Thursday, July 31, 2008

Gur Nalo Ishq Mitha

July 02

A PUNJABI SONG INTO ENGLISH

I often feel that many non Punjabi people love Punjabi music . Yet they cannot sustain their interest for the lack of understanding of Punjabi lyrics. And there is another group of people who feel Punjabi music is all just some Balle Balle chants and random noise and nothing more. Both these things pain me a lot. And thus, I have decided to translate Punjabi songs into English in here for the benefit of both these groups and everybody else too.

The first one I am doing is Gur Nalo Ishq Mitha by Malkit Singh .

It was made popular in the 90’s with the music of Bally Sagoo and the faces ( and the bodies?) of Jas Arora and Mallika Arora.
Click here to hear it. Click here to see it as well.

Punjabi Lyrics
English Lyrics
Chorus:
Gur nalo ishq mitha O ho
Gur nalo ishq mitha Ai hai
O rabba lag na kise nu jaave
Gur nalo ishq mitha

Chorus:
Love is sweeter than jaggery
”
O God, let is strike no one
This love, sweeter than jaggery
Meri pave jind kad le O ho
Meri pave jind kad leAi hai
Mere yaar nu manda na boli
Meri pave jind kad le

You may take my life away
”
But don’t speak a word against my beloved
You may take my life away
Ladoo khala baniye de O ho
Ladoo khala baniye de Ai hai
Ganne choop le jattan de pole
Ladoo khala baniye de

Eat ladoos from the baniya sweetseller
”
And suck sugarcanes of the jatt farmers as they are soft
Eat ladoos from the baniya sweetseller
Kale nu na kali takri O ho
Kale nu na kali takri Ai hai
Meri jeb ladooan ne paadi
Kale nu na kali takri

I could not bump into her alone
”
My pocket got torn with the weight of ladoos
For I could not bump into her alone
Phul te tarel pe gayiO ho
Phul te tarel pe gayiAi hai
Tenu nachdi nu mudka aaya
Phul te tarel pe gayi

Dew drops appeared on the flower
”
As sweat appeared on you while you were dancing
Dew drops appeared on the flower
Sharabiyan de paise bach gaye O ho
Sharabiyan de paise bach gaye Ai hai
Sohni akhan wich akhan paake takeya
Sharabiyan de paise bach gaye

The drunkards saved their money
”
As they looked into your beautiful eyes
The drunkards saved their money
Chorus

Chorus
Akhiyan ‘ch wass mitra O ho
Akhiyan ‘ch wass mitra Ai hai
Tenu chal palkan di maaran
Akhiyan ‘ch wass mitra

Come and live in my eyes my beloved
”
I will fan you with my eyelashes
Come and live in my eyes my beloved
Akh naal gal kargi O ho
Akh naal gal kargi Ai hai
Palla maar ke buja gi deeva
Akh naal gal kargi

She spoke with her eye
”
Blowing away the candle with the edge of her duppata
She spoke with her eye
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33 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 8, 2009 at 12:09 PM

    thankx a ton for this translation! u made my day! -Kavita

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 9, 2016 at 6:24 PM

      Thank you very much Ana for this..I can not appreciate it enough... I have been listening to this song for a long time but now finally I can understand the lyrics too......but I have one request to make....can you PLEASE translate the older version of this song....it is more or less same but has an intro and a couple of interludes.....PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
      this is the link to the older version
      Malkit SIngh Gur Nalon Ishq Mitha *ORIGINAL* *RARE*(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ1RRCfcuLU)

      Delete
  2. Kathy OwensDecember 15, 2009 at 3:09 AM

    thanks! I'd been lookin for it for a long time! I love this song!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnaJanuary 11, 2013 at 10:49 AM

      happy to be of service :)

      Delete
    2. UnknownNovember 4, 2015 at 12:31 AM

      Hi Ana, I fall under the category of punjabi music lovers and I can tell you it very hard to find translations for some of the songs. I want to thank you for the translations and I hope that are more to come. Greetings from Mainz Germany

      Delete
  3. RajasMarch 31, 2010 at 2:21 AM

    Brilliant! Had been looking for this forever!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Rakesh SinghMay 27, 2010 at 5:24 AM

    Thank you thank you thank
    My favourite song ih high school
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. mand_reQDecember 27, 2010 at 5:20 AM

    hey,
    thanks a lot for this translation. I've been wanting this for so long...

