BILLO Song Lyrics With English Urdu Translation | Coke Studio |
About BILLO
by Ayesha binte Rashid
It’s 1995 and the scene opens to a Punjab jail as a young, clean shaven Abrar Ul Haq is thrown into a cell by two policemen. The scene cuts to a black-and-white shot of Abrar dancing as he sings, “Asaan te jaana an Billo de ghar!”, following up with the iconic, “Kinnhe kinnhe jaana en billo de ghar?” When a chorus affirms their desire to go to Billo’s ghar, he responds with, “Tikkat kataaaaaao, lain banaaaaao!”
Billo’s video shows a hapless Abrar trying to reach his Billo’s home– somehow ending up in jail along the way. Eventually, Abrar reaches his destination– he meets her family, welcomed by her mother and her brother, and finally, finds his Billo. Laden with slapstick, the video complements Abrar’s comedic delivery and the song’s quirky lyrical escapade.
Billo had, as they say, everything: bhangra and rap; lovelorn lyrics that are also fun and cheeky; a chorus made to sing along to. When the song came out, it immediately embedded itself in Pakistan’s pop culture and shot Abrar to instant fame. The lyrics speak of the titular Billo and her famed beauty, and the singer’s wish to go to her home, whether he has to travel on foot or line up and buy a ticket to do so. He curses anyone and everything that gets in his way as he pursues his Billo and declares that he will dress up as a bridegroom, “ jayl shayl la ke, kangghi shanggi waah ke, kaali kaali akkhiyaan ch surmah pa ke ,” and take a wedding procession to her house to ask for her hand in marriage.
Billo came to Abrar in 1993, during an evening run in Lahore, when he crossed a van driver calling out to passengers, “Kinnhe kinnhe jaane e?” Abrar’s lyrical mind responded with, “Asaan te jaana an Billo de ghar, kinnhe kinnhe jaana e Billo de Ghar.” And, with that spontaneous burst of inspiration, Billo was born. By the time Abrar was home, the second verse of the chorus, “tikkat katao, lain banao,” had come to him.
“I was just amusing myself in shughal. Bus, I was in a really good mood. When it was made, I used to laugh because I couldn’t believe that it actually got made. Even when I would sing it, I would laugh,” says Abrar laughing.
The rest of the song did not come to Abrar overnight. In fact, it took two years to be made. The first person to ever hear about Billo was Abrar’s elder brother to whom he had pitched the song disguised as an Indian song he had claimed to have heard. Only when his brother laughed and gave his approval did Abrar confess ownership of the song. It was on his brother’s suggestion that Abrar added the bhangra element to Billo . The song evolved in stages until, in 1995, Abrar felt like it was ready to be recorded.
Billo was recorded in Lahore’s Folk Studio by a group of thoroughly amused musicians. “I played the song for them and they started laughing and said they’d never heard a song like it. They asked me, “Who are you? What do you do?” and I told them that I am teacher who pursues music as a hobby. They kept laughing and made several jibes at me. I really enjoyed that recording session.”
Not experienced in music production at the time, Abrar verbally explained the kind of musical arrangement he had in mind – one that would go on to become his signature style. Each musician gave Billo their instrument’s color – the sum of the parts was better than Abrar had ever imagined it to be. By the time the song was recorded, “I wanted to give them all kisses,” Abrar remembers affectionately. A song that had only been an idea in his mind for two years had finally been brought to life.
To say that Billo was an instant hit would not be an overstatement – Abrar shot to fame and became a household name in the Pakistani music industry with the release of his first song. “My life completely changed because of this song,” says Abrar, “I was teaching at Aitchison College and I had other plans, of perhaps doing something in the CSS (Central Superior Service). This song made me famous overnight! So naturally, I had to come into this field.”
Today, Billo remains iconic because of the memories it has created. This season’s house band members all come to the Coke Studio rendition with their own recollections of Billo. For the younger musicians, Billo is tied to their first memories of music. “That song is all of our childhoods,” says percussionist Aziz Kazi, “I used to wait for this song all week because it would play every Sunday on Music Channel Charts. It would play once on the show and I would wait the whole week just to listen to it somehow.“
For Varqa Faraid, this season’s keyboardist, who was only five years old at the time, the lyrics were a mystery when they first came out, “For many years, I didn’t know it was, ‘tikkat kataao’. I used to think he was saying, ‘teeka teeka lao, teeka teeka lao.’”
