This blog is dedicated to the amateur or beginner musician with music written in a simple and easy to read Alpha Notes format and with Chords for the left hand. This is to assist those with little or hardly at all note reading skills. This is a blog that shows all the chords in Alpha Notes format too which you can find the notes for the chords in one of the blogs. Please feel free to leave a comment or any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy!
Today's hymn can be downloaded here. This is written by Isaac Watts and the music by Thomas A. Arne. For more information, look here, here and here. Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Thank you and God Bless.
Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follow’r of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His name?
Must I be carried to the skies
On flow’ry beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?
Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?
Sure I must fight if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord;
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.
Thy saints in all this glorious war
Shall conquer, though they die;
They see the triumph from afar,
By faith’s discerning eye.
When that illustrious day shall rise,
And all Thy armies shine
In robes of vict’ry through the skies,
The glory shall be Thine.
Today's hymn can be downloaded here. This is another hymn written by Isaac Watts and the music by Lowell Mason. For more information look here, here and here. Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Thank you and God Bless.
1 God is the refuge of his saints,
When storms of sharp distress invade;
Ere we can offer our complaints,
Behold him present with his aid.
2 Let mountains from their seats be hurled
Down to the deep, and buried there,
Convulsions shake the solid world,
Our faith shall never yield to fear.
3 Loud may the troubled ocean roar;
In sacred peace our souls abide,
While ev'ry nation, ev'ry shore,
Trembles, and dreads the swelling tide.
4 There is a stream whose gentle flow
Supplies the city of our God;
Life, love, and joy, still gliding through,
And wat'ring our divine abode.
5 That sacred stream, thy holy Word,
Our grief allays, our fear controls;
Sweet peace thy promises afford,
And give new strength to fainting souls.
6 Zion enjoys her Monarch's love,
Secure against a threat'ning hour;
Nor can her firm foundations move,
Built on his truth, and armed with pow'r.
Today's hymn can be downloaded here. This is another hymn written by Isaac Watts and the music by John Hatton. For more information, look here and here. Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Thank you and God Bless!
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
Behold the islands with their kings,
And Europe her best tribute brings;
From north to south the princes meet,
To pay their homage at His feet.
There Persia, glorious to behold,
There India shines in eastern gold;
And barbarous nations at His word
Submit, and bow, and own their Lord.
To Him shall endless prayer be made,
And praises throng to crown His head;
His name like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.
People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His name.
Blessings abound where’er He reigns;
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blessed.
Where He displays His healing power,
Death and the curse are known no more:
In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.
Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honors to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud amen!
Today's hymn can be downloaded here. This hymn words were written by Isaac Watts and the music is a traditional English melody. For more information, look here, here and here. Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Thank you and God Bless.
1 We sing the mighty power of God
that made the mountains rise,
that spread the flowing seas abroad
and built the lofty skies.
We sing the wisdom that ordained
the sun to rule the day;
the moon shines full at his command,
and all the stars obey.
2 We sing the goodness of the Lord
that filled the earth with food;
he formed the creatures with his word
and then pronounced them good.
Lord, how your wonders are displayed,
where'er we turn our eyes,
if we survey the ground we tread
or gaze upon the skies.
3 There's not a plant or flower below
but makes your glories known,
and clouds arise and tempests blow
by order from your throne;
while all that borrows life from you
is ever in your care,
and everywhere that we can be,
you, God, are present there.
Today we go back to hymns and this can be downloaded here. This hymns word were written by Isaac Watts and the music by Hugh Wilson. For more information look here and here. Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Thank you and God Bless!
Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I?
[originally, For such a worm as I?]
Refrain
At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!
Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, Thine—
And bathed in its own blood—
While the firm mark of wrath divine,
His Soul in anguish stood.
Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!
Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker died,
For man the creature’s sin.
Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears.
But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give my self away
’Tis all that I can do.
Today's Malay folksong can be downloaded here. Malay folklorerefers to a series of knowledge, traditions and taboos that have been passed down through many generations in oral, written and symbolic forms among the indigenous populations ofMaritime Southeast Asia(Nusantara). They include among others, themes and subject matter related to the indigenous knowledge of theethnic Malaysand related ethnic groups within the region.
