World

By ยืนยง โอภากุล Yuenyong Opakul, aka แอ๊ด คาราบาว Aed Carabao
Album: World Folk Zen (1991)
This album is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. BUY IT HERE from eThaiCD, where you can shop in English.

Note: This song was written using both English and Thai, with the English part almost a direct translation of the Thai part. Therefore I won’t translate it. I just want to make you aware of it.The Farang in the video is American “Todd Tongdee,” (real name Tomas James Lavelle), who wrote and sang the English lines for four songs in World Fold Zen that have English. I suspect it was Aed who wrote his part first. Also, based on the Thai (not to mention their hand motions), the English part means “We can hold this World, together” (with a comma) or “Together, we can hold this World.” Below I will post a translation of the patter in the middle of this song (which still needs to be checked).

At the beginning Todd is trying to thank whoever arranged the event and is asking who arranged the event. The patter in the middle of the song:

Todd says: P’Aed, when you look . ..  . As for me today, looking at the future, all this, how do you think it is (well? not well?)? Myself, I just don’t know.

Aed: I have hope, the way I see it, that one day and today slowly, little by little, we can safely entrust this world to our friends, everyone that comes here. It’s a great honor to have received. It’s not mine. It’s our friend’s, each and every person. Its Todd’s. Todd already came took off his clothes and played in the water. He came [here] until he had the knowledge to write songs [that captured?] the essence of the town. I stood there and listened. He spoke of the cliff, of the river, of the forest, of the mountain, of love, which [he] connected to once. I think all the friends here will have understanding like Todd. Understand that rice is owned by the world; rice isn’t owned by America.* Rice is the world’s. Just like all of us are the world’s–same thing.

[Then Aed makes a joke that the guitar player wants him to hurry up and finish the song.]

Todd: Thank you to Aed, Ut, and the people who arranged this event. Thank you Baby. Thanks to the world that gave me life. And thank you to everyone who knows/understands the Earth.

Aed: Thank you, George [?].

 

*There is an ongoing complaint through several Carabao songs that American claims to own the rights to a genetically engineered variety of rice grown in Thailand.