haei
Fulloda poova vechaa
Namma sanam fulla thaanae
Alli kudikkum
Haei haei haei haei
Oru naalum oru podhum
Thirundhaadha naadu
Nela maari pogaadhu
Namakkendaa veen paadu
Ulagam suthudhadaa
Idam irundhu valamaaga
Oru vaarthai illaiyadaa
Idhu varaiyil podhuvaaga hehaei
Yeppaadu pattaalum
Thirundhaadhu boomi
Ada yekkedu kettaalum
Namakkendaa saami
Sonnaalae pollaappu
Venaandaa veen vambu
Ulagam suthudhadaa
Idam irundhu valamaaga
Male :Ho ho ho hoi
Chorus :Oru vaarthai illaiyadaa
Idhu varaiyil podhuvaaga
Male :Ho ho hoooooi
The world keeps spinning, man,
From left to right.
There is not a single word,
In common till this day.
No matter what efforts you make,
This world will never change.
Whatever ruin it falls into,
Why should we care, my friend?
If you speak the truth, it brings trouble;
We don't need pointless fights!
The world keeps spinning, man,
From left to right.
There is not a single word,
In common till this day, hey hey!
Thannanna thannanna
Thannanna naa
Thannanna thannanna thannanna
Aahaha aahaha
Thannaanaa thannaa naanaa
Thannaanaa thannaa naanaa
Day after day by the street side,
Setting up a stage,
We staged plays of Harishchandra and Sri Valli.
Hey, that's the way!
Male: How's that?
Male: Hey achak, hey achak!
In the style of Kittappa and Chinnappa,
Setting catchy tunes,
Classical thillanas and folk melodies,
We tried singing them all.
We preached lessons to everyone;
Ah, not just one or two,
We gave so many morals... one!
But brother, what came of it?
Everyone just yawned and walked away!
To straighten a dog's tail,
Who can ever succeed?
Only if you go with the town's ways
Will things work out for you.
The world keeps spinning, man,
From left to right.
Aah trrr!
There is not a single word,
In common till this day.
In everything and everywhere,
Crying out, "It's all corruption!"
I might make a big fuss right now.
Ah, that's right, oh lord!
Male: Ah, keep bluffing!
But if I myself, one day,
Become a minister,
I will do the very same thing
Without fail!
There's no one truly good;
There's no such place in India.
Ha ha hey hey!
Listen brother, the man who keeps his word
Has never come up in life.
Hey hey...
With me saying it and you saying it,
Who is ever going to listen?
When everyone else is naked,
Why do we need a new dhoti?
The world keeps spinning, man,
From left to right.
Aah trrr...
There is not a single word,
In common till this day.
Hey hey...
Brother, after watching
The play of Draupadi,
A woman went searching for five husbands!
Aa jiyaan jikka!
Aa jikaan jikka!
And the guy who watched
The play of Kannagi
Ran straight into
Madhavi's house!
If you place milk alongside toddy,
Our people will surely
Scoop up the toddy and drink it!
Hey hey hey hey!
If you place flowers next to a full bottle,
Our folks will surely take the bottle
And chug it all down!
Hey hey hey hey!
Never, not in a million years,
Will this land reform;
Its state won't ever change,
Why bother with pointless struggles?
The world keeps spinning, man,
From left to right.
There is not a single word,
In common till this day, hehey!
No matter what efforts you make,
This world will never change.
Whatever ruin it falls into,
Why should we care, my friend?
If you speak the truth, it brings trouble;
We don't need pointless fights!
The world keeps spinning, man,
From left to right.
Male: Ho ho ho hoy!
Chorus: There is not a single word,
In common till this day.
Male: Ho ho hooooy!
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Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This song is a satirical philosophy on society, morality, and human nature. The speaker reflects on how street plays and moral stories like Harishchandra or Kannagi fail to reform people; instead, society misinterprets morals or defaults to hypocrisy. It humorously points out that even those who decry corruption would indulge in it given power, and that social vices like alcohol are preferred over virtue.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Edhai (Second letter rhyming / Assonance)
“Ulagam suthudhadaa / Idam irundhu valamaaga”
The second letters of 'Ulagam' and 'Idam' share similar soft syllable patterns across consecutive lines.
Iyaibu (End Rhyme)
“Idam irundhu valamaaga / Idhu varaiyil podhuvaaga”
Lines end with similar sounding rhythmic syllables like 'valamaaga' and 'podhuvaaga'.
Satire / Irony
“Kannagiyin naadagatha paathavan thaanae / Maadhaviyin veettukkullae odi ponaan”
Irony is used to highlight how moral street plays lead to the opposite intended behavior in audience members.
Proverb / Metaphor
“Naai vaala neraakka yaaraala aagum”
Uses the proverb of trying to straighten a dog's tail to show the impossibility of reforming society.
Did you know?
Trivia
This satirical track features lyrics written by Vairamuthu for the 1985 Tamil film Karimedu Karuvayan, capturing classic Tamil street-theatre style commentary on socio-political hypocrisy.
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