Chandraya (Hoiya Hoiya) Lyrics by Marians

Heave-ho, heave-ho, heave-ho, heave-ho
Heave-ho, heave-ho, heave-ho, heave-ho

The moon has risen in the dark sky
A cool breeze blows swiftly all around

Raise the sail, all of us together
Let us row, let us row, our eyes on the shore
Raise the sail, all of us together
Let us row, let us row, our eyes on the shore

There are plenty of fish in the sea, here in the net
In the strength of standing together lies the strength of our lives

On this night, out on these waters
Pull on, pull on, our eyes on the shore
On this night, out on these waters
Pull on, pull on, our eyes on the shore

This is a rowing song, the kind fishermen sing while they pull at the oars together. That “Hoiya hoiya” running through it is not just a melody, it is the actual chant Sri Lankan fishermen and boatmen call out as they heave in rhythm, the way sailors elsewhere sing “heave-ho.” Everyone times their pull to the call, so the work moves as one. The song puts you right in the boat at night, out on the water, with that beat keeping the crew together.

The scene is simple and beautiful. The moon has come up over a dark sky and a cool breeze is moving across the sea, so they raise the sail and row, keeping their eyes on the distant shore as their guide. Then comes the line that the whole song is really about: there are plenty of fish out here, and the strength to bring them in comes from samagiya, from working as one. The catch is good, but the song makes a quiet point of it, the real wealth is the unity of the crew. The strength of their lives, it says, is the strength of standing together.

That is why this reads less like a love song and more like a working people’s anthem dressed up as a fishing tune. The sea, the net full of fish, the shared pull on the oars all stand for something larger, that ordinary people get through hard work and hard nights by holding together. By the end you are still in the boat, the chant still going, rowing on through the night toward the shore, and the feeling it leaves you with is that of belonging to something, of being part of a crew that has your back.