Wassa

Rain, fall on whatever day you please,
I am used to this drought now,
rain, stay wherever it is that you are,
that spring is far from me now

Staying close a few short days,
once you were wrapped in my embrace,
a fragrance never felt before
came drifting near you,
and to the sudden downpour
of feelings that rose up,
I stayed drenched, a lover, for a whole watch of the night,
and in one unbearable moment,
the still, entranced lake-water
overflowed and burst both its banks

Even in the cool breeze
that came drifting from your side,
a familiar warmth
kept making itself felt,
but without even letting me savour it,
when you slipped away from me,
I burned an age, worn out,
and burned on,
so much that, unbelievably,
even in a heart hot as iron,
the last trace of moisture dried away

A poetic, aching heartbreak song built on the contrast of rain and drought. Rain, fall whenever you like, the singer tells it, I’m used to this drought now; rain, stay wherever you are, because that spring, the season of their love, is far from him now. He has resigned himself to dryness, to a heart with no more weather in it.

The middle remembers the brief, drenching downpour of the love itself. For a few short days she was wrapped in his arms, and a fragrance he had never known drifted from her; to the sudden storm of feeling that rose up, he stayed happily drenched, a lover, for a whole watch of the night, until, in one unbearable moment, the still lake-water of his entranced heart overflowed both its banks. Love came like a cloudburst.

The last verse is the drought that followed. Even the cool breeze coming from her carried a familiar warmth, but before he could savour it, she slipped away, and he burned an age, worn out, until, unbelievably, even a heart hot as iron had its very last trace of moisture dried away. Sung by Lanka Dilrukshi, composed by Tharindu Damsara to words by Lakshantha Chinthaka, it is a lovely, sorrowful song about a love that fell like sudden rain and left behind a permanent drought.