When words cannot be spoken, people write. Words just don't fall. They are a product of histories, a lot of thought and of journeys. For the writer or the lyricist, words are gems. It is like a gemstone miner sifting the river bed to find a gem. To those who have known the struggle, there's nothing more joyful as finding one. Same goes for lyricists. They look forward. Then they carefully stitch one word with another. Turn them into lines. Yet, incredibly, an intricate art of work. In this process of writing lyrics, the styling and the shaping continues. The greatest lyrics ( let's say the most powerful ones) will make your heart sink.
Years ago, I wrote about lyricists. While all lyricists are important some lyricists are more important because only a very few have the ability to speak the language of music. To put it in a nutshell: a lyricist's job is to turn an experience or a thought into a few lines. It really does require a lot of work. In fact, writing lyrics can be harder and more important than the song itself, because it must be well thought out and must hit the mark all the time. This is what I believe. The words that bite you, feed you, cure you, all that is created by a lyricist.
However, we hardly get to know about the lyricist in a song. In theory, once a song is released, it belongs to the audience. Thereafter, it is the audience's song. The lyricist dies. Sadly. There was a time when lyricists lost out to composers and singers. Not long ago, when private FM channels and TV channels took over the airwaves, broadcasters talked about everything under the sun but forgot to speak of the song they were about to play. Clearly, not much has changed since then. Yet, the public outrage that has taken place over this issue, with many musicians openly expressing their resentment for not giving credit to songwriters, has compelled the media to give visibility to the lyricist every time they play a song. Now that's something we've collectively achieved and must be appreciated. Yet, interestingly, even Google doesn't carry much information about lyricists.
While lyrics matter, and without them you may not truly understand what the singer is trying to convey, they carry a certain amount of emotional weight. The amount of emotional weight that a song carries depend on the choice of words. While the lyrics in some songs may not sound that great, in some they are very powerful. And some may require lot of words to convey a thought while some may not. In some instances just one line is enough to catch the heart of the listener.
Think of the last album or track, or a certain verse, you heard. If the words in that particular song or verse you heard made you overwhelm, then the writer of that song has done his / her job right.
Two days ago, I was reminded of a small gathering that took place two years ago in which I was a part of. While there is language in the drinks, and the women and men we share it with, that night my workmates (the majority were men) and I had our choice of drink: whiskey, followed by chatting and storytelling. We didn't forget to sing in the middle of all that.
My friend, Sithu, who is eloquent and funny, moreover also philosophical and moving with the same ideologies as I have, suggested a song that day. Perum Puragena Aaa Sansare… by Senanayake Weraliyadda. It must be also said that Sithu and I are lovers of music and not a single moment goes by without humming or singing songs whenever we meet and between work hours.
We sang. And that night, my good friend gave great insight to this song about which I had not given enough thought about all my life.
I must have been 9 or 10 years old when I first heard Senanayake Weraliyadda. Sixteen years later, on that night, when my friend pointed out this single line in the song and asked me what I think about it, I am not sure how I reacted to his question. But I remember telling him this: whoever wrote the lyrics is a brilliant writer.
It seems that some writers are ingenious when it comes to capturing life using words. Mahakanumulle Vajira Himi is certainly one of them. Mahakanumulle Vajira Himi wrote Perum Puragena Aaa Sansare after witnessing the suicide of a woman on the railway track when traveling by train. It was later found out that the girl couldn't get over her lost love.
The song ends with a remarkable line that perhaps correlates with Buddhism.
දිවිය මොන තරම් සුන්දර දෝ - දු
This life’s so beautiful - And this sadness is so much fun
The Enlightened One states that having to be born means having to suffer. Vajira Himi thus tells us that people are acutely conscious of the pain that the world is made of, and yet they find it quite pleasurable.
We fall sick, we fail exams, we lose jobs, we lose love, we lose wealth, we lose property and amidst all that chaos we still try to hold on to life. Take more exams, take more jobs, earn more money, find more lovers and the list goes on.
So, there it is. Sometimes just one line is enough. Because it tells us so much.
This is my version of the song: Perum Puragena Aa Sansare.
For the Dell Studio version, check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4KGx-u81wA