“Tu Jhoom”, Coke Studio – what do the lyrics mean?

For over a decade, Coke Studio has been pivotal in transforming mainstream music in Pakistan. Ever since its launch in 2008, it’s trending for showing the cultural diversity of Pakistan. People were skeptical when Rohail Hyatt left the reigns of the show after season 13, but boy, oh boy, season 14 started with a bang!

Combining Naseebo Lal’s folk charm and distinctive voice with Aabida Perveen’s liberating spiritual energy, Coke Studio produced Tu Jhoom.

The song has gained over 12 million views in just eight days. It captivated the audience from all around the world. It’s a song that appeals to the soul whether you understand the lyrics or not. Penned by Adnan Dhool, produced by Xulfi and Abdullah Siddiqui, and choreography directed by Saad Sheikh, Tu Jhoom takes the listener on a journey of spiritual calm and ends with our beloved message of “let it go”.

As I am not a Punjabi speaker, I only understood the parts that were either in Urdu or similar to Urdu. I certainly didn’t need to find out the meaning of the complete song as the story of the song was narrated to perfection with the vocals, the music, and the choreography. However, the poet in me does always tie everything back to the lyrics.

As I understood the lyrics of Tu Jhoom, the listening experience became even more beautiful for me.

And I want to share that experience with you, hoping that my interpretation of this magical work of art gets you started on the spiritual journey to find contentment and peace.

Tu Jhoom Lyrics – an Interpretation

“I am laughing while embracing all the pain,

I find my shade by fighting with the glaring sun light.

All the happiness is mine and so is the sadness.

I only know this,

I realize ‘Why do I need to understand everything”

I tell this to my heart,

Just swirl (let it go)”

It is a dialogue of a spiritually enlightened person with his heart. The journey starts off with the introduction of who the person is, and provides the gist of this conversation with the heart.

I am at complete peace with myself that nothing in life is hurting me. I do have a lot of pain and difficulties, but I embrace them happily as they are a part of me. Both the happy moments and the sad moments make me who I am as a person.

My heart wants to ponder over everything. What happened? Why something happened? What if something else could have happened? There are always never-ending questions. I cannot answer all of them. But then I realize, why do I even need to understand everything? There is no end to this journey. So I tell my heart to just swirl in pure ecstasy. And let everything go.

“I am not in my right mind, I don’t know anything.

I just sing in my madness.

Even if I make the whole world happy,

I know I still won’t find peace.

Even if I find all the happiness,

What will I have after I die?

I reason with my heart that there is nothing in your control (there is a higher power).

So relax, just swirl (let it go)”

Here, the discussion around thinking about so many things continues.

Have you ever felt that when you answer one question about your circumstances, another pops up in your head, and then another, and another. It’s a never-ending chain reaction. And it becomes worse when the people around you are also asking so many questions about things you might not want to or should not think about.

This song gives the best answer to that very first question, “I don’t know anything!”

Let the world call me mad. I embrace this madness and know that I don’t need to satisfy everyone. Even if I answer everyone’s questions and make them all happy, I still won’t find peace. Why should I care about getting one happiness after another? That thirst will never end. So even if I get all the happiness that I want as of now, I’ll simply want something more. I won’t be content. And what will be left for me when I die? Nothing.

I tell my heart that your circumstances are not in your control. If you believe in a higher power, then let it take care of things. You only have to believe in it. That will give you the ultimate satisfaction. So just swirl and let the worries go away.

“I am content with myself.

I am much more than my presumed worth.

This world is not my concern,

I have reached the epitome of understanding.

What would I want to have a high status? What will I gain from it?

Why do I even need to touch the sky?

I am gonna live my life, happy and content.

Since I came out of my toxic contemplation about the world.”

Since childhood, we have been plagued with the ideas of competition, ever-increasing ambition, and the thirst for material satisfaction that never ends. In all this, we lose the true meaning of success: Our happiness.

I remember the dialogue of a famous Bollywood movie, “The heart is always very scared. You should always try to trick it. However big a problem gets in life, tell your heart ‘All is well’.”

