Jee chaahe panchi ho jaavaan
Ud'da jaavaan, gaaonda jaavaan
An-chuh sikharaan nu choo paavaan
Is duniya diyaan raahvaan bhul ke
Fer kade na vaapas aavaan.
Jee chaahe panchi ho jaavaan
Ja ashnaan karaan vich zam-zam
La deekaan peeyaan daan da paani.
Maan-sarovar de beh kande
Tuta jeha ik geet maen gaavaan
Ja baethaan vich khiriyaan rohiyaan
Phakaan pauna itar sanjoeeyaan.
Him-teesiyaan moeeyaan moeeyaan
Yugaan yugaan ton kakar hoeeyaan
Ghut kaleje maen garmaavaan.
Jee chaahe panchi ho jaavaan
Hoe aalhna vich shatootaan
yaan vich jand, kareer, sarootaan,
Aaon pure de seet faraate,
Lachkaare eyun laen daaliyaan
Jyun koi doli khede jariyaan.
wal khilari lay lay jhootan
Ik din aesa jhakhar jhule
Ud pud jaavan sabhe teele,
Be-ghar be-dar maen ho jaavaan.
Saari umar piyaan ras gham da,
Aese nashe vich jind handhaavaan
Jee chaahe panchi ho jaavaan.
English Translation
I wish that I could be a bird.
That I could fly, that I could sing,
That I could touch untouchable peaks,
That I could forget the roads of this earth
And never return.
I would bathe in holy wells,
Swallowing great gulps of bountiful water.
I would sit on the shore of a great lake,
And sing a halting song.
I would go into a flowering wildrness
And inhale the perfume-laden air.
I would warm the mountain peaks,
Frozen by centuries of coldness,
In a close embrace.
I wish that I could be a bird.
My nest would be among mulberry trees
In the caper, the mesquite or the cypress.
When the cold east wind blew,
The boughs would sway
Like children playing on swings.
One day there would be such a storm,
That all the twigs would scatter.
Homeless, nestless, I would become.
For the rest of my life I would drink the nectar of sorrow,
And live my life in its intoxication.
I wish that I could be a bird.