தொட்டு தொட்டு என்னை

Tamil has many instances of adjectives and adverbs that sound alike. Often they appear to come from the same root word, when in reality they are derived from separate noun and verb forms.

உன் நிலையில் இளைப்பாற வருவேன் கண்ணே
உள்ளே நிலைக்கும்

The two lines above, from different sections of the song, contain a form of the word நிலை. In the first line it is used as an adjective and is derived from the noun நிலை. The second line uses the verb form derived from நிலைத்தல். Although the noun and verb form sound similar their meanings are often quite different.

Definitions

இளைப்பாற - to relax
நிலையில் - from the noun நிலை which has multiple definitions including நேரம்;time, இடம்;place, நிச்சையம்;certainity
நிலைக்கும் - from the verb நிலைத்தல் meaning தங்கி விடுதல்; to settle, stay, நிலைபெருதல்; to get to certain level.
கருவிழி - iris

மன்றம் வந்த தென்றல்

Intelligibility is taken for granted and noticed only when a lyric or line is incomprehensible. The first word in the lines below (பூவாலம்) is written to match the way it is pronounced but such a word  does not exist. The mistaken word is likely பூபாளம் or பூவானம். Strange oversight for a song recorded in the 80's when meaningful and intelligible lyrics were quintessential to the success of song.

பூவாலமே கூடதென்னும்
வானம் உண்டோ சொல்

Definitions

மஞ்சம் - couch or bed
கட்டழகு - extreme beauty
பயணம் - journey, trip
உலாவும் - v. to tour or journey
மாலை - evening, dusk or a garland. Not to be confused with மாழை.
ஓடை - refers to a stream
பூபாளம் - refers to ragam used in Carnatic music.
பூவானம் - a type of sky (according to madurai thamizh paeragarathi)

என்ன இது என்ன இது

Many words have multiple definitions. The alternates may only be slight variants of the original but can change the meaning significantly. Take the two lines below from the song 'Enna Ithu' in the movie 'Nala Damayanthi'. Take the use of the word நிகழ்கின்றதும் in lines below.

புதிதாக ஏதோ நிகழ்கின்றதும்
புரியாமல் நெஞ்சம் நிகழ்கின்றதும்

If I applied the only meaning I knew (to happen), the second line did not make much sense. But a quick look at a dictionary showed a couple of alternate meanings that are more appropriate.

Definitions

நிகழ்கின்றதும் - from நிகழ்தல் meaning ஒளிசெய்தல்; to illuminate, சொல்லல்; to say, நடத்தல்; make happen
அகல்தான் - from அகல் with multiple definitions including சட்டி meaning clay pot, தகழி meaning the bowl of a lamp. Not to be confused with அகழ் 
இறகு - feathers, plummage
விடுகதை - riddle
தொடர்கதை - serialized story
வேண்டும் - required
வசந்தம் - spring 
கண்ணுறக்கம் - sleep, slumber. This is a composite of கண் + உறக்கம்
நீங்கி - to stop, cease

Note to Self

Note the 'l' used at the end of பிறந்தவள் and பிறந்தால்.

நியூ யார்க் நகரம்

'New York Nagaram' from the movie 'Sillinu Oru Kaadhal'. Simple lyrics set to a beautiful melody. The video really doesn't do justice to the song.

Definitions

உறங்கும் - sleeping, dormant
அடர்ந்தது - (find meaning)
படர்ந்தது - (find meaning)
தீர்க்க - to solve, settle
உவமை - illustration, similie
செந்தணல் - red-hot flame

அஃக நக

When I heard the first two lines of 'Aga Naga' I thought the leading words were simply filler lyrics. But scraping through a good dictionary I discovered that they were actual words and being used appropriately. 

அஃக நக அஃக சிரிப்புகள் அழகா
திகு தக தக நிலவுகள் அழகா

I never watch the video when I'm transcribing a piece. This forces me to listen closely and remove all the clues that I might otherwise get from watching the video. Occasionally you stumble upon lines like the one below which you'll never figure out without the video.

தொன தொன தொன vertu பேச

And you'll find a rhyming word that perfectly fits the context (like virtue for vertu) and think no more of it until you watch the video :)

Definitions

அஃக - குறைய; meaning a smidgen, சுருங்க; meaning to shrink, நுண்மையான; meaning fine as in finely detailed pattern 

நக - ஒளிவிட; luminous, புன்னகை கொள்ள; to smile, இகழ; to despise
திகு - தாளக்குரிப்பு, ஜதிக்குரிப்பு; something that denotes a beat
தக - பொருந்த meaning suitability
பணி - means work, job. Not to be confused with பனி meaning snow or ice.
படைப்பு - means creation
வீச்சுகள் - rays like rays of the sun.
யாக்கை - body
சிலுசிலுப்புகள் - chill, querulousness, mischief. Definitions from agarathi.com 

கூ கூ என ஒரு குயில்

'Koo Koovena' from the movie 'Kanda Naal Mudhal'. This song has two instances of eponyms, சகுனி (saguni) and நாரதன் (nAradhan) that are commonly used in everyday Tamil.

ep·o·nym

ˈepəˌnim

noun

noun: eponym; plural noun: eponyms

1. a person after whom a discovery, invention, place, etc., is named or thought to be named.

   • a name or noun formed after a person.

   
   

Notes and Definitions

மடலா - from மடல் refers to letter, card etc. in general something that is a sheet of paper.

தாயக்கட்டை - dice

சகுனி (சகுநி) [1] - a character from the Hindu epic Mahabharatha who was supposedly the mastermind behind the war. Colloquially, calling someone சகுனி implies he/she is an intelligent and devious person.

நாரதன் [2] - A Vedic sage famous for his wisdom and mischief.  In everyday speech this refers to someone who creates mischief or causes trouble.

ஆசியிலே - from ஆசியம்: அவமதிச்சிரிப்பு meaning இகழ்ச்சி, contempt or
அவ்விடம் meaning that place. The lyric in this song refers to the latter.

பெற்றோரின் ஆசியிலே...அத விடமாட்டேன்

மாசியிலே [3] - refers to the eleventh month in the Tamil calendar.

முதல் நாள் இன்று

Another fantastic listening exercise. Mahalaxmi Iyer and Kay Kay are fantastic in their vocal renditions but some sections are distinctly indiscernible. A lot of work went in to deciphering the ten second clips starting at 1:21, 2:42 and 3:43. Have a listen and try to make out the lyrics yourself before reading the transcription. Not that it matters but the lip syncing on this song is also horrendous.

Definitions

• வேறாக - from வேறு meaning different. Not to be confused with வேர் meaning root.
• அங்கங்கு - here, there and everywhere
• சட்டென்று - immediately
• கிருமிகள் - germs
• உரைத்தாலே - from உரைத்தல் meaning to speak, orate, teach. Not to be confused with உறைத்தல். There is also உரைதல் and உறைதல்.