Easy Peasy Alpha Notes: Suriram

"Suriram" or Soleram or Suliram (also known as Soreram, or Suriram) is a folk song that originated from Riau, Indonesia. Originally used as a lullaby song by Riau people in ancient times, this song known for its quiet and peaceful rhythm. Soleram song lyrics are quite short, melodious, and easy to remember.

The Soleram song is a lullaby song that contains messages that parents want to convey to their children at bedtime, including messages to protect their honor, messages to maintain their self-respect, and messages to maintain shame as their culture. Apart from that, Soleram also has lyrics that educate children to always connect the bonds of brotherhood and avoid division between groups. The song Soleram closes with a message to preserve the culture which reflects the identity of the Indonesian nation.

Soleram or Suliram was originally used as lullaby or cradle song by Riau people since c. 1400 CE. After Indonesia gained independence in 1945, the development of national songs and music started to rose, and Soleram or Suliram is one of the folk songs that caught the international interest, notably since The Weavers (an American folk music quartet) remake the song in 1949, and then later it was adapted by many singers and songwriters such as Pete Seeger and Miriam Makeba in 1960, and also by the local Indonesian music quartet such as Orkes Irama in 1965 and D'lloyd in 1970.

A rendering of this song was released by Miriam Makeba in 1960. She seems using a corrupted version of Malaysian lyrics, but it was stated that the song is an ‘Indonesian lullaby’.

Ulrich Maske included the song in his 2011 album Hoch am Himmel steht der Mond, and stated in the cover that it is an Indonesian traditional song.

Which one is the original? In Indonesia, all those varitions (Soleram/Suriram) exist, so no matter which one is original, all are Indonesian songs. I don’t know the thing in Malaysia, is there any variation of this song? Not that modern render of Faizal Tahir, though.

Regardless of the originality, I agree that the song belongs to the Malays. And ethnic Malay is part of both Indonesian and Malaysian, so it is no surprise that we share the song.

To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!

Lyrics:

1. Libat burung berkicau kicauan Suriram

Memuja dipagi hari suriram

Bahgia hidup jika berkawan sayang

aman dan damai kekal Abadi

Chorus:

Suriram ram ram suriram

suriramku yang manis

oaduhai suriram

sayang putih kuning dipandang manis

2. Budak-budak duduk di jembatan