The stories within this system of lore often incorporate supernatural entities and magical creatures which form parts of the Malay mythology. Others relate to creation myths and place naming legends that are often inter-twined with historical figures and events. Ancient rituals for healing and traditional medicine as well as complex philosophies regarding health and disease can also be found.
The oral forms of this lore are transmitted primarily through nursery rhymes, folksongs, theatrical exhibitions, and stories that are commonly told from parent to child. Nomadic storytellers that would roam the temples, marketplaces and palace courts also play a large part in the insemination of the oral traditions throughout the populace, often accompanied by music as well through forms of composed poetry and prose. The oral traditions are often integrated with moral values and some may also include stories of talking animals.
Of all the types of oral transmission, those in the form of music appear to be most prevalent in Malay society. Songs and melodies from times of old are sung and resung on a regular basis during festivities such as weddings, celebrations of motherhood and childbirth, rites of passage, and at cultural or religious celebrations. They are also utilized in the occasional ceremonial functions in royal weddings, in rites of ascension (or coronation) and royal birthday celebrations; in the form of the more refined court music.
Every region or each of the states may employ different versions of oral transmission but the most popular is in the form of folk-singing or lagu rakyat. The Middle Eastern-influenced ghazal can be heard in the southern Malaysian state of Johor especially in the district of Muar. Poets and singers consisting of often females and sometimes males vocalize popular love poems and riddles in the form of pantun to the accompaniment of composition and of music made for a six-stringed Arabian lute (see oud), Indian tablas, Western violins, accordion and marracas.
Forms of nursery rhymes and lullabies are also sung at weddings and cultural festivals in the state of Melaka by Malays and the Malay-speaking Peranakan communities. The contents of the songs are mostly to do with advice on love, life, and marriage and are affectionately known in Malay as dondang sayang meaning "song of love".
Within each of these folk-songs, messages and stories are told, a kind of informal handing down of wisdom from the old to the young in the form of poetry which may include any of these:
Pantun – a poem with four stanzas, two of each rhyme with each other
Syair – a poem also with four stanzas, with all ends rhyming together
Seloka – a poem, similar to pantun
Madah – a kind of rhyming speech, a discourse through poetry
The Malay oral tradition includes a large collection of folksongs. Many of these songs are in the form of stories weaved into poetry or simple rhyme. These folksongs continue to be sung and a sizable number of them are included in the albums of modern-day singers, often with improvisations in terms of melody and more complex musical arrangements to suit a larger accompaniment of musicians as well as singers.
A number of these folksongs originally belong to a certain region within Southeast Asia and are sung by the populations within the area. However, due to the nature of inter-mingling and mutual co-migrations within these areas, the folksongs may also be heard in places far from their original geographic origins.
Stories of love and romance of princes and princesses, kings and queens, and heroes and their damsels in distress (and often, damsels and their heroes in distress) have long filled the imaginations of ethnic Malays. The fact that numerous royal courts existed and still exist in Southeast Asia supplied the basis of the stories. Although many of these tales are replete with additions (or reductions) and may contain a certain measure of exaggeration as well as the expected variations that existed from one story teller to another, the value and the wisdom behind each story cannot be ignored.
These stories are often told by professional story tellers called penglipur lara, which roughly translates to reliever of sorrows. The few penglipur lara that exist today are often farmers or at least rural villagers. In the past, travelling penglipur lara would carry the stories from one kampung (village) to another, making the occasional stops at marketplaces, village squares as well as royal courts. The essence of the stories remain the same but sometimes, adjustments are made according to the individual story-teller's preference. For example, the penglipur lara version of the Ramayana changes many of the names and settings and casts Laksmana as a pawang or Malay shaman, as opposed to the literary Hikayat Seri Rama or the theatrical Hikayat Maharaja Wana which remained closer to the original Indian epic.
Many of these stories are also condensed and made into poetic songs. A fixed melody is set for each story to the extent that if a melody is played or sung in the absence of its wordings, a Malay would be able to instantly recall the title of the story or at least the name of the characters in the story.
