hey ek bakat ki baat bataaye ek bakat ki
jab sheher hamaaro so gayo tho raat gajab ki
hey ek bakat ki baat bataaye ek bakat ki
jab sheher hamaaro so gayo tho raat gajab ki
hey chahu or sab or disha se lali chaayi re
jugani naache chunar odhe khun nahaayi re
chahu or sab or disha se lali chaayi re
jugani naache chunar odhe khun nahaayi re
sab oro gullaal put gayo sab oro mein
hey sab oro gullaal put gayo vipda chhaayi re
jis raat gagan se khun ki baarish aayi re
jis raat sheher mein khun ki baarish aayi re
is raat gagan se khun ki baarish aayi re
jis raat sheher mein khun ki baarish aayi re

sarabor ho gayo sheher aur sarabor ho gayi dhara
sarabor ho gaya re jatha insaano ka bhara pada
sabhi jagat yeh puchhega jab itna sab kuch ho gayo
to sheher hamara kaay baay sa aankh mundke soye ro tho
o sheher yeh bolio nind gajab ki aisi aayi re
jis raat gagan se khun ki baarish aayi re
jis raat sheher mein khun ki baarish aayi re
jis raat sheher mein khun ki baarish aayi re

sannata viraana khaamoshi anjaani
zindagi leti hai karwatein tufaani ghirate hai saayein ghanere se
rukhe baalon ko bikhere se badhte hai andhere pishaacho se
kaanpe hai ji unke naacho se kahi pe woh juton ki khat khat hai
kahi pe alabon ki chatpat hai kahi pe hai jhingur ki aawaazein
kahi pe woh nalke ki tap tap hai
kahi pe woh khaali si khidaki hai
kahi woh andheri si chimani hai
kahi hilate pedon ka jaththa hai
kahi kuchh munderon pe rakha hai
hai re re re re re re ho ho ho sunsaan gali ke nukkad par jab
koyi kutta chikh chikh kar rota hai jab lamp post ki gandali pili gup
roshani me kuch kuch sa hota hai
jab koi saaya khud ko thoda bacha bacha
kar gum saayo me khota hai jab ulake khambo ko gaadi ka garm
ujaala dheeme dheeme dhota hai tab sheher hamara sota hai
tab sheher hamara sota hai tab sheher hamara sota hai
ho ho ho ho ho ho jab sheher hamara sota hai to
maalum tumko hai kya kya kya hota hai
idhar jagti hai laashe jinda ho murda udhar jindagi khota hai
idhar chinkhati hai ek haua khairati uss asptaal mein bifari si
haath mein uske agle hi pal garm maas ka narm lothada hota hai
idhar uthi hai takraare jismo ke jhatpat len den mein unchi si
udhar gaanv se rishte phunko
dur gujarati aankhein dekhe rukhi si
lekin usko leke rang birange mehalon mein gunjaayish hoti hai
nashe mein dube sehan se khunkaar
chutkulon ki paidaayish hoti hai adh nange jismo ki dekho lipi
puti si lagi numaaish hoti hai laar tapakte chehro ko kuchh
shaitani karne ki khwaaish hoti hai
woh puchhe hai hairaan ho kar
aisa sab kuchh hota hai kab woh batalao to unko
aisa tab tab tab hota hai jab sheher hamara sota hai
jab sheher hamara sota hai jab sheher hamara sota hai
ho ho ho ho ho

A tale unfolds, a time to tell, a singular time,
When our city slumbered, beneath a night sublime.
A tale unfolds, a time to tell, a singular time,
When our city slumbered, beneath a night sublime.
From every point, a crimson blush did gleam,
A Jugni danced, her veil blood-soaked, it would seem.
From every point, a crimson blush did gleam,
A Jugni danced, her veil blood-soaked, it would seem.

The vermillion stained all, a crimson hue,
A pall of sorrow, the world broke through.
That night the heavens bled, a crimson rain,
That night the city wept, in crimson pain.
That night the heavens bled, a crimson rain,
That night the city wept, in crimson pain.

The city drowned, the currents overflowed,
The mass of humanity, a heavy load.
The world will ask, when all was swept away,
Why did our city sleep, and blindly stay?
Oh city, speak, such slumber, a potent plea,
That night the heavens bled, for all to see,
That night the city wept, in crimson pain,
That night the city wept, in crimson pain.

Silence reigns, a desolation deep,
An unknown hush, while secrets sleep.
Life takes turns, in a tempestuous plight,
Shadows fall, in the fading light.
Tangled hair, a dishevelled plight,
Darkness swells, with shadows of the night.
Trembling souls, to their dances they sway,
Footsteps echo, where shadows play,
The crackling fires, a vibrant display,
Cricket's song, in the night's array,
The dripping tap, a mournful tear,
An empty window, filled with fear,
A darkened chimney, smoke so high,
Trees in motion, beneath the sky,
Something rests, on a silent wall.

He re re ho ho ho, on a desolate street, where shadows fall,
A dog howls out, a mournful call,
When a lamp's glow, a tarnished ray,
In yellow light, where secrets stay,
When a shade hides, with trembling grace,
Lost within shadows, in this forsaken place,
When a car's heat, its light takes hold,
Washing the pillars, in stories told,
Then our city sleeps, a world unknown,
Then our city sleeps, where shadows are sown,
Then our city sleeps, on a silent throne.
Ho ho ho ho ho ho, when our city sleeps,
Then know this, oh, what happens, what it keeps.

Here, the corpses awaken, the living dead arise,
There, life is lost, beneath darkened skies.
Here, a hag sneezes, in a hospital's cold grace,
In her hands, a warm, soft, fleshy space.
Here, disputes rise, in trades of the flesh,
There, from the villages, the eyes are a mess.
But carried to castles, in hues so bright,
In the stupor of drink, a dark delight,
From the drunken embrace, a dark, ferocious birth,
The exhibition of half-naked bodies on earth,
Drooling faces, with wicked intent,
They ask, with wonder, this time, heaven-sent,
When does all this, all this unfold?
It all happens, when our city grows cold,
When our city sleeps, the story's told,
When our city sleeps, in stories of old,
Ho ho ho ho ho.