Singable translation of the song by ยืนยง โอภากุล Yuenyong Opakul, aka แอ๊ด คาราบาว Aed Carabao

Note: After I put out my YouTube of a Singable English-language version of “Khon La Fun” a friend said, “Do ‘Wanipok’!” And here it is. This translation is not an exact translation (the direct translation is HERE), for instance I mention quarters and dimes–American money. And I had to leave out a really cool Thai saying: “To sing songs for the buffaloes to hear.” But this version is the same in its essense, I believe!  

And here you can hear Michael Albert, an American musician (friend from work), covering Wanipok in English. This is just a demo:

ลองฟังเพลง วณิพก Version English ศิลปิน Michael Albert:

At the time my eyes first went blind
I wasn’t yet in a dark frame of mind
Though my love who’d always been there
Would desert and leave my life bare
I set out on a difficult road
Not even feeling the passage of time
I begged change from those all around
You got quarters? dimes? . . . .yeah sometimes

In a dark and secretive place
Just listening, taking in sound
I looked out, it felt like dream
I got tired and then I laid down
[I] woke up feeling renewed . . .
I have breath, I’m still above ground!
I might see the sun once again
Why waste my life . . . . . . laying around?

So I sing . . . every day on the street
I travel around . . . singing songs to survive
After buying something to eat
I save the rest . . . to treat my eyes

A representative of the darkness
I’ll repay the life I hold dear
I’ll replay all those who show kindness
Tend to music for people to hear
I bring meaningful songs from the dark world
I will sing out loud and clear
If someone say to stop, no one cares
I say, “Those who DO are out there!”
If someone says to stop, no one cares
I say, “Those who DO are out there!”
When someone says to stop, no one cares
I say, “Those who DO … are still out there!”

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The album Wanipok, appearing two years before the band became hugely famous, is a classic and pretty much perfect. You should BUY IT HERE from the friendly people at eThaiCD, where you can shop in English.