Taking Less and Giving More

June 27, 2020 admin

Lyrics by Tiva Sarachudha
Composer: Yuenyong Opakul and Tiva Sarachudha
Posted to YouTube June 12, 2020.

Note: This song is in English, so no translation needed. It is about covid-19 and has alot of imagery from Black Lives Matter. For me, the mistakes in English are very distracting and I also have some problems with the message. However, it is a rare “Carabao Song in English” with some positive elements. Also note that near the start of the epidemic, Add Carabao donated a million dollars to covid-19 relief through some sort of royal foundation. Here is his announcement of that in Thai.

Just in, Song Translations

หัวใจสะออน Hua Jai Sa-on (The Heart that Loves to Love)

May 4, 2020 admin

Lyrics and melody by ยืนยง โอภากุ Yuenyong Opakul and อัสนี โชติกุล Asanee Chotikul
From the อัสนี-วสันต์ โชติกุล Asanee & Wasan Chotikul album ฟักทอง (Pumpkin) (1989)

Note: Whoo-hoo! I discovered a “new” Add Carabao song from (almost) back in the classic period. I actually knew this song as an Asanee & Wasan (Chotikul) song. I didn’t know until recently that Add Carabao helped write it, along with Asanee Chotikul. The Asanee & Wasan version is great, but below is a music video in which a classic-era Add Carabao sings it himself on a beach with long hair blowing in the wind. Must see!

‘สะออน’ (Sa-awn) is a word from the Issan dialect. An Isaan persons says it means “like,” “interest,” or “care.” In this song, the heart is showing interest in love. So I had to take some liberties with the title.

กว่าจะรู้จักจำ
gwàa jà róo jàk jam
By the time you remember [this pain]
ใจต้องชอกช้ำอีก
jai dtông chôk-chám èek
Your heart must be shattered again
กว่าจะคิดเข้าใจ
gwàa jà kít kâo jai
By the time you think you get it
บางทีมันก็สายเกิน(ไป)
baang tee man gôr săai gern (bpai)
It might be too late
ผ่านมาแล้วผ่านไป
pàan maa láew pàan bpai
It’s come and gone
ยังไม่คิดไม่เข็ด
yang mâi kít mâi kèt
and you still haven’t learned your lesson*
ผ่านมาได้ก็บุญแล้ว
pàan maa dâai gôr bun láew
You got past it, which is a ‘boon.’**
เหลือแต่ตัวเปล่าๆ
lĕua dtàe dtua bplào bplào
All that’s left is an empty body [without a heart, which has been completely destroyed]

รักมีไว้ให้ใส่ใจ
rák mee wái hâi sài jai
Love is for caring
รักมีไว้เคียงคู่
rák mee wái kiang kôo
Love exists for a duo
รักมีไว้ให้เชิดชู
rák mee wái hâi chêrt choo
Love is there to hold up
เคียงคู่คนทุกคน
kiang kôo kon túk kon
Love is a buddy for everyone***

**มีหัวใจไม่จำ
mee hŭa jai mâi jam
[You] have a heart that doesn’t remember
น้ำคำที่เคยหลอกลวง
nám kam têe koie lòk luang
the words that once deceived [you]
ไม่เคยห่วงเคยหวง
mâi koie hùang koie hŭang
[It] never worries, never cares about****
ว่าตัวจะช้ำเท่าไร
wâa dtua jà chám tâo rai
how much it will be bruised
ก็หัวใจเจ้ากรรม
gôr hŭa jai jâo gam
A heart that is nothing but trouble!*****
ชอกช้ำแล้วยังชอบลอง
chôk-chám láew yang chôp long
It gets bruised then still likes to try–
ก็ว่าไปตามทำนอง
gôr wâa bpai dtaam tam-nong
like “oh well!”–just following the way
ของคนหัวใจสะออน
kŏng kon hŭa jai sà on
of the person who loves to love

ผ่านมาแล้วผ่านไป
pàan maa láew pàan bpai
It’s come and gone
ยังไม่คิดไม่เข็ด
yang mâi kít mâi kèt
and you still haven’t learned your lesson*
ผ่านมาได้ก็บุญแล้ว
pàan maa dâai gôr bun láew
You got past it, which is a ‘boon.’**
เหลือแต่ตัวเปล่าๆ
lĕua dtàe dtua bplào bplào
All that’s left is an empty body [without a heart, which has been completely destroyed]

