Titli Lyrics – Sabba

The meaning behind the song “Titli” by Sabba, from the album “jawani”, honestly feels like a raw confession from the streets. You know, the concept and writing is all Sabba’s, with Speed Records producing it, and you can tell it comes from a real place. It’s not some polished studio fairytale, I mean. This whole track is basically a gritty portrait of a guy’s life, his loyalty, the struggles he faces, and this one girl he sees as this beautiful, almost untouchable thing in the middle of it all. It sets the scene right away, this world where respect is everything and your word is your bond, but there’s also this vulnerability he won’t admit to anyone except maybe in the lyrics.

Okay so if you dig into the verses, they’re kind of all over the place but in a good way, painting this full picture. This verse are about his crew, his “mittran,” and how they’re his whole life, 24/7. He talks about having no fear except for his parents, and how they don’t pick friends based on caste, which is a powerful line in there. There’s this defiance, like a warning to his enemies and this pride in his people. But then it gets personal—he references “Raanjha” waiting for 12 years, which is this classic Punjabi love story, hinting he’s been patient too, and even admits he’s cried over a broken heart. But the cool part? He says he never cut himself over a girl, which is this stark way of saying his pain runs deep but he’s not the type for dramatic, empty gestures. Later verses get even darker, talking about betrayal, people pretending to be friends but carrying knives behind their back, and the constant pressure of living a life where you have to prove yourself every single day.

Now, the chorus is where everything comes together, and man, it hits different. Let me try and break it down line by line. “ho dil luttu iljaam saadi aakh te kure ni” – He’s saying, okay, the charge of stealing hearts is right there in our eyes, go on and accuse us. It’s a confident, almost challenging boast. “je tu bahin ni oh dindi makkhi nak te kure” – This is a threat, like if you’re not his sister, he’ll swat you away like a fly off his nose, showing this protective, aggressive side. “assi dole utte baaj banvaaya jattiye ni je / tu titli banaai hoi aa lak te kure” – Here’s the core! He says we made hawks on our fists, but you, girl, were created as a butterfly on a branch. It’s this crazy contrast between his world of violence (the hawk) and her delicate, beautiful nature (the butterfly). “chaar panj ik shalaaru saathon machde kure” – The four or five of us together cause trouble, it’s about his tight crew. The rest, like bringing a new .45 bore horse and talking about slapping anyone who talks back, just reinforces that tough, ready-for-anything persona that surrounds this central image of the butterfly.

For me, the most unique and impactful lines have to be the butterfly and hawk ones: “assi dole utte baaj banvaaya jattiye ni je / tu titli banaai hoi aa lak te kure.” It’s just such a fascinating, poetic way to create a conflict. He’s saying his entire being, his dole (fists), are trained for power and predation like a hawk. But she exists in his world as this completely opposite, fragile creature of beauty—the titli (butterfly) on a branch. It captures that feeling of seeing someone as pure and separate from your own harsh reality, and maybe even feeling both protective and unworthy. The other line that gets me is “bhaave saawla hi rang taan vi nazron bachaave / bebe roz patti waar sutte agg vich ni.” It’s so heavy. He’s saying even if his complexion is dark, he saves his honor (his nazron), but his mother, she everyday reads her prayer scriptures and then sleeps right in the fire. That hits hard, man. It means despite all his outer toughness and street life, he guards his dignity, but his poor mother lives in constant, silent anxiety for him, immersed in the fire of worry every single day. That’s the real human cost right there.