    Hey, have you managed to translate any other songs? I'm currently searching for "mera laung gawacha"....

    ReplyDelete
  6. Siddharth ChauhanJanuary 10, 2011 at 1:27 PM

    I love it that bit with phul te tarel pe gayee... I could never really figure out what it really was and we always thought it was pul te tared pe gayee...totally different meaning..lol

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousFebruary 12, 2011 at 4:29 PM

    Hello! Im not Indian but African/Caucasian descent. I love Punjabi music and indian culture but you are right! i really dont know what they are singing about. Thanks for posting this!

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownMarch 2, 2011 at 2:22 PM

    whats the name of sister of jas arora in this song?

    ReplyDelete
  9. mohit.vikiNovember 4, 2011 at 10:41 PM

    wow..
    Yo man!
    Thanx alot u made my day...

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousJanuary 16, 2012 at 4:51 AM

    :( :)
    Punjabi guys and girls are genius in math.
    and they are nice people..

    ReplyDelete
  11. HansNovember 1, 2012 at 7:05 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  12. HansNovember 1, 2012 at 7:06 AM

    Thanks for translating for Non-Punjabi People.

    I have a question or suggestion :

    "Meri pave jind kad le" Don't you think It means "You can kill me" Or "Tu pave manu maar de, but don't say a bad word to my beloved"

    ReplyDelete
  13. UnknownMarch 23, 2014 at 9:16 AM

    Always loved the song. Absolutely amazed to know the meaning of the words!

    ReplyDelete
  14. UnknownApril 15, 2014 at 11:10 PM

    nice :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousMay 17, 2014 at 2:47 PM

    Hello Ana,
    Thank so much for the lyrics and the English translation. I don't speak Punjabi nor do I speak Hindi / Urdu. I just came across this song couple of years back from YouTube and loved it so much ever since :)

    Thank you once again.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oblivious in TexasJune 7, 2014 at 9:04 AM

    Thank you for this!! i spend a good time trying to understand mr sigh but couldn't fully..... this is awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  17. volatileacidJune 24, 2014 at 1:19 PM

    There are more lyrics to this track, such as:
    "ni mauj suneyara leh geya" IIRC .... can someone translate this for me, I think I know what it means, but it's meant in a positive way right?

    ReplyDelete
  18. UnknownApril 23, 2015 at 1:34 PM

    Thank you very much ana for this beautiful translation. Most beautiful part is:
    The drunkards saved their money

    As they looked into your beautiful eyes

    ReplyDelete
  19. UnknownApril 23, 2015 at 1:38 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  20. UnknownSeptember 29, 2015 at 3:09 AM

    nycccccoooooo

    ReplyDelete
  21. ArunaOctober 10, 2017 at 8:31 PM

    Thanks a lot...i enjoy dis song.

    ReplyDelete
  22. CA Exams PreparationApril 3, 2018 at 11:14 AM

    Thumbs up. Awesome song & lyrics

    ReplyDelete
  23. NothingJune 8, 2018 at 6:47 PM

    Thank you so much! I always thought he was saying, "Guri naal ishq mitha!" lol

    ReplyDelete
  24. saratMay 8, 2019 at 3:13 AM

    Thank you soo much for bringing this classic for the non Punjabi folk who adore Punjabi songs and culture!

    Lots of Love! Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  25. UnknownMay 30, 2020 at 12:08 AM

    The tune and lyrics are so catchy and additive, Thank you for translating and bringing this classic Punjabi songs and culture!
    Cheers Dan

    Lots of Love! Thanks again

    ReplyDelete
  26. AnonymousOctober 25, 2020 at 11:53 AM

    Thank you SO much for this!
    its so asotunding when we realize how beautiful some songs are years after listening to them on repeat!

    ReplyDelete
  27. mystiquemysticApril 2, 2022 at 12:55 AM

    Thanks a lot for sharing. You demystified a 20 year old ignorance that I was living with.

    ReplyDelete

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