กว่าจะรู้สึกตัว
gwàa jà róo sèuk dtua
Until you realize this,
ตัวก็ชอกช้ำอีก
dtua gôr chôk-chám èek
you will get bruised again
เจ็บมาแล้วไม่จำ
jèp maa láew mâi jam
[It] was hurt already and doesn’t remember
ไม่จำหัวใจสะออน
mâi jam hŭa jai sà on
The heart craving love doesn’t remember [the lesson]

[SPOKEN:]
เหมันต์นี้มี คนเศร้าหมอง
hăy-man née mee kon sâo mŏng
This winter there is a sad and gloomy person
น้ำตานอง เพราะผิดหวัง
nám-dtaa nong prór pìt-wăng
The tears flood because of disappointed
ความคาดหมาย
kwaam kâat măai
expectations
หัวใจสะออน คนหัวใจสะออน
hŭa jai sà-on kon hŭa-jai sà-on
The heart craving love. The person with a heart craving love!
หัวใจสะออน
hŭa-jai sà-on
The heart craves love!!!!

[SHOUTING]
สมน้ำหน้า
sŏm nám-nâa
Serves them right!******

[Then much of the song is repeated]

*”เข็ด” or “kèt” means to be shying away from something, especially after a bad experience with it. The closest English word we have is probably “gun-shy” So the line really says (word for word) “Still not thinking, not kèt.” So with no good direct translation, we go with “you still haven’t learned your lesson.”
**”บุญ” is pronounced “boon” and I just realized it has a similar meaning to the word “boon” in English, so I used that word in the translation. However, there is a distinction. In English, “boon” means “blessing” or “godsend.” In Thai, “boon” is some good, lucky, or fortunate thing that happens, which is attributed to the karma from good deeds in the past.
*** The translation of เคียงคู่ (kiang kôo) is tricky because it means a pair of something close together or just having something close to you. So in one line, Love is for “เคียงคู่” or for a couple or duo. And two lines later, love itself is “เคียงคู่” every person, or “close beside” or “buddies with” every person.
**** ห่วง (hùang) and หวง (hŭang) are very similar words that can both be translated to worry or care about. However the second is a possessive/protective kind of worry, like a dog worries about his bone [that someone will try to take it].
***** “เจ้ากรรม” has the word “เจ้า” (jâo) which is a pronoun and “กรรม” (gam) which is a complicated word meaning both sin and bad karma. Putting “เจ้า” in front of an word implies that someone does the second thing skillfully or all the time. Or that they are that adjective personified. So basically it is an exclamation of frustration shouted at the heart, like, “This heart is Mr. Trouble!”
****** Literally, สมน้ำหน้า sŏm nám-nâa means “suitable or appropriate for [their] face!” but functions exactly like the English-language expression, “Serves them right!”

Just in, Song Translations

พยานป่า Paiyan Bpa (Forest Witness)

April 5, 2020 admin

By ยืนยง โอภากุล Yuenyong Opakul aka แอ๊ด คาราบาว Add Carabao, and ลือชัย งามสม Leuchai Ngamsom aka ดุก คาราบาว Duk Carabao
Album: รุ่นคนสร้างชาติ Run Kon Saang Chaat (Nation Builders) (1994)
This album is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Buy it at eThaiCD.com where you can shop in English.

รุ่งแจ้งแสงทองสาดส่องพสุธา
rûng jâeng săeng tong sàat sòng pá-sù-taa
The golden morning light breaks through [to] the ground
วิหคนกกาถลาบินร่อน
wí-hòk nók gaa tà-lăa bin rôn
The crow rushes to fly
ออกไปหากินกลางดวงตะวัน
òk bpai hăa gin glaang duang dtà-wan
off into the sun to find food*
จิกข้าวกลางนาแล้วมาแบ่งกัน
jìk kâao glaang naa láew maa bàeng gan
Pecking some rice from the middle of the field then coming to share [it] with each other
ลูกน้อยหลับฝันอยู่ชายป่าโน้น
lôok nói làp făn yòo chaai bpàa nóhn
the baby [birds] sleep and dream at the edge of that forest
แม่นกพ่อนกอยู่ปลายนานี้
mâe nók pôr nók yòo bplaai naa née
The mother and father bird are at the edge of this field
มีความรักที่ผูกพัน
mee kwaam rák têe pòok pan
[They] have bonding love.

