Kawru Uwath Oba

Whoever you may be,
wherever you may be,
you are my brother…
you are my brother…

Whether you wear fine silk or wear rags,
you are my brother
even if you go against my thoughts and wishes,
you are my brother
whatever your race or lineage,
you are my brother
everyone who lives in the human world,
you are my very own brother

Whoever you may be,
wherever you may be,
you are my brother…

Seeing the tears rise at the edge of your eyes,
tears come to me as well
when I feel the weight in your heart,
my heart too grows heavy
understanding the sorrow in your heart,
it sets my own heart burning
taking your loving hand,
I become one with you

Whoever you may be,
wherever you may be,
you are my brother…

About your shape, about your colour,
I do not ask
about your lack, about your plenty,
I do not ask
with a brother’s warmth, with the look of your eyes,
that is how I regard you
whoever you may be, wherever you may be,
you are my brother

This is a hymn of human brotherhood, and it lives out one of the deepest teachings of the gospel, that every person is a neighbour to be loved. Its refrain is warm and unconditional: “whoever you may be, wherever you may be, you are my brother.” The song then works hard to strip away every reason people usually use to divide themselves from one another.

One by one it dismantles those divisions. Wealth and poverty, “whether you wear fine silk or wear rags”; disagreement, “even if you go against my thoughts and wishes”; and, most pointedly for Sri Lanka, “whatever your race or lineage.” None of these change the verdict: “you are my brother.” The conclusion is sweeping and generous, “everyone who lives in the human world, you are my very own brother.”

The middle verse turns brotherhood into genuine compassion, the ability to feel another’s pain as your own. “Seeing the tears rise at the edge of your eyes, tears come to me as well”; “when I feel the weight in your heart, my heart too grows heavy.” This is empathy that costs something, and it leads to action, “taking your loving hand, I become one with you.” The final verse refuses to judge by appearances, “about your shape, about your colour, I do not ask.” What the listener is left with is a moving vision of a world without strangers, a call to look past race, class and disagreement and to see in every human face a brother whose joys and sorrows are one’s own.