Kirula Genemu Lyrics by Centigradz

Give them heart, boys!….
Come on, come on, come this way….
Give them heart, girls!…
Come on, come on, come this way….

Like this, like this, come on.. like this now…
Come on, come this way…

The time has come to shake the world with the Lion Flag…
gather round to seize the crown that is ours by right..
let us go forward as one, raising the banners of victory..
let us spread the lion’s roar, our boys winning the day..

Pam pam rapam papam… pam pam rapam papam…
Pam pam rapam papam… pam pam rapam papam…

The glory is not for your own name,
the courage in your heart is for the whole country,
though a thousand obstacles come,
this time too they will give it their all

Bat in hand,
a thousand wishes held in the heart,
Sri Lankan, our boys,
who show their fine, dazzling play

Yorkers, sixers,
full features along with the boundaries,
the lion cubs will reign over the world,
and send the other teams back home

This is the one thing we said,
we said you cannot beat us,
victory-cheers all around,
the Lion Flag blazing across the whole world

Give them heart, boys!….

Cricket is our life-breath…
the pride of the nation…
we are the world’s noblest land…
the throne that is ours by heritage..

Cricket is our life-breath…
the pride of the nation…
give your all to bring home your wishes and your birthright…
let us bring the crown again, all of us united..

Give them heart, boys!….

This is a rousing cricket World Cup anthem, pure encouragement and national pride, built to be chanted from the stands. It opens like a cheerleader’s call, give them heart, boys, come on, this way, and drops in drumbeat syllables, pam pam rapam, between the lines. Its rallying image is the Sinha Kodiya, the Lion Flag: the time has come, it says, to shake the world with it and to gather and seize the crown that is ours by right, the World Cup itself.

The middle is a pep-talk to the team. The glory, it insists, is not for any one player’s name but for the whole country; a thousand obstacles may come, but this time too the boys will give their all. It paints them bat in hand, carrying a thousand wishes, and promises yorkers and sixers, full features with the boundaries, until the lion cubs reign over the cricketing world and send the other teams packing.

The refrain states the feeling plainly and without irony: cricket is our life-breath and the pride of the nation. Calling Sri Lanka the world’s noblest land and the World Cup a throne that is theirs by heritage, it ends by urging everyone to unite and bring the crown home again. Written by Thilan Rangana, composed by Thusith Niroshana and performed by Centigradz, it is less a song to analyse than a chant to sing together, a whole country cheering its team on.