Well, this stanza builds upon the later part of this philosophy, but not by tricking the heart. Tu jhoom actually tries to reason with it.

Tu Jhoom talks about the same idea, “All is well”; I am very happy and content. In a world that makes me question my worth again and again. I rarely celebrate my successes. My targets don’t matter to me once I reach them. And I am always trying to create a fake “worthy” self for others because I think I might never be good enough.

But here, I am telling my heart that I am much more than the worth you or other people assume for me.

I am not going to question myself for what others want me to be, what they want me to do, what they expect of me. I have reached the height of revelation when I realized that these worldly achievements are of no concern to me.

I always wanted to be “successful”. My aim was to reach a high status where I am revered by people. But now I think, what would I gain from this supposed success. Why do I need to be revered by the people? I wanted to fly so high that I touch the sky. But now I think, why do I even need to touch the sky. This continuous ambition would just leave me tired, and I’ll just never be happy with my circumstances.

But now I know that I am going to live a happy and content life as I have left behind the toxic contemplation about my relationship with the world.

“I reflect upon my inner self and I find myself enlightened.

[Think!] even if I make the whole world happy,

I still won’t find peace.”

This part of Tu Jhoom makes me think of the current world around me. Our relations with the people have become very transactional – ‘I do something for my friend in the expectation that they would do something for me in return.’ Our connections with people have become so focused on gaining something out of it – career growth, education, help with work.

I have stopped connecting with people for the sheer joy of knowing them. The loving relationship I confess for people around me has everything but love in them. I gauge the value of my word with how many likes it gets.

I see everything in superficial numbers. And that makes me feel lonely. Because in those thousand Facebook friends, I don’t see that one friend who always loves the real me. I feel that I am not good enough even when I have a million people following me on Instagram. Because in that audience, I am not looking at that one person whose life I changed.

So my dear heart, understand that it’s not my job to make everyone happy. Even if I create a fake self that satisfies the whole world, there’ll be one person that’ll always get left out: me.

“What is meant to be yours will find you through any excuse.

My heart, understand that there is nothing in your control.

You just swirl (let it go)”

If you believe in a divine power, here, Tu Jhoom will completely transcend you to another level of contentment.

My faith tells me that everything happens with God’s will. There is a higher power that decides the fate, and Who loves me more than anything. The only thing He has asked me to do is to try and pray. And when I have tried enough, do I not believe that I have done my part? When I pray, do I not believe that I am praying to Someone who listens? Or do I not believe that God has control over everything?

When I have done my part, I should have faith that God will do His. What is meant to be mine will find its way to me. If I look towards my life, all the good things that happened to me have really found me, sometimes even through ways that I never imagined.

I don’t control anything. It’s God that has power over all. If I believe that, and once I have done the efforts that I can do, the only thing remaining is to pray, believe, and relax.

My heart, now you just swirl.

“I am not in my right mind, I don’t know anything.

I am intoxicated with serenity, I don’t know anything.

I am content with myself.”

This is almost the end of Tu Jhoom, and this part talks about the message that we desperately need.  

In our society, right from childhood, our thoughts are shaped through questions of other people. We are molded to think about “What would people say?” to make our every decision. It translates to the clothes we wear, the way we express our emotions, and the way we connect with people.

In our friendships, we are made to think about the benefits we are getting from others, not the happiness we are deriving from that relationship. In our connections, we seek people who are “worth” something to us; who might help us grow.

It even translates into the way we connect to God. We are not taught to seek God. We are taught to “display” our piousness to people. The simplest of actions that we are doing for God, instead become for the satisfaction of people.

The worst part, we are not allowed to rebel against these superficial ideas.

If I make a friend who makes me happy by being their honest self and allows me to show my honest self, the society doesn’t accept it. I am asked to measure this friendship by how much motivation do I get to do something extraordinary, or how this person can educate me or groom me to be more perfect for the society.

Worse, if I try to find God through means that are not showcased enough for other people, they will question why I am not doing these “normal” things. Therefore, my journey in religion becomes superficial and dependent upon actions rather than beliefs.

