ਝੂਠ ਆਖਾਂ ਤੇ ਕੁਝ ਬਚਦਾ ਏ, Jhooth aakhaan te kujh bachda ae If I speak a lie, I can save a little ਸੱਚ ਆਖਿਆਂ ਭਾਂਬੜ ਮਚਦਾ ਏ, Sach aakhiyaan bhaanbadh machda ae Speaking the truth creates chaos. ਜੀ ਦੋਹਾਂ ਗੱਲਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਜਚਦਾ ਏ, jee dohan gallan to jachda ae From both of these things, the heart shrinks ਜਚ ਜਚ ਕੇ ਜਿਹਵਾ ਕਹਿੰਦੀ ਏ । jach jach ke jehbaa kahindi ae Trembingly, the tongue says ...

koi ummid bar nahi aati koi surat nazar nahi aati No hope comes my way There is no solution in sight maut ka ek din muayyan hai nind kyuun raat bhar nahi aati When for a death a day is ordained Then why does sleep evade me all night aage aati thi haal-e-dil pe hansi ab kisi baat par nahi aati I used to laugh at the state of my heart But now I am unable to laugh at anything janta huun savab-e-taa.at-o-zohd par tabi.at idhar nahi aati Thought I know the benfits of religious devotion But it doesn’t excite me hai kuch aisi hi baat jo chup huun varna kya baat kar nahi aati This is why I am quiet Otherwise, do you think I don’t know how to converse kyuun na chikun ki yaad karte hain meri avaz gar nahi aati Why shouldn’t I yell in joy remembering old days But my voice fails to produce sound daagh-e-dil gar nazar nahi aata bu bhi ai charagar nahi aati You don’t see the anguish in my heart O healer, the scent of my pain eludes you ham vahan hain jahan se ham ko bhi kuchh hamari khabar nahi aati I am now at such a point Where I don’t even get any news of me marte hain aarzu mein marne ki maut aati hai par nahi aati I die yearning as I hope for death Death comes to me, yet it doesn’t kaaba kis munh se jaoge ‘ghalib’ sharm tum ko magar nahi aati Ghalib, How will you go to the Kaaba When you don’t even feel ashamed Rekhta ...

Ye Hanste huwe phool, ye mehka huwa gulshan [These smiling flowers, this fragrant garden] Ye rang mein aur noor mein doobi huwi raahen, [These paths dipped in colour and light] Ye phoolon ka ras pi ke machalte huwe bhanware [These swaying bees intoxicated by nectar] Main doon bhi toh kya doon tumhen ae shokh nazaaro [What can I give you, O splendid nature] Le de ke mere pas kuch aansu hain kuchh aahen [All I have is few tears, few sighs]_ ...

Kis wal akheya wey majnu nu, O teri Laila disdi kaali wey [“Your Laila is of dark complexion,” someone remarked to Majnun] Majnun ne jawaab ditta, O teri akh na vekhan vaali wey [To which Majnu relplied, you don’t have eyes to see her beauty] Je tu dekheyn meri akh naal, teri surat na jaye sambhali wey [If you could see Laila from my eyes, you couldn’t even comprehend her beauty] Ved vi chitte te Quran vi chitti, vich syahi rakh ditti kaali wey [Ved and Quran are nothing but white pages, but real value comes from the black ink] Ghulam Farid jithe akhiyaan lagiyaan, othe kya gori kya kaali wey [Ghulam Farid, where one’s eyes are set; there black or white doesn’t matter] ...

Awwal allah noor upaya, kudrat ke sab bandey [First, Allah created the Light; then, by His Creative Power, He made all mortal beings.] Ek noor te sab jag upajya, koun bhalley koun mandey [From the One Light, the entire universe welled up. So who is good, and who is bad?] Loga bharam na bhoolau bhai [O people, O Siblings of Destiny, do not wander (aimlessly) deluded by doubt.] Khalik khalak, khalak meh khalik, puur reheyo sarab thanee [The Creation is in the Creator, and the Creator is in the Creation, totally pervading and permeating all places.] ...

मैं सिगरेट तो नहीं पीता मगर हर आनेवाले से पूछ लेता लेता हूँ की “माचिस है?” बहुत कुछ है जिसे मैं फूंक देना चाहता हूँ Main cigarette to nahi peeta [I don’t smoke cigarette.] Magar har aanewale se pooch leta hoon ki “Maachis hai?” [However, I always ask everyone I meet if they have a matchbox?] Bahut Kuch hai jise main foonk dena chahtha hoon [There are lots of things which I want to burn down.] ...

