"Jeevay jeevay", "Sohni Dharti" and "Dil dil Pakistan"

The lyrics of the three songs “Sohni Dharti”, “Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan” and “Dil dil Pakistan”, at the time of their release, were reflective of the broader socio-political situation in Pakistan and the surrounding region. Both, “Sohni Dhari” and “Jeevai Jeevai” were released in the 70s, soon after Pakistan had faced two major wars with its neighbor and had lost its eastern wing. Both these songs thus, impart the message of solidarity, unity and patriotism. In “Jeevay jeevay Pakistan”, the lyricist refers to the partition and reminds the listener of the sacrifices made in the name of this country when he writes, “bikhray howoon ko bichray howoon ko , ik markaz pay laya”. By doing so, the lyricist tries to answer the long standing question of the purpose of Pakistan and of whether India should have been partitioned at all. 

 “Sohni Dharti” was written in a similar vein, the lyrics reading as a prayer for the nation. The lines “jab tuk hai yeh dunya baaqi hum dakhain aazaad tujhay, sohni darti Allah rakhay qadam qadam aabaad tujhay” are a reaction to not only the wars with India that Pakistan had just gone through but also to the existential crises Pakistan faced immediately after partition, a crises which it had not completely put behind itself. The line “tera har ik zarrah hum ko apni jaan se pyara” tries to inculcate the idea of sacrifice of the individual for the good of the nation in the listener, an idea which was very pertinent during that time.

In contrast to both of these songs, “Dil dil Pakistan” was released after a period of relative peace in the region and its lyrics are reflective of that. This song, released in 1989, during the early stages of the global revolution which had brought a new wave of globalization to Pakistan’s shores, featured 4 young men dressed in western clothes, playing western musical instruments, making music heavily influenced by western pop.