Animal fables are often used to explain certain natural phenomena. Other times, they are simple moral tales. In almost all instances, the animals in these stories possess the ability to speak, reason and think like humans, similar to Aesop's Fables.
The kancil or mouse-deer serves as the main character in a number of the stories. The Malays regard this humble animal in the highest esteem due to its ability to overcome obstacles and defeat adversaries despite of its rather small and benign appearance. The mouse-deer appears in the state herald of Melaka and even plays a part in the legend of Malacca's founding.
Below are listed some of the common fables as well as their approximate title translations. (Note that the word sang, an Old Malay honorific meaning "revered", appears in all instances preceding the name kancil to indicate respect).
Malays, as with other Southeast Asians, have always taken great interest in stories of ghosts and spirits. It must be stressed that due to the animistic root of Malay folklore, these ghosts are seen as sharing the plane of existence with humans and are not always considered evil. However, when the delicate line that separates the boundaries of existence is crossed, or a transgression of living spaces occurs, a conflict ensues that may result in disturbances such as possessions.
The Malay word for ghost is hantu. However, this word also covers all sorts of demons, goblins and undead creatures and are thought to have real physical bodies, instead of just apparitions or spectres. The most famous of these is the pontianak or matianak, the ghost of a female stillborn child which lures men in the form of a beautiful woman.
Malay folklore that appear as written traditions are often called hikayat, kisah or dongeng. The oldest of them were written in Old Malay using the prevailing scripts of the time, such as Sanskrit, Pallava or Kawi. From around the 14th century onward, they were written in Classical Malay using Jawi script which prevailed ever since the arrival of Islam until the colonial era. During this time, the Malay royal courts became the centre for learning where scribes record the genealogy of kings and queens as well as historical events.
The hikayat or epics are collections of stories and legends of heroism that often involve mythological and historical figures in a setting usually engaging the role of protagonists and antagonists. The Hikayat Hang Tuah and the story of Hang Jebat are among the most well known hikayat which are often told and retold in various forms such children's books, films, theatre plays and musical productions. The choice of who were to be portrayed as the protagonists and who were to be portrayed as the antagonists usually lies with the alignment of the storyteller, although most commonly, bards tend to maintain a stance of neutrality and dispassion in their story telling. In the stories of Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat for example, the lawful Hang Tuah may be portrayed as the hero, while sometimes, the non-lawful Hang Jebat may assume that role.
Kisah dongeng are a loose collection of bedtime stories, fables and myths that involves human or non-human characters, often with superhuman powers along with talking animals, and an unearthly setting.
In this category, the story of Puteri Gunung Ledang, Bawang Putih Bawang Merah and Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup is well known by the Malays. All three have been made into movies, albeit with differing interpretations and settings.
Characters with human-likeness abound in these stories. They are collectively referred to as orang halus meaning the "refined folk" or "soft folk" (often erroneously translated as "elves"). Most are invisible to the average human.
Apart from the stories and songs, Malay folklore also includes traditions, rituals and taboos related to the physical as well as the more metaphysical realms of the Malay world view. Such knowledge are usually presented in the forms of symbols and signs inscribed or built into temple walls, palaces, houses and often appear on stone inscriptions as well as grave markers. Natural symbolism are also important such as flowers, trees, animals, the sea as well as celestial objects such as the moon and stars. Malays also have knowledge of a series of constellations that are markedly different from the Indian system upon which it is based. Object symbolism such as wood carvings of animals, ancestral images, mythical beings and masks are also common in Malay society.
Symbolic forms of folklore are usually the domains of the spirits and are therefore sometimes employed by the traditional healers and shamans. The Malays have been known to employ supernatural forces for healing as well as in the aiding of child-birth, the curing of poisons and in the warding off of spirits. Due to the Islamization movement of recent decades, these practices are not very well-documented in Malay, but have been recorded in some Western sources. Thank you and God Bless!
