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Mama: Music

Kathakali Boy

(Mama)
Zoë Pollock (PRS) & Sarah McQuaid (IMRO)
“Kathakali” literally means “story-play” and is a form of classical dance from Kerala, India. Traditionally performed only by men, with female roles being played by men dressed as women, Kathakali involves elaborate makeup, each colour having a particular significance. In the past, Kathakali performances lasted all night and took place only in temple precincts and palaces. That’s now begun to change, as has the men-only rule.

Zoë: vocal, classical guitar
Sarah: vocal, steel-string guitar
Claimed by your calling before you were conceived
Already dancing before you learned to speak
Now you are teaching and I am at your feet
My heart is yearning and you are all I see

Oh Kathakali boy in the coloured lights
Oh Kathakali boy in the coloured lights

The rhythm of the drumming, the flickering of the lamp
All night ’til morning you worship with your dance
The beauty of a woman, the body of a man
Five hundred meanings in the movement of a hand

Oh Kathakali boy in the coloured lights
Oh Kathakali boy in the coloured lights

Green for the hero and yellow for his wife
Black for the hunter with eyes of red and white


An entertainer for princes and for gods
To be their pleasure, your reason and your cause
I am no better, the freedom I have sought
Confines me tighter than any prison lock

Oh Kathakali boy in the coloured lights
Oh Kathakali boy in the coloured lights