Music & Poetry
ਸੰਗੀਤMusic & Poetry
Lyrics translated and unpacked — the metaphor, the folklore, and the deep Sufi and Sikh roots of Punjabi verse, line by patient line.
What this section covers
The poem inside the song
Punjabi is a singing language. Its greatest poetry — the Sufi kāfīs, the epic qisse, the verse of the Sikh tradition — was made to be heard aloud, and much of it is still sung today. Each piece here is given in its original script with a transliteration, a literal rendering, a natural English translation, and an explanation of its imagery and devices.
Because this verse travelled orally for generations, wording and even stanza selection differ between versions; we say so honestly and credit what we followed. And we reproduce only public-domain and traditional verse — poets long deceased, such as Bulleh Shah, Waris Shah, and Shah Hussain. For modern, in-copyright songs we write about the meaning and history in our own words rather than reproducing the lyrics.
In this section
Start reading
More readings — Baba Farid, Sultan Bahu, and the folk qisse — are in preparation and will be linked here as they are published.
Keep exploring