Gelang si paku gelang
Gelang si rama-rama
Mari pulang, marilah pulang
Marilah pulang, Bersama-sama
(Translation)
Creepers and ferns
Creepers, the butterflies
Go home, let’s go home
Let’s go home, together
Gelang si paku gelang
Gelang di Singapura
Jangan suka mengata orang
Diri sendiri baik dijaga
(Translation)
Creepers and ferns
Creepers and ferns of Singapore
Do not criticise others
Be mindful of your own behaviour
Gelang si paku Gelang
Gelang di Ulu Pandan
Jangan suka mengata orang
Akibat nanti binasa badan
(Translation)
Creepers and ferns
Creepers and ferns of Ulu
Pandan
Do not criticise others
Later results in destroying others
Today's Malay song can be downloaded here. Di Tanjung Katong is a marriage of song and poetry. This is not just a song that reminisces about Tanjong Katong. The lyrics comprise pantuns, a literary form which originated in Malaysia and is commonly used to express love. For more information, look here and here. Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Thank you and God Bless!
P.S. I happen to find this really interesting article by Alfisn Sa'at on Facebook which I have copied and pasted here. Enjoy!
If you don’t already know, the lyrics to the folk song ‘Di Tanjong Katong’ is composed of pantuns. These classic pantuns, passed down as oral literature, were then set to music. The composer was Osman Ahmad, who worked at the Shaw Brothers Malay Film Productions studio. (Zubir Said himself was a composer with the Cathay-Keris studios). The melody of ‘Di Tanjong Katong’ is itself rather unconventional, because it begins with the up-tempo chorus, followed by the slower verse.
For my non-Malay-speaking friends, here’s an elucidation of the pantuns:
1) Di Tanjong Katong, airnya biru,
Di situ tempatnya dara jelita;
Duduk sekampung, lagikan rindu,
Kononlah pula nun jauh di mata.
At Tanjong Katong, the waters are blue,
That is the place to find pretty maidens;
We live in the same village, yet I pine for you,
What more if you’re beyond my eyes’ reach.
‘Tanjong’ (updated spelling after the 1972 spelling reform is ‘tanjung’) is ‘headland’ or ‘cape’, which is the part of the coastline that extends into the water. From ‘tanjung’ we get the word ‘semenanjung’, which is a peninsula (a very large headland!). ‘Katong’ (updated spelling is ‘katung’) is the leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). ‘Cape of Turtles’ then.
Interesting to note that P. Ramlee’s song ‘Nak Dara Rindu’ (Lovelorn Maiden) also contains this pantun (with a different melody). The lyrics vary slightly, but the main difference is the second line, which is rendered as ‘Tempat mandi nak dara jelita’ (The bathing place of pretty maidens). Other versions are:
‘Tempat orang bermain mata’ (The place where eyes flirt)
‘Di situlah tempat mencuci mata’ (The place where people ‘wash eyes’)
So quite obviously Tanjong Katong was a seaside promenade that was conducive to serious ogling and amorous encounters. :)
2) Pulau Pandan jauh ke tengah,
Gunung Daik bercabang tiga;
Hancur badan dikandung tanah,
Budi yang baik dikenang jua.
Pulau Pandan is far away in the middle of the sea,
Mount Daik has three peaks;
The body crumbles in the earth’s womb,
But good character is always remembered.
‘Pulau’ is ‘island’ and quite likely Pulau Pandan was named because of the abundance of pandan plants in the area. It is actually not very far from Singapore; it lies southwest of Singapore, near the island of Karimun, which was the island Raffles considered as a port before he traveled on to Singapore.
Mount Daik, on the other hand, is situated on the island of Lingga, which lies south of Singapore, further south than the Riau archipelago islands Batam and Bintan. Indeed it has three peaks, thus named from tallest to lowest: Daik, Pejantan (‘male’) and Cindai Menangis (while ‘cindai’ is used to refer to a type of textile, the term ‘si cindai’ also means ‘pontianak’. It is possible then that this name means ‘the crying pontianak’). The name ‘Lingga’ is from ‘lingam’, the Sanskrit word for phallus, and is in reference to Mount Daik’s highest peak.
