Adanne Ai Sudu Manike Lyrics by HR Jothipala

Why do you cry, fair maiden, tell me, my love
Why do these tears fall from your loving sapphire eyes
Why do you cry, fair maiden, tell me, my love

That first day you came into my life
In your smile, in your eyes, there was an innocent love
The sweet words you spoke, I can still hear them now
My darling, I will keep you safe in the fortress of my heart
There is no room for our love to ever break apart
Wherever I go, you are my whole world
Why do you cry, fair maiden, tell me, my love

Maiden, you are a fragrant flower bloomed among thorns and brambles
Wait, until I gather that flower in my cupped hands, my dear
In the world of love, only one star shines beside the moon
You are the moon, and I am the star, rising in the night sky

A young man is sitting with the girl he loves, and she is in tears. He cannot bear it, so the whole song is him gently asking her why she is crying and promising her that nothing will come between them. “Why do you cry, fair maiden, tell me,” he keeps repeating, and you can hear the tenderness of someone who would do anything to stop those tears. “Sudu manike,” which means something like “fair little jewel,” is a soft, affectionate name a Sinhala man uses for the woman he adores.

He goes back to the day they first met, and what he remembers is the innocent love in her smile and in her eyes, and the sweet things she said that he can still hear in his head. Then he makes his promise. He will keep her safe in the “balakotuwa” of his heart, the fortress or citadel of his heart, an image of guarding something precious behind strong walls so nothing can reach it. He tells her there is no room for their love to break, and that wherever he goes, she is his whole world.

The last verse is where the imagery opens up. He calls her a fragrant flower that has bloomed among thorns and brambles, a beautiful, delicate thing growing in a hard, difficult place, and he asks her to wait while he reaches in and gathers that flower in his cupped hands, meaning he will be the one to protect her and lift her out of whatever surrounds her. Then he reaches for the night sky. In the world of love, he says, only one star shines beside the moon: she is the moon and he is that single star next to it. In Sinhala song the moon is the standing image of calm, gentle beauty, so calling her the moon and himself the lone star says they belong together, two lights that rise in the same sky and stay close.

What you are left with is a quiet, reassuring kind of love. He is not asking for anything from her. He just wants her tears to stop, and the way he comforts her, with the fortress, the flower, the moon and its one star, is a promise that he will stand beside her and keep her safe.