ไผ่เบียดเสียดสีฟังดังเพลงท้ายทุ่ง
pài bìat sìat sĕe fang dang playng táai tûng
The bamboo crowds and rubs together. Listen to the loud song at the edge of the field
น้ำหอมน้ำปรุงกลิ่นแซมแก้มอ่อน
nám hŏm nám bprung glìn saem gâem òn
The perfume scent applied to the soft cheeks
เกี่ยวก้อยแขนควงชวนชมแสงจันทร์
gìeow gôi kăen kuang chuan chom săeng jan
Holding hands, swinging arms, admiring the moonlight
กระท่อมท้ายนาเราเคยสุขสันต์
grà-tôm táai naa rao koie sùk-săn
In the little hut at the edge of the field, we used to be happy
พ่อแม่ลงนาอยู่ชายป่าโน้น
pôr mâe long naa yòo chaai bpàa nóhn
Mother and father planting rice at the edge of that forest
เด็กๆ เลี้ยงควายอยู่ปลายนานี้
dèk dèk líang kwaai yòo bplaai naa née
Children raising buffalo here at the edge of the field
มีชีวิตที่สัมพันธ์
mee chee-wít têe săm-pan
Having a life that is linked/connected

โอ๊ย…ตัดป่านาก็เหี่ยวเฉา
ói … dtàt bpàa naa gôr hìeow chăo
Oh . . . cut the forest, and the field withers
แดดเผาข้าวก็แห้งตาย
dàet păo kâao gôr hâeng dtaai
The sun burns and the rice dries up and dies
ตัดป่านาก็ท่วมท้น
dtàt bpàa naa gôr tûam tón
Cut the forest, and the field is overwhelmed
น้ำล้นน้ำก็ท่วมนา
nám lón nám gôr tûam naa
The excessive water floods the field
หมดป่านาล่มจมหาย
mòt bpàa naa lôm jom hăai
Wilderness, the field is goes under and vanishes
หมดน้ำนาล่มคนกระจาย
mòt nám naa lôm kon grà-jaai
Droplets, the field fails, and the people spread out
ก็ต้องไปขายตัวเอง
gôr dtông bpai kăai dtua ayng
and must go sell themselves.

ตัดป่ากันเข้าไปตัดให้วายให้วอด
dtàt bpàa gan kâo bpai dtàt hâi waai hâi wôt
Everyone cuts the forest, comes in to cut it so it’s destroyed
สร้างเป็นรีสอร์ทรอรับน้ำบ่า
sâang bpen ree sòt ror ráp nám bàa
Developing it to be a resort, waiting to receive the overflowing water
นกเขาทิ้งคอน ชาวนาทิ้งเคียว
nók kăo tíng kon chaao naa tíng kieow
The dove abandons his roost. The farmer casts aside his scythe
เหลือเพียงชีวิต ซูบโซซีดเซียว
lĕua piang chee-wít sôop soh sêet sieow
There only remains life that is haggard and destitute
พ่อแม่ขายแรงอยู่ในเมืองโน้น
pôr mâe kăai raeng yòo nai meuang nóhn
Father and mother sell their labor way over in that city
เด็กๆ ขายตัวอยู่ในเมืองนี้
dèk dèk kăai dtua yòo nai meuang née
Children sell themselves in this city
โสเภณีเป็นพยาน
sŏh-pay-nee bpen pá-yaan
Prostitutes bear witness [that it happened]*

*Prostitutes are the witnesses/are the evidence.

Article, Just in

Carabao Songs with Sequels

March 24, 2020 admin

Below is a list of Carabao songs* with sequels. Many of the pairs of songs are spaced quite far apart in time, such that even fans are often unaware that their favorite song from the classic period has a sequel.

I’ve included my own zero-to-three star ranking, so you can see how relatively important they are. A three-star song in the Top 100 of Carabao songs and is a very favorite song. A one-star song is “Nice!” A zero-star song is not in the top 25% of Carabao songs. It is no surprise that a three-star Carabao song would have a sequel, but it is somewhat surprising how often the sequel turns out to be as good the original song.

The first example may be the most striking example of this. The sequel ลูกลุงขี้เมา Luuk Lung Kee Mow (Child of the Drunken Uncle) was written for the 25th Anniversary of the band, which is 25 years after ลุงขี้เมา Lung Kee Mao (The Drunken Uncle) appeared as the first song on the first album. There is a “punch line” in the second song, linking to the first song, that is really powerful.

