Where did the boats come from? O Ranjha
my trader in love?
Where did the boatmen come from? O Ranjha
my trader in love?

My mother used to sing this
lost song of Pothohar
I recall the boats would come
from Jhelum
and the boatmen
from Attock

My mother had seen Attock
and spent her childhood in Jhelum
For me these are just two
names of rivers and towns
lost somewhere in the Punjab
across the barbed wire

If the boats came they must have
gone somewhere too
I cannot recall the destination
mentioned in the song
Mother is no longer there
or I would ask her
Never mind, I will ask Ranjha
my trader in love
if I come across him
somewhere along:

Where have the boats gone, O Ranjha
my trader in love?
Where have the boatmen gone, O Ranjha
my trader in love?