Percussionist Hassan Mohyeddin remembers that his first experience with Billo wasn’t even on TV, “I used to live in Iqbal Town and we used to play cricket in the neighborhood and someone was singing it. Then, a little while later, a second boy was singing it, then another boy came along singing it. Later, in the evening, I finally saw it on TV. It was playing constantly. Bus, then I also started singing it.”
The older house band members have even performed Billo in concerts with Abrar Ul Haq. Amir Azhar remembers getting a call from Abrar to play for a concert of his when the song first came out. “I asked, ‘Jee, who’s this speaking?’ he replied, ‘Mein bolran, Billo vaala Abrar,’ in his Punjabi.”
“I sat on an airplane for the first time because of this song”, percussionist Babar Khanna remembers. Babar had only recently started playing the tabla when his ustad, Chakku Bhai, told him about a singer he hadn’t heard of before. The singer happened to be Abrar, who needed a tabla player for his song Billo, which he was performing in Karachi for a show during the 1995 World Cup.
“I still remember, I had come to Karachi from Lahore and Abrar’s show was at Sports Complex. I knew how to play this song on the tabla; Sahir Ali Bagga was on drums and Chakku Bhai was on the keyboard. When I heard [Billo] was on this season, I was reminded of those old days.”
As these musicians take their places on the Coke Studio set, these memories come back to them through the decades. Abrar Ul Haq stands on the mainstage – his nineties attire of blue jeans has been replaced with a waistcoat ensemble, and his once clean shaven boyish face now sports a beard and handlebar moustache. When he begins to perform, his showmanship shines through. The comical performance that once made Billo’s video so funny now translates into a suaveness and lachak (limberness) that somehow perfectly complements the lyrics. And as the house band and the Coke Studio team watches on, we are transported once again to 1995, past and present merging for a moment as music becomes the nostalgic gateway to the beginnings of bhangra pop.
Artist: Abrarul Haq – ابرار الحق
Title: Billo – بلّو – Billo
Languages: Punjabi
Lyrics: Abrarul Haq, and others
دھو کے نہا کے چنگے بچے بن کے
dho ke naha ke change bacche ban ke
Bathing and washing and sprucing ourselves up like good little boys
جیل شیل لا کے
jayl shayl la ke
Styling our hair with gel
کنگّھی شنگھی واہ کے
kangghi shanggi waah ke
Combing our hair nicely
شیشے موہڑے بہہ کے ذرا دیر لگا کے
sheeshe moohṛe bah ke zara der laga ke
Spending a good bit of time perched before the vanity mirror
کالی کالی اکھیاں چ سرمہ پا کے
kaali kaali akkhiyaan ch surmah pa ke
Applying kohl to our jet-black eyes
اساں تے جانا ایں بلّو دے گھر
asaan te jaana en billo de ghar
We want to go to Billo’s house!
بھئی کنّھے کنّھے جانا ایں بلو دے گھر
bhayi kinnhe kinnhe jaana en billo de ghar
Hey, who else wants to go to Billo’s house?
اساں تے جانا ایں بلّو دے گھر
asaan te jaana en billo de ghar
We want to go to Billo’s house!
بھئی کنّھے کنّھے جانا ایں بلو دے گھر
bhayi kinnhe kinnhe jaana en billo de ghar
Hey, who else wants to go to Billo’s house?
ٹکٹ کٹاؤ
ṭikkaṭ kaṭaao
Buy a ticket!
لین بناؤ
lain banaao
Get in line!
ٹکٹ کٹاؤ
ṭikkaṭ kaṭaao
Buy a ticket!
لین بناؤ
lain banaao
Get in line!
ٹکٹ کٹاؤ
ṭikkaṭ kaṭaao
Buy a ticket!
لین بناؤ
lain banaao
Get in line!
ٹکٹ کٹاؤ نالے لین بناؤ
ṭikkaṭ kaṭaao naale lain banaao
Buy a ticket and get in line!