The 10 Tuk Kwai Tuey songs, are covered in a separate article. (Note that the song “Bua Loy” listed below as having a sequel, is also part 5 of the 10-part Tuk Kwai Tuey saga told in 10 songs spanning the first 10 Carabao albums.) The “Made In Thailand” sequels will be covered in a separate article.

ลุงขี้เมา Lung Kee Mao (The Drunken Uncle), in 1981 ✰✰✰
ลูกลุงขี้เมา Luuk Lung Kee Mow (Child of the Drunken Uncle), in 2007 ✰✰✰

หนุ่มสุพรรณ Num Suphan (Young Man from Suphan), in 1981 ✰✰✰
หนุ่มสุพรรณ 2 Num Suphan 2 (Young Man from Suphan 2), in 1988 ✰✰

วณิพก Wanipok (The Beggar), in 1983 ✰✰✰
ยายสำอาง Yaai Samang (Good-Looking Grandma), 1993 ✰✰✰ [Not officially a sequel, but seems like a sequel**]

ดือนเพ็ญ Duan Pen (Full Moon), in 1984 ✰✰✰
พลจันทร์เดือนเพ็ญ Polachan Duan Pen (Polachan’s [Song] “Full Moon”), in 1989 ✰✰✰
SEE ALSO: ชีวิตสัมพันธ์ Cheewit Sampat (Related Life), in 1987 ✰✰✰

ลูกหิน Luuk Hin (Stone Child), in 1984 ✰✰✰
ลูกแก้ว Luuk Geow (Glass Child), in 1984 ✰✰✰ [These two songs followed each other on the album Made in Thailand and are often played together in this order***]

หำเทียม Ham Tiam (Dildo), in 1984 ✰
หำเฮี้ยน Ham Hian (Ham is Strong Enough to Do It), in 1985 ✰

บัวลอย Bua Loy, in 1984 ✰✰✰
เห็นมั้ยบัวลอย Hen Mai Bua Loy? (Do You See This, Bua Loy?) in 2014 ✰✰✰

อเมริโกย Ameri-goy, in 1985 [The title is is a pun usually translated “Greedy Americans”] ✰✰✰
กัญชาคอมมิชชั่น Ganja Commission (Cannabis Commission), in 2019 ✰✰ NEW!! [Not an official sequel, but I strongly feel it is a sequel]

สืบทอดเจตนา Suep Tot Jaydtana (Carrying Out Suep’s Intentions), in 1990
คอริดอร์ Corridor, in 2006 [สืบทอดเจตนา 2 Suep Tot Jaydtana 2 (Carrying Out Suep’s Intentions 2)]

เพลงของกู Playng Kong Gu (My Song), in 2017 ✰✰
เพลงของกู เวอร์ชั่น 3 Playng Kong Gu Version 3 (My Song, Version 3), in 2017 ✰✰✰

*By Carabao song, I mean Carabao (the band) plus Add Carabao (solo) songs.
**Both songs are about a blind musician who roams around playing and begging for money [busking]. In the first song the person is fictional. In the second, she is real. The two songs are spaced a multiple of 5 years apart (10), as with some other songs with sequels, and they were selected as the two songs played during the 2nd Carabao jam session with Santana, in 2016.
***Like the Queen songs “We Will Rock You” and “We are the Champions.”

Just in, Song Translations

ถนนชีวิต Tanon Chewit (The Road of Life)

March 18, 2020 admin

By ยืนยง โอภากุล Yuenyong Opakul
Album: แป๊ะขายขวด Bpae Kaai Kuat (1982)

Note: This old song seems to complaining about the bad traffic situation (probably in Bangkok). However a note under the official Carabao YouTube claims the song is metaphorical: Life is compared to a road; we hurry along it and forget to appreciate our surroundings. FYI: A song-taew is a large pick up truck with an awning over the back and two benches along both sides for picking up passengers. A tuk-tuk is a motorized tricycle that can fit 1 to 3 passengers in the back (in addition to the driver).

