“Palm Tree Boat” by Sinn Sisamouth w/ English, Touk Tnaot, Khmer Song, ទុកត្នោត, chanson khmère

The Khmer word "mea mai" means a woman who has lost her husband, whether by divorce or death. It means either a widow or a divorcee. So in the third verse, I feel it’s more suitable to use the word divorcee, as the next line is him telling her not to feel sorry or regret. “Palm Tree Boat” Music & Vocal by Sinn Sisamouth Lyrics by Ma Laopy Arrangement by Nou Nhong My father instructed me to go set a fishing net with a small palm tree boat. After that, I rowed to Jaya Dutta Island. You rowed away, attempting to escape me, while I tried to block you. You quietly hid amid the grass around Treng Island. Under the shade of the chrakaeng tree, I composed a poem: “My name is Chii Chaap, and yours is Srey Khmao.” "A flock of chaap (birds like sparrows) you chased away went to perch on a krabao tree." "A chaap you call is a chaap who perches on the side." You are a flower from Jaya Dutta Island, whilst this poor Chii Chaap is from Krup Bai Island. I'm a bachelor, while you're a divorcee. Do not feel regret, my sweet Khmao. Let us cross the creek together. At Cheung Ko Brook, I swim from deep water to shallow water while holding my lovely Khmao. I try to kick away the seaweed that has wrapped itself around my feet. Hold on to me if you're terrified of sliding off. Translation is a serious craft. One must capture the voice of an author writing in one language and relate it to another without overtaking the original author’s voice. One has to leave traces that the translation had ever taken place. Translating lyrics doesn't work if one were to translate word by word, or even sentence by sentence. And translating Khmer lyrics to English is even harder as some words just don't translate well. So I took some liberties to get a smoother translation. For any copyright issue that might occur, please contact DM @ dalidamak@gmail.com. No copyright infringement is intended for the song and picture used in this video.

Category