Of course Singapore was once part of the Johor-Riau-Lingga empire, before the British and Dutch dismembered it and created artificial boundaries. The native inhabitants of Riau and Lingga speak a ‘pure’ form of Malay (instead of the ‘baku’ pronunciation of Bahasa Indonesia) and in some areas actually pepper their conversation with pantuns that have been committed to memory. The ‘Sijori’ (Singapore-Johor-Riau) Growth Triangle project, unfortunately, has mutual economic exploitation as its primary motive, and is therefore silent on the question of cultural re-integration.
3) Kalau ada jarum yang patah,
Jangan disimpan dalam peti;
Kalau ada silap sepatah,
Jangan disimpan di dalam hati.
If there is a broken needle,
Don’t keep it in the wooden chest;
If there is a wound caused by words,
Don’t let it fester in your heart.
The song as a whole seems to consist of two disparate parts: the chorus speaks of distance and longing, but the verses are of a morally didactic nature. I have a feeling that the ‘Tanjong Katong’ pantun was chosen simply because of its reference to a place in Singapore. There is, however, a version of ‘Di Tanjong Katong’, sung by Kartina Dahari, where the pantuns curated for the verses match the chorus in terms of sentiment; this one I prefer for its consistent--and insistent--through-line on romantic yearning:
1) Kalau tidak kelapa puan,
Tidak puan kelapa bali;
Harap hanya pada tuan,
Kalau tak tuan siapa lagi?
If I can’t have the young coconut,
Then give me the oil palm fruit;
I can only put my hopes in you,
If not you then who else can it be?
2) Kiri jalan kanan pun jalan,
Di tengah pohon melati;
Kirim jangan pesan pun jangan,
Kalaulah rindu datang sendiri.
Walk on the left and the right as well,
In the middle, a jasmine shrub;
Don’t send me letters or messages,
If you miss me then send your self to me.
3) Putik pauh delima batu,
Genggam di dalam tangan;
Tuan jauh berbatu-batu,
Hilang dipandang di hati jangan.
The Malaysian mango bud, the pomegranate,
Grasp them tightly in your hand;
You are miles and miles away,
Your eyes may lose me but not your heart.
Today's Indonesian folk song can be downloaded here. "Lenggang lenggang kangkung" means swaying water spinach. For more information, look here, here and here. Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Thank you and God Bless.
Indonesian
Lenggang Lenggang KangKung
Lenggang lenggang kangkung
Kangkung di tepi sawah
x2
Balik dari menabung
Makan ubi dengan kelapa
x2
Lenggang lenggang kangkung
Kangkung tepi telaga
x2
Balik dari menyabung
Makan nasi sahaja
x2
Lenggang lenggang kangkung Ah
x2
Lenggang......
English translation
Swaying, Swaying (like a) Water Spinach
Swaying, Swaying (like a) Water Spinach
Swaying, swaying (like a) Water Spinach
The water Spinach by paddy field
x2
Came back from the bank
Eat tapioca with coconut
x2
Swaying, swaying (like a) Water Spinach
The water Spinach by the well
x2
Came back from cock fighting
Eat plain rice only
x2
Today's Malay folk song can be downloaded here. The word "Nona" means young lady. The song seems to be about how bold young ladies have become these days compared to earlier times. This song was composed by Singaporean, Yusof B., in the late 1940s. Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Thank you and God Bless!
Lyrics by Yusof B.
Nona-nona jaman sekarang
tak boleh ditegur,
tak boleh dilarang
bajunya pendek,
bertambahlah jarang
itu menjadi hati gembira
First Verse:
nona jangan bikin keliru
tidakla kenal cina melayu
pipinya merah pula disapu
sekarang sudah jadi tak tentu .
Second Verse:
dalam dunia banyak musuhan
yang non dibuat perkara yang sopan
dalam dunia banyak penggoda
banyak yang jadi rusak binasa
Literal Translation
About the ladies of today's generation:
Don't comment
Nor forbid them.
Their blouses are short
And more transparent
That make hearts flutter
(Make hearts happy).