ٹکٹ کٹاؤ
ṭikkaṭ kaṭaao
Buy a ticket!
لین بناؤ
lain banaao
Get in line!
لین بناؤ
lain banaao
Get in line!
جنّھے جنّھے جانا ایں بلو دے گھر
jinnhe jinnhe jaana en billo de ghar
Whoever wants to go to Billo’s house
جنّھے جنّھے جانا ایں بلو دے گھر
jinnhe jinnhe jaana en billo de ghar
Whoever wants to go to Billo’s house
اساں تے جانا ایں بلّو دے گھر
asaan te jaana en billo de ghar
We want to go to Billo’s house!
بھئی کنّھے کنّھے جانا ایں بلو دے گھر
bhayi kinnhe kinnhe jaana en billo de ghar
Hey, who else wants to go to Billo’s house?
چال جدھی مستانی اے
chaal jidhi mastaani e
She who walks with an entrancing sway
جدھی چڑھدی شوخ جوانی اے
jidhi chaṛhdi shokh jawaani e
Whose blossoming youth is playful and alluring
چال جدھی مستانی اے
chaal jidhi mastaani e
She who walks with an entrancing sway
جدھی چڑھدی شوخ جوانی اے
jidhi chaṛhdi shokh jawaani e
Whose blossoming youth is playful and alluring
جہڑا ڈنگیا ایس ناگن دا
jihṛa ḍangiya ais naagan da
Whoever is stung by her deadly allure
اوہ نہ منگے پانی
oah nah mange paani
Dies instantly, without a moment’s respite
بھنگڑا پا منڈیا
bhangṛa pa munḍiya
Dance in joy, boy!
پا بھنگڑا تے بھنگڑا پا منڈیا
pa bhangṛa te bhangṛa pa munḍiya
Lose yourself in lively and joyous dance, boy!
ہو سوہرے پنڈ کِنج جانا ای
ho saure pinḍ kinj jaana ee
Hey, how will you strut to your father-in-law’s village?
ٹور وکھا منڈیا
ṭor wakha munḍiya
Show us how you’ll walk proud and straight, boy!
ہو سوہرے پنڈ کِنج جانا ای
ho saure pinḍ kinj jaana ee
Hey, how will you strut to your father-in-law’s village?
ٹور وکھا منڈیا
ṭor wakha munḍiya
Show us how you’ll walk proud and straight, boy!
بھنگڑا تے بھنگڑا تے بھنگڑا پا پا
bhangṛa te bhangṛa te bhangṛa pa pa
Just lose yourself in lively and joyous dance!
بھنگڑا تے بھنگڑا تے بھنگڑا پا
bhangṛa te bhangṛa te bhangṛa pa
Lose yourself in lively and joyous dance!
بھنگڑا تے بھنگڑا تے بھنگڑا پا پا
bhangṛa te bhangṛa te bhangṛa pa pa
Just lose yourself in lively and joyous dance!
بھنگڑا تے بھنگڑا تے بھنگڑا پا
bhangṛa te bhangṛa te bhangṛa pa
Lose yourself in lively and joyous dance!
کتّی مرے فقیر دی جہڑی چاؤں چاؤں نت کرے
kutti mare faqeer di jihṛi chaaoon chaaoon nit kare
May the faqir’s dog, who always whines at passersby, die
ہٹّی سڑے کراڑ دی جتّھے دیوا رات بلے
haṭṭi saṛe karaaṛ di jitthe deewa raat balle
May the shopkeeper’s shop, where a lamp always burns at night, burn down
ہو پنج ست مرن گنواڈھناں
ho panj sat maran gawaanḍhanaan
May a few of the gossiping women in the neighbourhood die
تے رہندیاں نوں تاپ چڑھے
te rahndiyaan noon taap chaṛhe
And may the rest come down with fever
سنجیاں ہو جاہن گلیاں
sunjiyaan ho jaahn galiyaan
May the streets of my neighbourhood become deserted
وچ مرزا یار پِھرے
wich mirza yaar phire
So that my beloved Mirza can roam them freely and visit me
ہو تیرے لونگ دا پیا لشکارا
ho tere laung da paya lashkaara
The jewel of your nose-pin glinted in such an entrancing way
نی بلو سانوں ہوش بھل گئے
ni billo saanoon hosh bhul gaye
That we simply lost our senses, Billo!