รีบตื่นกันไวไว ไม่ทันไปเข้าเรียนสาย
rêep dtèun gan wai wai mâi tan bpai kâo rian săai
Hurry and wake up! We’re running late to class
หลายครังอย่าหวังคะแนนดี
lăai krang yàa wăng ká-naen dee
Too many times [late] and there’s no hope for good grades
รีบตื่นกันไวไว ไม่ทันไปเข้างานสาย…
rêep dtèun gan wai wai mâi tan bpai kâo ngaan săai …
Hurry and wake up! We’re running late to work
หลายครั้งอย่าหวังเงินเดือนดี
lăai kráng yàa wăng ngern deuan dee
Too many times [late], and there’s no hope for a good salary

รถเมล์มีอยู่กี่สายคนก็มากมาย
rót may mee yòo gèe săai kon gôr mâak maai
However many bus lines are there, they are crowded with people
มีถนนอยู่กี่สายรถก็มากมี
mee tà-nŏn yòo gèe săai rót gôr mâak mee
However many roads there are, they are crowded with vehicles.
บนถนนทุกๆ สาย ดูมันวุ่นวาย
bon tà-nŏn túk túk săai doo man wûn waai
On every road, it looks so chaotic.
ทําอย่างไรจะไปทันทํางาน
tam yàang rai jà bpai tan tam ngaan
What can I do to be on time for work?

เมื่อก่อนมีรถราง แล่นพลางก็ร้องพลาง
mêua gòn mee rót raang lâen plaang gôr róng plaang
Before we had a trolley. As it was gliding along it would sing*.
ฉันถึงที่ทํางานทันเวลา
chăn tĕung têe tam ngaan tan way-laa
I got to work on time
เดี๋ยวนี้มีรถเมล์ แล่นเฉไปเฉมา
dĭeow née mee rót may lâen chăy bpai chăy maa
Right now we have buses going along, swerving in and out
ว้า…ยังไม่ทันเวลางาน
wáa … yang mâi tan way-laa ngaan
Sigh . . . I’ll still be late to work

มีรถเมล์มีอยู่กี่สายคนก็มากมาย
mee rót may mee yòo gèe săai kon gôr mâak maai
However many bus lines there are, they are crowded with people.
มีถนนอยู่กี่สายรถมันมากมี
mee tà-nŏn yòo gèe săai rót man mâak mee
However many roads we have, they are crowded with vehicles.
บนถนนทุกๆ สาย ดูมันวุ่นวาย
bon tà-nŏn túk túk săai doo man wûn waai
On every road, it looks chaotic.
ทําอย่างไรจะไปทันโรงเรียน
tam yàang rai jà bpai tan rohng rian
How am I going to be on time for work?

มีรถเก๋งก็รีบไป มีรถเมล์ก็รีบไป
mee rót găyng gôr rêep bpai mee rót may gôr rêep bpai
There are cars rushing along. There are buses rushing along
รถแท็กซี่ก็รีบไป รถสองแถวก็รีบไป
rót táek-sêe gôr rêep bpai rót sŏng tăew gôr rêep bpai
Taxis also rush along. Song-taews also rush along.
รถตุ๊กๆ ก็รีบไป มอเตอร์ไซค์ก็รีบไป
rót dtúk dtúk gôr rêep bpai mor-dtêr-sai gôr rêep bpai
Tuk-tuks, also rush along. Motorcycles also rush along
รถสิบล้อก็รีบไป รถโดยสารก็รีบไป
rót sìp lór gôr rêep bpai rót doi săan gôr rêep bpai
Ten-wheeled trucks also rush along. Commuter vehicles rush along

รถเมล์มีอยู่กี่สายคนก็มากมาย
rót may mee yòo gèe săai kon gôr mâak maai
No matter how many bus lines there are, they are crowded with people
มีถนนอยู่กี่สายรถมันมากมี
mee tà-nŏn yòo gèe săai rót man mâak mee
No matter how many roads there are, they are crowded with vehicles.
บนถนนทุกๆ สายดูมันวุ่นวาย
bon tà-nŏn túk túk săai doo man wûn waai
On every road, it looks chaotic
ทําอย่างไรจะไปทันทํางาน
tam yàang rai jà bpai tan tam ngaan
How am I going to be on time for work?
ทําอย่างไรจะไปทันโรงเรียน
tam yàang rai jà bpai tan rohng rian
How am I going to be on time for school?

ขุดถนนก็ขุดไป กลบถนนก็กลบไป
kùt tà-nŏn gôr kùt bpai glòp tà-nŏn gôr glòp bpai
[If we need to] dig up the roads, do it! Cover the roads? Do it!**
ตัดถนนก็ตัดไป ซ่อมถนนก็ซ่อมไป
dtàt tà-nŏn gôr dtàt bpai sôm tà-nŏn gôr sôm bpai
Build new roads? Do it! Fix the roads? Do it!
นํ้าท่วมถนนก็สูบไป สร้างสะพานก็สร้างไป
nám tûam tà-nŏn gôr sòop bpai sâang sà-paan gôr sâang bpai
If the roads are flooded, go ahead and drain them! [If you need to] build a bridge, build it!

