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Lyrics & meaning

Yaararu Ennannuthan Female

From Muthu Engal Sothu · 1983

Lyricist
Vairamuthu
Singers
S. Janaki, P. Suseela, B. Sasireka
Music director
Ilayaraja
Details
Muthu Engal Sothu1983

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Female
Yaaraaru ennaannuthaanI will tell you who is what, my dear.
Solluraendaa kannaaI am telling you, my dear.
Female :Naai yaaru nari yaaruFemale: Who is a dog? Who is a fox?
Puriyaatho sonnaa…Won't you understand if I explain?
Female
Yaaraaru ennaannuthaanI will tell you who is what, my dear.
Solluraendaa kannaaI am telling you, my dear.
Female :Naai yaaru nari yaaruFemale: Who is a dog? Who is a fox?
Puriyaatho sonnaa…Won't you understand if I explain?
Female
Aayi aaththaa yaarum illaa naai ithuthaanThis one is a dog with no mother or family.
Female :Aala kandaa oolaiyidum nari idhuthaanFemale: This one is a fox that howls upon seeing people.
Female :Mookka paaru muzhiya paar sengkuranguFemale: Look at the nose, look at the eyes—a red monkey!
Female :Sengkorangu kooda oru penn koranguFemale: Along with the red monkey, a female monkey too!
Female
Ponnu iva soru ponguravaThis girl is the one who cooks the rice,
Oru poonaiyai pol thirudi thirudi thingiravaStealing and eating it secretly like a cat!
Female
Intha pilla kanakku pullaThis girl is the accountant's child,
Ivara pola kandathillaI have never seen anyone like him.
Kai pudichchu kaal pudichchuSycophantically holding onto hands and feet,
Vaazhurathila kaakkaithaanWhen it comes to surviving like that, he is a crow!
Female
Yaaraaru ennaannuthaanI will tell you who is what, my dear.
Solluraendaa kannaaI am telling you, my dear.
Female :Naai yaaru nari yaaruFemale: Who is a dog? Who is a fox?
Puriyaatho sonnaa…Won't you understand if I explain?
Female
Vaaikku oru poottu illaatha maadu idhuThis is a cow without a lock on its mouth.
Female :Vantha idam sonthamunnu meyirathuFemale: Grazing wherever it goes as if it owns the place.
Female :Katti poda aal illaatha kazhuthai idhuFemale: This is a donkey with no one around to tie it up.
Female :Kaalaiyodu saenthukittu odhaikkirathuFemale: Joining hands with the bull and kicking around!
Female
Podhi sumantha nalla puthi varumCarrying heavy loads brings good wisdom.
Antha puthi intha kazhuthaikkuththaan eppa varumWhen will this donkey ever gain that wisdom?
Female :Maanam illae eenam illaeFemale: No honor, no dignity.
Ssodum illae soranai illaeFemale: No self-respect, no shame.
Female :Naalum ketta naaikalukkuFemale: For these dogs corrupted in every way,
Vaai mattum neelamthaanFemale: Only their mouth keeps running long!
Female
Yaaraaru ennaannuthaanI will tell you who is what, my dear.
Solluraendaa kannaaI am telling you, my dear.
Female :Naai yaaru nari yaaruFemale: Who is a dog? Who is a fox?
Puriyaatho sonnaa…Won't you understand if I explain?
Female
Veetukkulla kudi puguntha aanthai idhuThis is an owl that has taken up residence inside the house.
Female :Veratti vida aal illaama alaiyirathuFemale: Wandering around because there's no one to chase it away.
Female :Aanthaikooda pachchonthiyum irukkurathuFemale: Along with the owl, there is a chameleon too.
Female :Aalukkoru niram kaatti nadikkurathuFemale: Putting on an act by showing a different color to each person!
Female
Eththanaiyo innum ingirukkuThere are so many more like them here.
Ada aththanaikkum thiruttulathaan pangirukkuAh, every single one of them has a share in the robbery!
Female
Vittu vechchaa valanthu vidumIf you leave them alone, they will grow wild,
Kaariyamae kettu vidumAnd completely ruin the entire task.
Female :Otti otti udambu raththamFemale: Sticking close to suck the blood from the body,
Urinjum intha attaithaanFemale: That is what this leech is!
Female
Yaaraaru ennaannuthaanI will tell you who is what, my dear.
Solluraendaa kannaaI am telling you, my dear.
Female :Naai yaaru nari yaaruFemale: Who is a dog? Who is a fox?
Puriyaatho sonnaa…Won't you understand if I explain?

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

The song 'Yaaraaru Ennaannuthaan' from the movie 'Muthu Engal Sothu' (1983) is a lively, satirical duet that uses animal imagery to mock and unmask deceitful, greedy, and untrustworthy individuals. Through playful back-and-forth banter, the singers compare opportunistic people in their lives to various animals such as stray dogs, scheming foxes, thieving cats, sycophantic crows, shameless donkeys, ominous owls, two-faced chameleons, and blood-sucking leeches. The emotional core of the song is critical yet humorous social commentary. It exposes human vices like theft, hypocrisy, parasite-like behavior, and shamelessness while serving as a warning to be cautious about toxic, exploitative people who infiltrate families or businesses to leech off others.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Metaphor (உருவகம் - Uruvakam)

Aayi aaththaa yaarum illaa naai ithuthaan

Comparing a family-less, unruly person directly to a stray dog ('naai').

Simile (உவமை - Uvamai)

Oru poonaiyai pol thirudi thirudi thingirava

Explicit comparison using 'pol' (like) comparing the person's sneaky eating habit to that of a cat.

Ethugai (எதுகை - Second letter rhyming)

Eththanaiyo innum ingirukku / Ada aththanaikkum thiruttulathaan pangirukku

The second consonant 'thth' ('த்') rhymes across consecutive lines ('Eththanaiyo' and 'aththanaikkum').

Extended Metaphor (விலங்கு உருவகம்)

Aanthaikooda pachchonthiyum irukkurathu / Aalukkoru niram kaatti nadikkurathu

Extending animal characteristics (chameleon changing colors) directly to represent human hypocrisy and multi-faced behavior.

Did you know?

Trivia

Lyricist Vairamuthu frequently uses zoological satire in folk-infused Tamil film tracks. By assigning animal characteristics—such as the chameleon for hypocrisy and the leech for exploitation—the song builds on traditional Tamil oral storytelling tropes where animal fables are used to deliver moral lessons and social critiques.

Keep listening

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