ہو تیرے لونگ دا پیا لشکارا
ho tere laung da paya lashkaara
The jewel of your nose-pin glinted in such an entrancing way
نی بلو سانوں ہوش بھل گئے
ni billo saanoon hosh bhul gaye
That we simply lost our senses, Billo!
تدے ای تے جانا ایں بلو دے گھر
tade ee te jaana en billo de ghar
That’s why we want to go to Billo’s house
تدے ای تے جانا ایں بلو دے گھر
tade ee te jaana en billo de ghar
That’s why we want to go to Billo’s house
ڈولی وچ پا کے اوہنوں گھر لے کے آواں گا
ḍoli wich pa ke ohnoon ghar lai ke aawaan ga
I will bring her to my home in a wedding palanquin
میں سہرے گانے بن کے تے شہر اوہدے جاواں گا
main sihre gaane ban ke te shahr ohde jaawaan ga
Decked up in a bridegroom’s garlands and ornaments, I will travel to her town
میں نالے چار پنج سو گواہ وی لے کے جاواں گا
main naale chaar panj sau gawaah wi lai ke jaawaan ga
I will take along four or five hundred wedding witnesses
میں چاچا پھوپھا ماما تایا جانجی بنا کے
main chaacha phuppa maama taaya jaanji bana ke
I will form a bridal party of my relatives
میرے یار بیلی چھوٹے موٹے سب آکے
mere yaar beli chhoṭe moṭe sab aa ke
All my friends, young and old, will accompany me
لاچے شاچے بن کے تے کھسّے شسّے پا کے
laache shaache ban ke te khusse shusse pa ke
Adorned in fine silken garments and fancy shoes
دھو کے نہا کے چنگے بچے بن کے
dho ke naha ke change bacche ban ke
Bathing and washing and sprucing ourselves up like good little boys
جیل شیل لا کے
jayl shayl la ke
Styling our hair with gel
کنگّھی شنگھی واہ کے
kangghi shanggi waah ke
Combing our hair nicely
شیشے موہڑے بہہ کے ذرا دیر لگا کے
sheeshe moohṛe bah ke zara der laga ke
Spending a good bit of time perched before the vanity mirror
کالی کالی اکھیاں چ سرمہ پا کے
kaali kaali akkhiyaan ch surmah pa ke
Applying kohl to our jet-black eyes
ڈولی وچ پا کے اوہنوں گھر لے کے آواں گا
ḍoli wich pa ke ohnoon ghar lai ke aawaan ga
I will bring her to my home in a wedding palanquin
میں سہرے گانے بن کے تے شہر اوہدے جاواں گا
main sihre gaane ban ke te shahr ohde jaawaan ga
Decked up in a bridegroom’s garlands and ornaments, I will travel to her town
میں نالے چار پنج سو گواہ وی لے کے جاواں گا
main naale chaar panj sau gawaah wi lai ke jaawaan ga
I will take along four or five hundred wedding witnesses
میں چاچا پھوپھا ماما تایا جانجی بنا کے
main chaacha phuppa maama taaya jaanji bana ke
I will form a bridal party of my relatives
میرے یار بیلی چھوٹے موٹے سب آکے
mere yaar beli chhoṭe moṭe sab aa ke
All my friends, young and old, will accompany me
لاچے شاچے بن کے تے کھسّے شسّے پا کے
laache shaache ban ke te khusse shusse pa ke
Adorned in fine silken garments and fancy shoes
دھو کے نہا کے چنگے بچے بن کے
dho ke naha ke change bacche ban ke
Bathing and washing and sprucing ourselves up like good little boys
جیل شیل لا کے
jayl shayl la ke
Styling our hair with gel
کنگّھی شنگھی واہ کے
kangghi shanggi waah ke
Combing our hair nicely
شیشے موہڑے بہہ کے ذرا دیر لگا کے
sheeshe moohṛe bah ke zara der laga ke
Spending a good bit of time perched before the vanity mirror
کالی کالی اکھیاں چ سرمہ پا کے
kaali kaali akkhiyaan ch surmah pa ke
Applying kohl to our jet-black eyes
اساں تے جانا ایں بلّو دے گھر
asaan te jaana en billo de ghar
We want to go to Billo’s house!
