Clarence Unplugged with Marians (Nonstop 1) Lyrics by Clarence Wijewardena

As the moon floats above
I am alone here on the shore
Will she come? Is she on her way?
My heart is full of doubt

If she came, my comfort would be here
Where will I ever meet her again?
She broke and scattered all my hopes
Why does she stay so sweetly out of reach?

In the palace of the moon, telling wondrous tales
In the light of your eyes, asking the news
With the touch of your eyelids, a shawl over the day
Gently brushing me with your warmth
You would rock me to sleep, and I would soothe you
You would rock me to sleep, and I would soothe you
I will tell you of a love that can never fade

Your smile became a string of pearls in the ocean
Your eyes rose like two stars in the sky
Your two lips hid the taste of a rainbow
You turned my whole life into a stage of song

The dawn keeps watch
Time passes, killing my sleep
The dawn keeps watch
Time passes, killing my sleep
Fair one, the night is deep and cold
And I am here, watching the road for you

Fair one, my jewel
Like the sunlight of early morning
A flower bud opened today
And tied itself to my heart
I feel there is nothing else like this

The erabadu flowers bloomed, the buds opened, falling in red
I remember it, the call of the koel, your smile was Avurudu
As if my heart was overflowing

Walk along in the moonlight, sing softly to the breeze
Are you waiting for me to come, or will we talk on a moonless night?
To wipe away my loneliness, will I find a friend?

Even if the moon sinks, even if the sun sinks, I do not mind
Even if the stars fall, even if the flowers drop, I do not mind
As long as you are by my side, I do not mind, I do not mind, I do not mind

I spend the day, and in the dream of night, I go looking for you
I spend the day, and in the dream of night, I go looking for you
It came to me, my love, that I would tell you the secret in my heart

Even if the moon sinks, even if the sun sinks, I do not mind
Even if the stars fall, even if the flowers drop, I do not mind
As long as you are by my side, I do not mind, I do not mind, I do not mind

No sorrow in my heart, a cool breeze blowing
Like fresh young blossoms, as if my heart had slipped away in secret
Feelings of love come like this, the way to the butterfly mountain

In the playfulness, in the moonlight, a pearly creeper
Softly, gently, that sweet smile
That sweet smile, that sweet smile
In the playfulness, in the moonlight, a pearly creeper

The great Brahma holding it in his hand, even fate smiled
Who knows whose it is, this life journey of mine
The path does not change, and tonight I find my joy

In the playfulness, in the moonlight, a pearly creeper
Softly, gently, that sweet smile
That sweet smile, that sweet smile
In the playfulness, in the moonlight, a pearly creeper

This is a nonstop medley, a string of much loved Clarence Wijewardena songs sewn together and played live with the Marians, so instead of one story it carries you through several of his best known love songs one after another. What holds them together is a single voice and a single feeling: a young man whose whole world has narrowed down to one girl, and the moon that keeps watch over all of it. Almost every song here reaches for the moon, which is the heart of why these songs still feel the way they do.

It opens on a lonely beach. He stands there at night under the floating moon, not sure if the girl he loves is even coming, his heart “full of doubt.” That image of waiting alone on the shore while the moon hangs over the water is one of the most familiar pictures in Sinhala song, the moon standing in for a calm, faraway beauty he can see but cannot hold. From there the medley moves into tenderness: he imagines being rocked to sleep by her and soothing her in return, and he promises “a love that can never fade.” When he describes her, he does it the old way, through the night sky and the sea. Her smile is a string of pearls in the ocean, her eyes are two stars, her lips hold the taste of a rainbow. In Sinhala song these are not just pretty words; pearls, stars and the rainbow are the highest things a village singer can compare a girl to, so saying she is made of them means she has turned his ordinary life into “a stage of song.”

The mood keeps shifting the way a medley does. In one part he sits awake until dawn, watching the road for her on a cold, deep night. In another comes the famous “Sudu Manike,” where her arrival is “like the sunlight of early morning” and a flower bud opening, the bud being new love just beginning to bloom. Then the songs lean into the village and the seasons. He remembers the erabadu (coral tree) bursting into red flower and the call of the koel (kowula), and he says plainly that her smile “was Avurudu.” For a Sri Lankan that line carries everything: the erabadu blooming red and the koel’s call are the signs that the New Year is near, the happiest, most hopeful time of the year, so to say her smile was Avurudu is to say she was the whole feeling of spring and homecoming for him.

By the end the doubt of the opening has melted into pure devotion. “Mata Kamak Na,” the line everyone knows, says it without any decoration: even if the moon sinks and the sun sinks, even if the stars fall and the flowers drop, none of it matters as long as she is beside him. The medley closes light and happy, with that soft, repeated smile in the moonlight (“omari hinawai”) and a man who feels even fate is smiling on him. Heard all the way through, it is a small tour of an era of Sri Lankan love songs, the loneliness, the longing, the village seasons and the moon, all carried in Clarence’s gentle, unhurried voice, and that is exactly why people still play it together like this.