Yogya in grief

[layne67]

My heart goes to the people of Yogyakarta. More than five thousand dead. My prayers and thoughts are with you.

A friend pointed out this song to me when the tsunami occured in December 2004. It is sung by an Indonesian singer Ebiet. Meaningful, sad lyrics. Beautiful song.

Berita Kepada Kawan. Roughly translated it means 'News for a Friend'

Here's the English translation of the song though I don't think I did the original song justice. Maybe i_o_r_h_a_e_l or ilyria_novia can come up with better words?



A sad journey
It’s a pity that you’re not here my friend
Lots of tales that you should see for yourself
On an arid, stony land

My body shook along the rocky road
My heart trembles to see the desiccated grass
This journey is like a witness to the little shepherd crying with sadness

Friend please listen to his reply
When I asked him why his father, his mother died a long time ago
Swollen by the tragedy of this land
When I reach the sea I tell it all
To the corals to the waves
To the sun
But they are silent
But they are mute
I am left alone
Looking at the sky
Maybe the answer is there
Why tragedy happens on my land
Maybe God is tired with us
Mistakes and sins
Or the world refuses
To be our friend
Lets us ask the waving grass

ETA : Thanks ilyria_novia

Comments

[suzy-74.livejournal.com]

Awful news. My prayers and thoughts are with them.

Beautiful song. *hugs*

[mother2012.livejournal.com]

It's horrible. Am I wrong that we (the world) are having more and bigger natural disasters?

And are we truly learning to help each other?

[aprilkat.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting this beautify song.

My heart aches for those in that part of the world.

[i-o-r-h-a-e-l.livejournal.com]

That was absolutely perfect already, Layne. My eyes got teary as I read it, and I will of course download it.

Thank you very much for your attention to what happened here. *hugs you so tight*

[layne67.livejournal.com]

Yes, beautiful song isn't it. The first time I heard it I felt like crying. That was right after the tsunami and now this.

[layne67.livejournal.com]

Bigger hurricanes, bigger and more frequent eartquakes, not to mention all those floods and volcanoes. Makes you appreciate life a lot more, doesn't it?

[layne67.livejournal.com]

The saddest part is seeing the babies ...

[irmystica.livejournal.com]

It's simply devastating.

(hey, need your email address. i have a question to ask)

[layne67.livejournal.com]

Sure. It's on my info page and my email is visible to friends only. This post is not locked and I'm kind of nervous that my nieces/nephews will guess that this journal belong to their aunt :-)

*waits*

[layne67.livejournal.com]

You sure the words are okay? I thought that falling rocks and waving grass bits sound a little bit wierd. But ah - Tubuhku terguncang dihempas batu jalanan and Coba kita bertanya pada rumput yang bergoyang are so beautiful in its original form. I love Ebiet. I love D'Lloyd too :-)

[irmystica.livejournal.com]

Ah ok, no wonder I couldnt see it!

[i-o-r-h-a-e-l.livejournal.com]

Ah. Your words made me forget the real lyrics yet they did say something.

That's okay. More than okay.

D'Lloyd? I kinda forget their songs. But there is one song that keeps playing in my head right now, I hope you can help, for words' sake I can't remember the singer!

Selamat jalan kekasih
Kejarlah cita-cita
Jangan ragu untuk melangkah...

... rintik hujan yang tak henti menemani
Sunyinya malam ini
Sejak dirimu jauh dari pelukan...

Ring a bell?

[layne67.livejournal.com]

You have to sing it my Shinta! C'mon, I wanna hear your voice :-)

[layne67.livejournal.com]

You should be able to see it after you log on!

[starlit-woods.livejournal.com]

That's a beautiful sad song, thank you for posting it. It really is such sad news isn't it? My mum told me they found a four day old baby with cuts and scratches and a broken arm, and no parents :(

[layne67.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's the little ones that really get to me. Orphaned at such a tender age. Poor baby.

[i-o-r-h-a-e-l.livejournal.com]

Ha! :D

But you haven't told me the singer.

[layne67.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately I have no idea who the singer is. But if I can hear the tune. Most of the time when I listen to a song I hardly get the lyrics :-(

[i-o-r-h-a-e-l.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's okay...

Now, hear me sing...

:)

[i-o-r-h-a-e-l.livejournal.com]

I got it!

http://www.lyricsandsongs.com/song/632098.html

[illyria-novia.livejournal.com]

Um... Perhaps this verse

Tubuhku berguncang, dihempas batu jalanan
My body shook along the rocky road (you can change the word 'rocky' in the first verse with 'stony' to avoid repetition. I kinda see the singer as traveling through a pock-marked, bouldery road)

But otherwise, you've done a perfect, perfect job, especially with the chorus.

I love Ebiet G. Ade a lot. He's like the Simon and Garfunkel of Indonesia. His songs have beautiful lyrics, accompanied mostly by the sound of guitar, clear and very touching. My favorite ever is Nyanyian Kasmaran (do you have 'kasmaran'-lovestruck in Malay?)

Sejak engkau bertemu lelaki bermata lembut
Ada yang tersentak dari dalam dadamu
Kau sembunyi, duduk dalam gelap
Bersenandung nyanyian kasmaran
Dan tersenyum entah untuk siapa
Tampaknya kau tengah mabuk kepayang
Kaupahat langit dengan angan-angan
Kauukir malam dengan bayang-bayang

Jangan hanya diam kausimpan dalam duduk termenung
Malam yang kausapa lewat tanpa jawab (not sure I remember this correctly)
Bersikaplah jujur dan terbuka
Ungkapkanlah perasaan yang sarat
Dengan cinta yang panas bergelora (heh, kinda cheesy here, but I don't miiiind! :)
Anggap saja takdir telah bicara
Ia datang dari langit buatmu'
Dan pandangan matanya khusus buatmu

*is ded*

*loves Ebiet*

[illyria-novia.livejournal.com]

Oh and I wonder why you translated

hati bergetar menatap kering rerumputan

into

My heart trembles to see those who have fallen

Wouldn't "My heart trembles to see the desiccated grass" be more accurate?

[layne67.livejournal.com]

Cannot play one lah!

( and in case you're wondering, that is Manglish aka Singlish if you're a Singaporean )

[layne67.livejournal.com]

No we dont have the word kasmaran. Lovestruck people here are usually called 'angau' - not a romantic word at all and usually said in a joking manner.

I love almost all of Ebiet's songs but my favourite is Camelia, all 4 versions of it. Hee, we were planning to call the baby Kamelia Eliza :-)

Any idea why there are four versions of that song? Is there a special Camelia in his life, I wonder?

[layne67.livejournal.com]

hati bergetar menatap kering rerumputan

*facepalm*

I was translating from the lyrics given with the CD and it's written there Hati tergetar menampak kering runtuhan

*fixes*

Thanks Novia :-)

[illyria-novia.livejournal.com]

It's an intriguing thought, isn't it? His wife's name isn't Camellia. Someone in his past? Obviously she was dead, hence the melancholy, the requiem. Some inspiration, eh? :)

[i-o-r-h-a-e-l.livejournal.com]

Me neither. :(

(Oh yeah, I know that. :D I spent two months in S'pore and would have spoken the same way had it been longer. Hehehe.)