So what do I do when I get surrounded by these questions?

Answer, “I don’t know anything.”

Second question, “Are you mad?”

Answer, “Oh yes! Absolutely. I am completely out of my mind. I am so content with myself that I am intoxicated with this contentment.”  

“Whom the eyes of the lover (God) share the secret (of existence) with,

Why shouldn’t they feel pride for their good fortune?”

Ending the song on a high note, these lines are borrowed from a ghazal of Hasrat Mohani.

When I reflect on this song and the serenity it provides, I also find myself feeling a little bit guilty about having such rebellious thoughts. Am I being too religious? Or am I being too liberal? But do I need to really connect to a group to be happy? No, I only need to do what is right without the worry of connecting it to an ideology.

I also ask myself, is this my pride that is making me think about my happiness and not the happiness others want for me? But when I see the blessings of God around me, I find myself being happy at the idea of letting go. Then, there’s nothing wrong with feeling proud and thankful to God for receiving yet another of His generous blessing.

This is how the song made me feel. I would love to know your interpretation and feelings when hearing this song. Let me know in the comments below. Meanwhile, enjoy the translation that I’ve done for you to enjoy the lyrics.

Line-by-line Translation of Lyrics

Peera nu main seenay laawan – I embrace pain

Tay main huns di jaawan. – And I laugh all the way.

Dhuppan de naal larh larh kay main labbian apniyan chaavan. – I find my shade by fighting with the glaring sun light.

Dukh vi apnay, sukh vi apnay – All the happiness is mine and so is the sadness.

Main tay bus ye jaarhan – I only know this.

Sub nu samajh kay ki kerna hay? – Why do I need to understand everything?

Dil nu aye sumjhaawan – I tell my heart

Tu jhoom, jhoom, jhoom, jhoom – Just swirl (let it go)

Main diwaani, kuch na jaarhan – I am not in my right mind, I don’t know anything.

Must ho kay gaawan, – I just sing in my madness,

Duniya raazi kEr kay kumlay – Even if you make the whole world happy my dear,

Phir bhi chain nai aana. – You still won’t find peace.

Saari khushiyaan mil jaawan tay – Even if I find all the happiness,

Peechay ki reh jaarhan? – What will remain behind?

Teray bus main kuch vi nai ay – There is nothing in your control.

Dil nu aye sumjhaavan. – I tell my heart.

Tu jhoom, jhoom, jhoom, jhoom – Just swirl (let it go)

Main raazi apni zaat ton – I am content with my self.

Main uttay apni aukaat ton – I am well above my (previously assumed) worth.

Aye duniya meri fikr nai – This world is not my concern.

Main sumajh gaey her baat nu. – I now understand everything.

Ki kerna aye uchiyan shaana nu? – What would I do with a high status?

Ki hath lagana asmaana nu? – Why do I need to touch the sky?

Main huns day hans day hay jeena – I want to live my life content and happy.

Main nikal gaey gumaana tun – I came out of my contemplation.

Main tay mere wergaiyyan ki, – I reflect upon my inner self.

Khud kolo shermaana. – Why should I shy away from my self.

Duniya raazi ker vi laieye – Even if I make the whole world happy.

Phir vi chain nai aana – I still woudn’t find peace.

Jo hai tera lub jaaeyga, – Whatever is meant to be yours will be yours,

Ker kay koi bahaana – Through any excuse.

Teray bus main kuch vi nai aye – There is nothing in your control.

Dil nu aye sumjhaavan. – I tell my heart.

Tu jhoom, jhoom, jhoom, jhoom – Just swirl (let it go)

Main diwaani, kuch na jaarhan – I am not in my right mind, I don’t know anything.

Main mustani, kuch na jaarhan – I am intoxicated, I don’t know anything.

Main raazi apni zaat ton – I am content with my self.

Nigaah-e-yar jisay aashna-raaz karay – Whom the eyes of the lover (God) share the secret (of existence) with,

Wo apni khubi-e-qismat pay kiyoon na naaz keray? – How could he/she not take pride in his blessed fortune?

Tu jhoom – Just swirl (let it go)

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