Thambili Gediya

Beautiful like an orange king coconut,
my love who stole my heart,
don’t you want to sing baila and dance?
why are you afraid, my love?
who could dislike baila that brings the heart joy?
these pointless scraps of false finery, who are they for?
what is there for me to fear?

Setting our feet to the flavour of the music, in rhythm,
let us dance properly, the way it was done in the old days
flowers bloomed in my heart, I was filled with joy
I felt like dancing beside you forever

Yes, my little girl, let’s dance, come jump and dance
oh, my little girl, let’s dance, come jump and dance
the two of us, let’s dance, jumping, dance and jump

Beautiful like an orange king coconut,
my love who stole my heart,
don’t you want to sing baila and dance?
why are you afraid, my love?
who could dislike baila that brings the heart joy?
these pointless scraps of false finery, who are they for?
what is there for me to fear?

Swaying that way, girl, swaying this way,
singing the tasty songs, let us dance right to it,
oh, polishing up lively baila more and more,
shaking the whole world, let the two of us dance
yes, my little girl, let’s dance, come jump and dance
oh, my little girl, let’s dance, come jump and dance
the two of us, let’s dance, jumping, dance and jump

Beautiful like an orange king coconut,
my love who stole my heart,
don’t you want to sing baila and dance?
why are you afraid, my love?
who could dislike baila that brings the heart joy?
these pointless scraps of false finery, who are they for?
what is there for me to fear?

This is a bright, coaxing baila, the upbeat dance-song style Sri Lankans have loved since Portuguese times, and it is really a boy trying to get a shy girl to loosen up and dance. He opens with a very local compliment: she is as lovely as a thambili, the orange king coconut, and she has quietly stolen his heart. So why, he keeps asking, are you afraid to sing baila and dance with me?

His argument is simple and warm. Who could dislike baila when it brings the heart such joy, and why fuss over pointless little airs and false finery? He has nothing to fear, he says, so neither should she. When they set their feet to the rhythm the way people did in the old days, flowers bloom in his heart, and all he wants is to dance beside her forever.

The rest is pure invitation, the chorus tumbling over itself: come, my little girl, let’s jump and dance, the two of us. Sway this way and that, sing the tasty songs, polish up the lively baila and shake the whole world. There is no hidden depth here and it wants none; it is a happy, flirtatious call to drop your shyness and dance.