Ai husn-e-haqiqi noor-e-azal [O’ Beauty of Truth, the Eternal Light!] Tenu waajib te imkaan kahun [Do I call you necessity and possibility,] Tenu khalik zaat qadeem kahun [Do I call you the ancient divinity] Tenu haadis khalq jahan kahun [The one, creation and the world] Tenu mutlaq mehez wajood kahun [Do I call you free and pure Being,] Tenu almiya ayaan kahun [Or the apparent lord of all,] Arvaah nafoos aqool kahun [Do I call you the souls, the egos and the intellects,] Ashbaa iyaan nehaan kahun [The imbued manifest, and the imbued hidden,] Tenu ain haqeeqat maahiyat [The actual reality, the substance,] Tenu arz sifat te shaan kahun [The word, the attribute and dignity,] Anvaah kahun auzaah kahun [Do I call you the variety, and the circumstance,] Atvaar kahun auzaan kahun [Do I call you the throne and the firmament,] Tenu arsh kahun aflaak kahun [Do I call you the throne and the firmament,] Tenu naaz naeem janaan kahun [And the demurring delights of Paradise,] Tenu tat jamaad nabaat kahun [Do I call you mineral and vegetable,] Haivaan kahun insaan kahun [Animal and human,] Tenu masjid mandir dair kahun [Do I call you the mosque, the temple, the monastery,] Tenu pothi te quran kahun [The scriptures, the Quran,] Tasbeeh kahun zunnaar kahun [The rosary, the girdle,] Tenu kufr kahun imaan kahun [Godlessness, and faith,] Tenu baadal barkha gaaj kahun [Do I call you the clouds, the flash, the thunder,] Tenu bijli te baraan kahun [Lightning and the downpour,] Tenu aab kahun kahun tenu khaak kahun [Water and earth,] Tenu baad kahun neeraan kahun [The gust and the inferno,] Tenu dasrat lichman raam kahun [Do I call you Dashrat, Laxman, Ram ] Tenu sita ji janaan kahun [ and lovely Sita,] Baldev jasuda nand kahun ; Tenu kishan kanhaya kaan kahun [Baldev, Shiv, Nand, and Krishna,] Tenu barhma bishan ganesh kahun [Brahma, Vishnu and Ganesh,] Mahadev kahun bhagvaan kahun [Mahadev and Bhagvaan,] Teni geet granth te bed kahun [Do I call you the Gita, the Granth, and the Ved,] Tenu gyaan kahun agyaan kahun [Knowledge and the unknowable,] Tenu ibrahim hawa shees kahun [Do I call you Abraham, Eve and Seth,] Tenu nooh kahun tufaan kahun [Noah and the deluge,] Tenu ibrahim khaleel kahun [Abraham the friend, ] Tenu musa bin imran kahun [and Moses son of Amran,] Tenu har dil da dildaar kahun ;Tenu ahmad aalishaan kahun [And Ahmad the glorious, darling of every heart,] Tenu shaahid malk hijaaz kahun [Do I call you the witness, the Lord, or Hejaz,] Tenu baais kaun makaan kahun [The awakener, existence, or the point,] Tenu naaz kahun andaaz kahun [Do I call you admiration or prognosis,] Tenu hoor pari ghilmaan kahun [Nymph, fairy, and the young lad,] Tenu nouk kahun tenu ttouk kahun [The tip and the nip,] Tenu surkhi beerha paan kahun [And the redness of betel leaves,] Tenu tabla te tamboor kahun [The Tabla and Tanpura,] Tenu dholak surr te taan kahun [The drum, the notes and the improvisation,] Tenu husn te haar singhaar kahun [Do I call you beauty and the fragrant flower,] Tenu ashwa ghamza aan kahun [Coyness and that amorous glance,] Tenu ishq kahun tenu ilm kahun [Do I call you Love and knowledge,] Tenu vehem yaqeen gumaan kahun [Superstition, belief, and conjecture,] Tenu husn kavi idraak kahun [The beauty of power, and conception,] Tenu zauk kahun wajdaan kahun [Aptitude and ecstasy,] Tenu sakar kahun sakraan kahun [Do I call you intoxication and the drunk,] Tenu hairat te hairaan kahun [Amazement and the amazed,] Tasleem kahun talveen kahun! [Submission and the connection,] Tamkeen kahun irfaan kahun [Compliance and Gnosticism,] Tenu sumbal sosan sarv kahun [Do I call you the Hyacinth, the Lilly, and the Cypress,] Tenu nargis nafarmaan kahun [And the rebellious Narcissus,] Tenu laale daagh te baagh kahun ; Gulzaar kahun bustaan kahun [The bereaved Tulip, the Rose garden, and the orchard,] Tenu khanjar teer tufang kahun [Do I call you the dagger, the lance, and the rifle,] Tenu barcha bank sanaan kahun [The hail, the bullet, the spear,] Tenu teer khidang kamaan kahun [The arrows made of white poplar, and the bow,] Soofaar kahun peekaan kahun [The arrow-notch, and the arrowhead,] Berang kahun bemisal kahun [Do I call you colorless, and unparalleled,] Besoorat har har aan kahun [Formless in every instant,] Subooh kahun qudoos kahun [Glory and holiness,] Rehman kahun subhaan kahun [Most glorious and most compassionate,] Kar taubaa tart Fareed sada [Repent now Farid forever!] Har sheh nu par nuksaan kahun [For whatever I may say is less,] Tenu paak alakh be aib kahun [Do I call you the pure and the humane,] Tenu haq be naam nishaan kahun [The Truth without trace or name.] ...

This song is written from perspective of four different people. First verse is about Bilqis Yakub Rasool, herself a victim of gang-rape who lost 14 members of her family in 2002 Gujrat riots. Second verse is about Satyendra Dubey, a highway inspector who was murdered after trying to fight corruption. Third verse is about Shanmughan Manjunath, who was murdered for sealing a corrupt petrol station. Fourth verse is about Navleen Kumar, a human rights activist who worked for the land rights of adivasis/tribals in Nallasopara; she was stabbed 19 times on 19th June 2002. ...

Jab ham chaley toh saaya bhi apna saath na de [When I walk , even my shadow doesn’t follow me] Jab tum chalo, zameen chale, aasman chale [When you walk, earth moves, sky moves] Jab ham ruke toh ruke saath shaam-e-bekasii [When I stop, the clouds of misery stop with me] Jab tum ruko, bahar ruke, chandni ruke [When you stop, spring stops, moonlight stops] जब हम चलें तो साया भी अपना साथ न दे जब तुम चलो, ज़मीन चले, आसमाँ चले जब हम रुकें तो साथ रुके शाम-ऐ-बेकसी जब तुम रुको, बहार रुके, चाँदनी रुके ...