By ยืนยง โอภากุล Yuenyong Opakul aka แอ๊ด คาราบาว Aed Carabao
Album: วันวานไม่มีเขาฯ Wan Waan Mai Mee Kow Kow ([If] Yesterday There Wasn’t Them . . . )
You can BUY THE ALBUM HERE at eThaiCD [This album not currently available].https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1ToroZH5cM
Note: Aed Carabao had a Canadian friend, Ron Amero, a motorcycle-riding buddy, who passed away and asked for his ashes to be buried behind Aed’s house in Sattahip. And Khun Aed said, yes! This song is about that friendship. Part 2 of this amazing story: After I translated this song (by listening since there are no lyrics online), in a compete magical coincidence, the first person to comment on the translation I posted on my own facebook wall was . . . RON AMERO’s mother!!!!! A wonderful women, now a facebook friend. I met someone from a song. I still can’t believe it. Sunny Loso helped me finish the translation––well except for the last line, which we still can’t figure out.***
English translation of lyrics (เนื้อเพลงแปลเป็นภาษาอังกฤษ):
The ocean brings people to an amused state
We used to go on trips together, under the rays of the sun, under one moon*
Passing up to a hundred years, our time goes by quickly, never alone
Drink, eat, travel, encounter life like a man
Ron Amero lies sleeping under a tree
Before he left, his last request was to be at [my] place in Sattahip
In the day, the weather is nice. At night there are hundreds of stars
Ron lifted beers for a living, smiling at life. That was Ron.
The river has never been broken. Different people, different nationalities; it’s not important
[We] always had genuineness with each other. It was the reward of our get-togethers
Some amusing story, you didn’t need to [tell] slowly. He could understand completely. If wrong, check the expression.
It was my warped English he couldn’t take in
Ron Amero lies sleeping under a tree
Before he left, his last request was to be at [my] place in Sattahip
In the day, the weather is nice. At night there are hundreds of stars
Ron lifted beers for a living, smiling at life. That was Ron.
Canada, there it’s cold. He is weak-hearted, doesn’t turn and go back
At this minute he is home, wanted to stay with me, near friends.
Every May 2nd his mom flies over to visit her son
???????????????????? Under the tree, there is a bar. *
Canada, there it’s cold. He is weak-hearted, doesn’t turn and go back
At this minute he is home, wanted to stay with me, near friends.
Every May 2nd his mom flies over to visit her son
???????????????????? Under the tree, there is a bar. *
THIS PART WAS ALREADY IN ENGLISH:
Our friend Ron Amero, sleeping in this ground
Spoke his last words, “Bury me
Right here in Aed’s land.
This place has good weather. We’ll watch the stars together.
Our friend from Jester Riders, Ron Amero will never die
Tiger Ron will never die
Tiger Ron will never die.
*Specifically an overnight trip.
**The question-mark part may involve a nickname they had for him, and I don’t want to guess it wrong. “Under the tree, there is a bar,” may relate to a tradition of pouring alcohol over his grave or drinking at his grave. Or maybe there is a mini bar there.
***Part 3 of the amazing story. I finally had a chance to meet Add Carabao at the 35th Anniversary concert in the United States. Before I left for it, Ron’s mother texted me, “If you get a chance to meet Add, say ‘Hi’ from the Amero family.” I said, “OK,” thinking to myself, “If I have 2 minutes with him it would be very uncool to be name dropping. I will never be able to do that.” But as it turned out, I had a LONG interview with him and got to say everything I needed to say. Then I realized, “Wow. I really can say hi, from the Amero family.” And I was able to tell him the story above! He responded by saying that every year we ride our motorcycles and end up at my house at Ron’s grave to show our respects. It was a totally amazing experience with this song, crossing the language barriers and national borders.
BUY THE ALBUM at eThaiCD.com.