Bamareku Awai Nirith Digeya Lyrics by Amaradeva

A bee came, from the south-west,
it pierced the heart with its sweet nectar,
the flower withered, sorrow spreading wide,
and tears streamed in the womb of the world

Did it slip into a cave of cold snow?
did it go off to some far mountain peak beyond?
or does it rest, close by, here in this very heart?
my eyes went dark, and I was left all alone

Fluttering your soft little wings with their sweet sound,
even though you went off to drink the gentle fragrance, oh come,
when the sun breaks its strength and sinks behind the western hill,
come, if you wish, and drink the nectar of the flowers in bloom

A tender, melancholy classic that tells a story of fleeting love entirely through the image of a bee and a flower. A bee came from the south-west, the song says, and pierced the heart with sweet nectar, and then the flower withered, sorrow spreading until tears streamed in the womb of the world. The bee is the beloved who arrives, gives one taste of sweetness, and leaves the flower, the singer, to wilt.

The middle is all searching questions. Where has the bee gone? Into a cave of cold snow, to a far mountain peak beyond, or does it perhaps still rest close by, within this very heart? The singer cannot tell, and the not-knowing is its own grief: my eyes went dark, and I was left alone. Longing here is the ache of a love that vanished without a trace.

The last verse is a soft, forgiving invitation. Even though the bee flew off to sip fragrance elsewhere, the flower calls it back: come, it says, and when the sun loses its heat and sets behind the western hill, come, if you wish, and drink the nectar of the flowers in bloom. Written by Madawala S. Ratnayaka and sung by Pandit W.D. Amaradeva, it is a gentle, forgiving song of longing, a wilted flower still leaving its evening open for the one who left it.