Obawa Soya Lyrics by Senaka Batagoda

Looking all around, on a cart laden and tied with bundles,
I go my way,
the bulls’ swaying necks and shoulders as they move
bring a rhythm into my heart,
my heart, gone lonely, remembers your face,
and my mind takes flight, seeking you,
on the racing cart, bundling up my feelings,
I go, singing folk-verses as I ride

My mind took flight, seeking you,
the emptiness and the loneliness were gone,
the darkness is dense, the road ahead unseen,
my eyes close, and your form is drawn there,
to a heart in love, that is no wonder at all,
the night is long, until I see tomorrow’s sun

Body bound to body, heart bound to heart,
who else is there but you?
your face is a feeling, my heart is a battle,
and I cannot make sense of it,
on quivering lips a feeling, at the edge of the eye,
my thoughts will not stay patient,
give me your heart, here, close to mine,
so that no more sighs are spent searching for you

My mind took flight, seeking you,
the emptiness and the loneliness were gone,
the darkness is dense, the road ahead unseen,
my eyes close, and your form is drawn there,
to a heart in love, that is no wonder at all,
the night is long, until I see tomorrow’s sun

A warm, rustic love song set on a long bullock-cart journey through the night. The singer rides a cart laden and tied with bundles, and the swaying necks of the bulls set a rhythm that seeps into his heart. Gone lonely on the road, he remembers the beloved’s face, his mind takes flight, seeking you, and to pass the miles he rides along singing see-pada, the traditional traveller’s folk-verses.

The middle is what her memory does to the journey. The moment his mind flew to her, the emptiness and the loneliness were gone. The night is pitch dark and the road ahead invisible, but when he closes his eyes her form is drawn there, and to a heart in love, he notes gently, that is no wonder at all. The long night simply has to be endured until tomorrow’s sun.

The close is pure longing. Body to body, heart to heart, who else is there but you? Her face is a feeling he cannot decode, his heart a battle he cannot make sense of; feeling trembles on his lips and at the edge of his eye, and his thoughts refuse to stay patient. His plea is simple: give me your heart, close to mine, so that no more sighs are wasted searching. Sung by Senaka Batagoda, it is a heartfelt, folk-flavoured song about carrying a love through a long, dark cart-journey, and longing for the beloved to end the searching.