Suwanda Danee Lyrics by Rookantha Gunathilaka

Feeling the fragrance, feeling it, it is felt,
in the risen morning sun’s light, is this a new sun?
cool drops flow into the heart,
fine dew on the breeze wakes cool feelings in me

To the beautiful world I did not see yesterday, from somewhere, today,
walking slowly along the yard, it cuddles up to me,
is life truly this beautiful?

Feeling the fragrance……

Flock upon flock, colour upon colour, the butterflies come,
kissing every flower they see,
teasing love, and tickling it awake,
o love…
bearing your hope in cupped hands, you wait, watching the road, until the beloved comes,
tomorrow too there will be a day like today,
is life truly this beautiful?

Feeling the fragrance……

A radiant, life-loving song, sung here in a live rendition by Rookantha Goonatillake, that finds wonder in the smallest sensations of an ordinary morning. Its refrain is almost a meditation, suwada dani danee danenawa, feeling the fragrance, feeling it, it is felt, and it opens in the light of the risen sun, wondering if this is somehow a new sun, while cool drops flow into the heart and fine dew on the breeze wakes gentle feelings.

The middle marvels at the freshness of the world. To a beauty he never noticed yesterday, the morning comes softly, walking along the yard and cuddling up to him, and he asks, twice, the question that is the whole song: is life truly this beautiful? It is gratitude as astonishment, the ordinary world suddenly seen as a gift.

The imagery blooms outward: flock upon flock of colourful butterflies come kissing every flower, teasing love and tickling it awake. And a human hope is woven in, someone waiting with cupped hands, watching the road for a beloved to arrive, comforted that tomorrow, too, will bring a day like this one. Sung by Rookantha Goonatillake, it is a warm, uplifting hymn to being alive, to fragrance, dew, sunlight and butterflies, and to the simple, repeatable beauty of an ordinary day.