Lassanata Pipunu Wanamal Lyrics by Nihal Nelson

A rose and a lotus, that is how lovely she is
Like the blowing wind, like the sound of a song, she is just like you
My little bird, she flew away
And I am left in sorrow
A rose and a lotus, that is how lovely she is
Like the blowing wind, like the sound of a song, she is just like you
My little bird, she flew away
And I am left in sorrow
A rose and a lotus, that is how lovely she is

In the old days, when I came home, you would be waiting, watching the path
Spreading those lovely fluttering wings of yours
Saying over and over, I love you, I love you
Why did you fly off into the forest without telling me?
Flew off into the forest, flew off into the forest
Why did you fly off into the forest?

Wildflowers blooming in beauty, streams combing through the rocks
The blue gemstone that I love
Far away in a distant forest, in a cave among the rocks, she passes her days
My lovely little bird, my darling

When the full moon shines and the stars rise in the sky
When the waves roll in and kiss the white sand
When the sweet songs that delight the ears fill the air
Why are you all alone, little bird, all alone, gone deep into the forest?
Gone into the forest, gone into the forest
Why have you gone all alone into the forest?

Wildflowers blooming in beauty, streams combing through the rocks…

Before the sun goes down, searching for the nest
I can still picture the way you used to come back
Come, come, little bird, fly back quickly
My nest is still open, still only for you
Open only for you, open only for you
That nest is open only for you…

Wildflowers blooming in beauty, streams combing through the rocks…

A man is grieving for the woman he loves, the one who has left him, and all through the song he calls her his “kirillii,” his little bird. That word carries the whole feeling. In Sinhala a sweetheart is often called a little bird, something small and precious you keep close, and here the man builds the entire song around it: she was his bird, his home was her nest, and now she has flown off into the forest and left him alone.

He opens by reaching for the gentlest, most beautiful things he can name to describe her, a rose, a lotus, the soft blowing wind, the sound of a song. Then the ache arrives in the same breath: this lovely creature flew away, and he is left in sorrow. The second verse is full of tenderness for what used to be. He remembers coming home and finding her waiting on the path, fluttering her pretty wings, telling him again and again that she loved him. That makes the wound sharper. She said all of that, and then she simply flew off into the wild without a word of warning, and he cannot stop asking why.

The middle of the song decodes into a picture of where she is now and how he still sees her. The wildflowers, the streams running over the rocks, the blue gem he treasures, the cave deep in a far forest, these are the places his mind keeps going to. He imagines her out there alone while the full moon rises, the waves kiss the white sand and sweet music drifts through the air, all the beauty of the evening, and it only makes him wonder why she is spending it by herself, hidden away in the forest instead of with him. The forest here is not a real place so much as the distance she has put between them, somewhere out of reach where she has chosen to be alone.

The last verse is where the heart of it lands. Even now, before the sun sets, he is thinking of the nest, picturing the old way she used to come flying back to him. He calls out for her to hurry home, and he tells her the thing that hurts and comforts in the same line: the nest is still open, and it is open only for her. That is the quiet devotion underneath all the longing. He has not closed the door, he has not moved on. He is still waiting, keeping a place that belongs to no one else, hoping his little bird will one day fly back.