Amme Lyrics (අම්මේ) by Nalin Perera

Not for a single moment did you ever
leave me alone and go anywhere,
when my heart ached and I was full of remorse,
you stayed right beside me, consoling me,
cupping me in your palms, feeding sweet breast-milk,
in the cradle of your soothing embrace
I nestled, and it was not enough, still not enough for me,
there in the cradle of your bosom

Mother, mother, I still feel that comfort,
mother, mother, the warmth is felt even now

When I suffered from going the wrong way,
you stroked my head and gave me courage,
to make me a king you pulled me along,
walking on ahead of me,
loving teacher who showed the road to win a world,
the merit I earned across samsara
was surely enough, to be born to you

Mother, mother, in being your son,
mother, mother, that merit is enough for me

A heartfelt tribute to a mother, sung by a grown child looking back on her endless care. Not for a single moment, he says, did she ever leave him alone; whenever his heart ached, you stayed right beside me, consoling me. He remembers being cupped in her palms, fed sweet breast-milk, nestled in the cradle of your soothing embrace, and, in the song’s most tender turn, that even all of that was not enough, still not enough. A child’s need for a mother is bottomless.

The refrain insists the comfort never faded: mother, mother, I still feel that comfort; the warmth is felt even now. Grown up, he still carries the physical memory of her love. Then he honours her guidance: when he went the wrong way, she stroked his head and gave courage; she pulled him forward to make me a king, walking ahead of him, the loving teacher who showed the road to win a world.

The close reaches into Buddhist belief to say the deepest thing he can. To have been born to her, he says, must be the reward of the merit I earned across samsara, across countless past lives; and simply in being your son, that merit is more than enough. The song is dedicated as a tribute to every mother. Sung by Nalin Perera to words by Kelum Srimal, it is a warm, grateful song that treats a mother’s love as the greatest fortune a whole cycle of lifetimes could earn.