* It would “sing,” or possible “cry”. In any case, trolleys make a high screeching sound.
**They dig up the roads to get to the underground pipes.

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Announcement: All Songs through “Made In Thailand” ALBUM Fixed by GREAT Translator

February 12, 2020 admin

Last year, a highly-qualified translator who is a native Thai and is fluent in English volunteered to systematically check and suggest improvements for my translations of Carabao song lyrics. This is a huge project, and I thank this person (who wants to remain anonymous) from the bottom of my heart. I am thrilled to announce we have finished fixing the translations up through the album Made In Thailand.

You can now (as of Valentine’s Day 2020) read the translations of the early Carabao songs with confidence. I am happy to say, we didn’t have any changes that overturned the overall meaning of a song, but we did have at least three song translations that were radically improved. You might want to read their new translation and give these already fascinating songs a fresh listen:

Songs with radically improved translations:

Summer Hill

ท ทหารอดทน Taw Tahaan Ot Ton (The Persevering Soldier)

คนเก็บฟืน Kon Gep Feun [The Firewood Collector]

Some important details were uncovered in at least two songs

In กัมพูชา Kampucha (Cambodia) about the Cambodian genocide there is an already evocative line: “In the end, when the guns stop roaring and echoing/ a plaid cloth [a pakaoma],/ blown away by the wind, falls to the ground.” The new translator notes that a pakama is used to cover the bodies of dead people lying on the ground, thus it is understood by Thais that the pakama is blown by the wind to fall on a dead body.

In the last last line of “เดือนเพ็ญ Duan Pen (Full Moon)” a child who is away wants to return and nestle in the bosom of their mother. I thought it odd that the person, most likely a soldier, misses their mother more than anyone else, and guessed that the “mother” is Thailand itself. But the new translator points out that it is also possible that the person wants to return to their wife, often also called “mae” or “mother” by the husband.

A newly translated song

The song “หำเทียม Ham Tiam (Dildo)” could not have been translated at all without the help of this person. To give you a taste of the complexity, which I could not have sorted out if I studied Thai for the rest of my life, here are the notes explaining the title of the song:

“The man in this song’s story is named ‘Ham,’ which is in the Isaan dialect, can mean either a ‘lad” or ‘penis’ or ‘testicles.’ ‘Ham’ is a cute and friendly word for ‘penis,’ . . . The title of the song is หำเทียม (Ham Tiam), means ‘artificial penis’ or ‘dildo,’ but refers to the longer word หำ[ผสม]เทียม Ham [Pasom] Tiam, which means ‘artificial-mixing penis,’ or ‘artificial insemination,’ . . .”

A Legacy for Fans and Future Researchers

I started this project using the “Fake it ‘til you make it!” approach. I was translating relying heavily on Thai2English.com and on begging friends for help. Because I translated the best songs first, at a time when I could barely translate, the best songs were often the worst translated, while very obscure songs are now receiving relatively deluxe treatment. From the start, I got in-depth help from knowledgeable volunteers to whom I am forever grateful. However, some of my helpers were other Farang translators, meaning we will inevitably miss out on some of the idioms, references, and word play. Other helpers were Thais who are not official translators.

The new translator is able to “read between the lines” and guess when Add Carabao is using a word other than his first choice in order to rhyme. This person is able to interpret an idiom in which all the words of the standard idiom have been swapped out for new words. They can note that two lines that I had separated are actually connected. They can explain why one song advises one to “Be the moon” and “put copper rings on the hands of each child” (because Add is referring to a children’s lullaby which every Thai person knows).

The importance of the project (I want to leave it as a resource to Carabao, international fans of Carabao and to scholarly music ethnologists) means it deserves more than just my own best efforts and sporadic advice from others. The songs deserve solid translations that you can trust! Which you now have.

Carabao in English

Taking Less and Giving More

หัวใจสะออน Hua Jai Sa-on (The Heart that Loves to Love)

พยานป่า Paiyan Bpa (Forest Witness)

Carabao Songs with Sequels

ถนนชีวิต Tanon Chewit (The Road of Life)

Announcement: All Songs through “Made In Thailand” ALBUM Fixed by GREAT Translator

Lyrics Translations for the Band