Rasa Sayang
"Rasa Sayang, one of the first songs children are taught in schools throughout the country, is in fact well known and well loved throughout the Malay Archipelago...
...The phrase rasa sayang indicates both the act of feeling love or affection and the feeling of love itself." -From "'Rasa sayang': A sense of love and loss" -Malay Mail Online
Rasa Sayang
I Feel Love
Folk Song
Folk Song
(Malay)
(English)
Rasa sayang, hey!
Rasa sayang sayang, hey!
Hey, lihat nona jauh,
Rasa sayang sayang, hey!
Buah cempedak di luar pagar,
Ambil galah tolong jolokkan;
Saya budak baru belajar,
Kalau salah tolong tunjukkan.
Pulau pandan jauh ke tengah,
Gunung daik bercabang tiga;
Hancur badan di kandung tanah,
Budi yang baik dikenang juga.
Dua tiga kucing berlari,
Mana sama si kucing belang;
Dua tiga boleh ku cari,
Mana sama adik seorang.
Pisang emas dibawa berlayar,
Masak sebiji di atas peti;
Hutang emas boleh dibayar,
Hutang budi dibawa mati.
I feel love, hey!
I feel love, love, hey!
Hey, see that girl over there,
I feel love, hey!
The jackfruit* is outside the fence,
Take a pole and gently knock it down;
I am a newbie so
If I'm doing it wrong, please show me how.
Pandan Island is far from land,
Mount Daik has three peaks;
Though the body rots in the earth,
Good deeds are always remembered.
Two or three cats run around,
The striped one is superior;
I can easily find two or three girls,
But none can compare with you.
Brought gold bananas on a sailing trip,
One ripens on a chest;
Gold owed can be repaid,
But debts of gratitude are carried to the grave.
Notes
*Literally Cempedak (pronounced "chem-pe-dak") Fruit - It's in the same genus as jackfruit and breadfruit.
Comments
"Rasa Sayang" is also well-known and sung in Indonesia and Singapore.
Thanks!
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Thanks to Louis Lima and Aliff Yusuf for sharing this song with us and for sharing the YouTube where they played Aliff's wonderful arrangement for two recorders.
Terima kasih!
