By: ยืนยง โอภากุล Yeunyong Opakul, aka แอ๊ด คาราบาว Add Carabao
Album: คนกับเม้าส์ Kon Gap Mouth (Person with Harmonica) (2008)
NOTE: Suraphol Sombathcharoen, lived from 1930 to 1968, and was “King of Luk Thung,” luk thung being a Thai musical style, often translated as “Thai country.” That is, it is music from the Thai countryside, (“luk thung” translates as “child of the fields”) and not because the sound is similar to American country music. His real first name is “Lamduan” and Suraphol is a stage name. He was shot dead in 1968, and the murder case was never solved. He has a long Wikipedia entry in English.
Add’s message below this YouTube, translated from Thai: “When I was a child, Teacher Surapol used to sing in my father’s band, the Ch.S.P. band or the Suphan band, which was set up by teachers and government officials in Suphan to play at ordinations and weddings. Teacher Surapol’s songs are considered national treasures, songs of the Suphan people. They are in our blood. This year the Teacher Surapol Sombatcharoen would be 95 if he were still alive. Soon P’Lek and I will release 10 songs of Teacher Surapol’s songs for our brothers and sisters to listen to and remember him. Please stay tuned.”
เมื่อดอกลำดวนชวนกลิ่นดม สะเดาว่าขมยังหวานเปลี่ยนไป
When the fragrant Lamduan flowers invite [you] to smell [them], bitter Ladao turns to sweet.*
เสียงเพลงที่กลั่นมาจากหัวใจ คือเสียงจากชายลุ่มน้ำท่าจีน
The song that is distilled from the heart is the sound of the man from the Tha Chin River basin.
นามสุรพล สมบัติเจริญ บทเพลงดำเนินไม่เคยสูญสิ้น
Named Suraphol Sombatcharoen, the song proceeds and will never die/vanish
ผ่านไปหนใดก็ยังได้ยิน ให้หวนถวินหาสุรพล
Wherever you go, you still hear it, making you look back and long for Suraphol
* โลกหนอใบ นี้ ไร้ความยุติธรรม คนดีล้มคว่ำมาแล้วมากมายหลายคน
This world is without justice [isn’t it]. So many good people have come tumbling down.
คนชั่วลอยนวลอยู่เหนือเหตุผล ให้ประชาชนเขาคับข้องใจ
Bad persons float free above cause and effect [they get away with crimes], which makes the people frustrated**
** แต่ก็ยังดีที่มีเสียงเพลง ขับร้องบรรเลงกล่อมขวัญชาวไทย
But it’s good at least that we have songs. Singing and performing to soothe the spirits of Thai people.
สายลมพัดช่อลำดวนแกว่งไกว ให้คิดถึงสุรพล
The breeze blows and the Lamduan flowers sway, making [me] think of Suraphol.
(ซ้ำ * , ** )
“16 ปี แห่งความหลัง” “สาวสวนแตงแห่งเมืองสุพรรณ”
“16 Years of Our Past,” “Watermelon Farm Girl of Suphanburi”
“น้ำตาจ่าโท” ยังคงลือลั่น ให้ฉันคิดถึงสุรพล
“Sargeant Major’s Tears,” are still [heard] loud and clear***
ให้ฉันคิดถึงสุรพล ให้ฉันคิดถึงสุรพล ให้ฉันคิดถึงสุรพล
So that I think of Suraphol, so that I think of Suraphol, so that I miss Suraphol
An expert translator has helped with the footnotes:
*Lamduan flower has a pleasant smell. It’s so pleasant that when you smell it, Ladao (neem), which is well known for its bitter taste, can become sweet. The metaphor means “Suraphol’s songs are so pleasant, when listening to them, magic can happen.”
**In this context, it means that many innocent people were murdered (Suraphol included), and the murderer of Suraphol was never found and brought to justice.
***These are some of Suraphol’s most famous songs. Google them in Thai if you would like to listen (you can copy them from the Thai lyrics above; I put the quotation marks around these songsi.) Or google Suraphol’s name in Thai: สุรพล สมบัติเจริญ