Sata Sata Wahi Bidu Lyrics by Sunil Santha

Pattering raindrops, rain in the storm-cloud, rain in the storm-cloud,
coolness drifts over the dense, soft earth, coolness drifts,
mountains of rain, sweet nectar-water, came down from the sky, came from the sky,
the hour when the whole water-world is overturned, the hour it is overturned

In the world drawn down into darkness, the rain falls,
darkness thickens, spreading like clustering bushes,
binding the dark thickets like camps,
waterfalls pour down like hanging curtains

Trees and tender shoots twist in the wind,
fruit, flowers, leaves scatter in every place,
water-ripples spread their coverlets on all four sides,
the season the god of the rain-cloud comes to visit

The flocks of birds, startled swift with fear,
the dawn’s sun, today, has hidden itself away,
they fly, seeking out their nests once more,
arrayed across the whole sky, in one long line

Master cat reigns on a cosy bed,
by the hearth he is lit warm, gone toasty,
having given up all greed for mice, grown perfectly calm,
he sleeps, drunk on seven dreams

Silver-snake lightning quivers and flickers,
booming its harsh voice, the thunder cracks,
a great hailstone tumbles down, pounding the earth,
in the dark world that knows no letters

A vivid, playful nature classic that paints a whole rainstorm from beginning to end. It opens onomatopoeically, pattering raindrops, rain in the storm-cloud, coolness drifting over the dense, soft earth, and mountains of rain, sweet nectar-water, pouring from the sky, until it feels like the whole water-world is overturned. The rain is welcomed as a blessing.

The middle turns the storm into a living, dramatic scene. The world is drawn down into darkness, thickets and shadows spread, and waterfalls pour down like hanging curtains. Trees twist, fruit and leaves scatter, ripples spread their coverlets on all four sides, the whole landscape rearranged, as if the god of the rain-cloud comes to visit.

The last verses are full of tender, observed life. Startled bird-flocks fly home to their nests arrayed across the whole sky, the sun hidden; and, in the song’s most beloved touch, Master cat reigns on a cosy bed by the warm hearth, all greed for mice forgotten, sleeping drunk on seven dreams. Then the storm’s fury, silver-snake lightning, cracking thunder, a hailstone pounding the earth, in the dark world that knows no letters. Written by Gnanasiri Gunaratna and composed and sung by the pioneering Guru Sunil Santha, it is a warm, richly detailed classic that celebrates a rainstorm in all its power and cosiness, from thundering waterfalls to a cat asleep by the fire.