بھئی کنّھے کنّھے جانا ایں بلو دے گھر
bhayi kinnhe kinnhe jaana en billo de ghar
Hey, who else wants to go to Billo’s house?
اساں تے جانا ایں بلّو دے گھر
asaan te jaana en billo de ghar
We want to go to Billo’s house!
جی کنّھے کنّھے جانا ایں بلو دے گھر
ji kinnhe kinnhe jaana en billo de ghar
Who else wants to go to Billo’s house?
کنَاں کجھ سوچیا سی بلو گھر جاواں گے
kinnaan kujh sochiya si billo ghar jaawaan ge
We had made such great plans of travelling to Billo’s house
ریل گڈی دے وچ بھنگڑے پاواں گے
rel gaḍḍi de wich bhangṛe paawaan ge
Of dancing joyously aboard the train to her village
آؤندے جاندے ٹیشناں توں قلفیاں کھانواں گے
aaunde jaande ṭeshanaan ton qulfiyaan khaanwaan ge
Of treating ourselves to kulfis at the train station stops
ہو جدوں کڈھیا جلوس غریباں
ho jidon kaḍḍhiya jaloos ghareebaan
But alas, poor us! The day we took out our procession
تے شہر چ چوتالی لگ گئی
te shahr ch chautaali lagg gayi
Section 144 got imposed in the city and a curfew was declared
ہو جدوں کڈھیا جلوس غریباں
ho jidon kaḍḍhiya jaloos ghareebaan
But alas, poor us! The day we took out our procession
تے شہر چ چوتالی لگ گئی
te shahr ch chautaali lagg gayi
Section 144 got imposed in the city and a curfew was declared
fer wi jaana en
پر فیر وی جانا ایں بلو دے گھر
fer wi jaana en billo de ghar
But we will still go to Billo’s house
پیدل جانا ایں بلو دے گھر
paidal jaana en billo de ghar
Even if we have to go by foot to Billo’s house
ٹکٹ کٹاؤ
ṭikkaṭ kaṭaao
Buy a ticket!
لین بناؤ
lain banaao
Get in line!
ٹکٹ کٹاؤ
ṭikkaṭ kaṭaao
Buy a ticket!
لین بناؤ
lain banaao
Get in line!
ٹکٹ کٹاؤ
ṭikkaṭ kaṭaao
Buy a ticket!
لین بناؤ
lain banaao
Get in line!
ٹکٹ کٹاؤ نالے لین بناؤ
ṭikkaṭ kaṭaao naale lain banaao
Buy a ticket and get in line!
ٹکٹ کٹاؤ
ṭikkaṭ kaṭaao
Buy a ticket!
لین بناؤ
lain banaao
Get in line!
لین بناؤ
lain banaao
Get in line!
جنّھے جنّھے جانا ایں بلو دے گھر
jinnhe jinnhe jaana en billo de ghar
Whoever wants to go to Billo’s house
جنّھے جنّھے جانا ایں بلو دے گھر
jinnhe jinnhe jaana en billo de ghar
Whoever wants to go to Billo’s house
اساں تے جانا ایں بلّو دے گھر
asaan te jaana en billo de ghar
We want to go to Billo’s house!
بھئی کنّھے کنّھے جانا ایں بلو دے گھر
bhayi kinnhe kinnhe jaana en billo de ghar
Hey, who else wants to go to Billo’s house?
اساں تے جانا ایں بلّو دے گھر
asaan te jaana en billo de ghar
We want to go to Billo’s house!
بھئی کنّھے کنّھے کنّھے کنّھے...
bhayi kinnhe kinnhe kinnhe kinnhe
Hey, who, who, who, who...
کنّھے کنّھے جانا...
kinnhe kinnhe jaana
Who else wants to go...
ہو
ho
Translation by
Zahra Sabri
With special thanks to
Asim Raza
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