First Verse:
Ladies don't confuse us
Unrecognizable if chinese or malay
Cheeks are red and painted too
Causing much bewilderment.
Second Verse:
In this world of aggression
Ladies, be more careful
Or be teased, bothered
And fall into disrepute.
Today's Malay children's song can be downloaded here. This song is about jumping frogs. For more information, look here and here. Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Thank you and God Bless.
Today's Malay song can be downloaded here. "Dayung sampan" means Row the Boat. The tune was used for The Chinese film, Comrades: Almost a Love Story, for the song named Tiánmìmì (甜蜜蜜, literally "very sweet") is a 1979 Mandarin Chinese song by Teresa Teng. For more information, look here, here and here. Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Thank you and God Bless.
Today's Malay folk song can be downloaded here. This song happens to be about goats. Yes, you read correctly. This song is known as one of Singapore's patriotic songs. For more information, look here, here and here. Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Thank you and God Bless!
Di mana dia anak kambing saya?
Anak kambing saya yang makan daun talas
Di mana dia buah hati saya?
Buah hati saya bagai telur dikupas
Chorus:
Chan mali chan, chan mali chan,
Chan mali chan, ketipung payung
Chan mali chan, chan mali chan,
Chan mali chan, ketipung payung
Di mana dia anak kambing tuan?
Anak kambing tuan di atas jambatan
Yang mana dia bunga pujaan?
Si bunga tanjung dihujung dahan
Repeat Chorus
Kalau nak tahu anak kambing saya
Anak kambing saya di dalam bilik
Kalau nak tahu intan payung saya
Intan payung saya yang kecil lah molek
Di mana dia anak kambing tuan?
Anak kambing tuan yang bulunya kuning
Yang mana dia buah hati tuan?
Buah hati tuan yang putih lah kuning
Today's Malay children's song can be downloaded here. "Burung kakak tua" means Cockatoo. For more information, look here, here and here. Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Thank you and God Bless!
Burung Kakak tua
Children's Song
(Malay)
Burung kakak tua
Hinggap di jendela
Nenek sudah tua
Giginya tinggal dua
Lechum Lechum Lechum
Mu la la
Lechum Lechum Lechum
Mu la la
Lechum Lechum Lechum
Mu la la
Burung Kakak Tua.
Cuckatoo, Oh Cuckatoo
Children's Song
(English)
Cuckatoo, oh Cuckatoo,
Perching by itself,
Grandma has turned so grey*,
Has only two teeth left.
Lechum Lechum Lechum
Mu la la
Lechum Lechum Lechum
Mu la la
Lechum Lechum Lechum
Mu la la
Cuckatoo, oh cuckatoo.
Today's Indonesian folk song can be downloaded here. This folk song is about a famous river named Solo in Indonesia which flows through central and eastern Java, Indonesia and is that island's longest. The song describes the legendary river in a poetic and nostalgic way, that it is surrounded by mountains, its sources are near the city of Surakarta, that it ends in the sea. For more information, look here and here. Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Thank you and God Bless!
Bengawan Solo Riwayatmu ini Sedari dulu jadi... Perhatian insani
Musim kemarau Tak seberapa airmu Dimusim hujan air.. Meluap sampai jauh
Mata airmu dari Solo Terkurung gunung seribu Air meluap sampai jauh Dan akhirnya ke laut
Itu perahu Riwayatnya dulu Kaum pedagang selalu... Naik itu perahu
(With Translation)
Bengawan Solo Solo River Riwayatmu ini This is your story Sedari dulu jadi Have been since earliest times Perhatian insani Of sentient attention
Musim kemarau In the dry season Tak seb'rapa airmu Your water is not much Di musim hujan, air In the rainy season, water Meluap sampai jauh Spills reaching far distances
Chorus: Mata airmu dari Solo Your water springs forth from Solo Terkurung gunung seribu Caged by a thousand mountains Air mengalir sampai jauh Water flows to reach far distances Akhirnya ke laut Eventually to the sea
Itu perahu Those boats Riwayatnya dulu In the past Kaum pedagang s'lalu The merchant folk had always Naik itu perahu Sailed in those boats
