These are the lyrics to the song “Balik Kampung” (‘Back To My Hometown’) by the late Malaysian singer, Sudirman, roughly translated into English by yours truly:
Balik Kampung
Perjalanan jauh tak ku rasa
(The journey is long but I don’t feel it)
Kerna hati ku melonjak sama
(Because my heart is jumping)
Ingin berjumpa sanak saudara
(Longing to see my family & relatives)
Yang selalu bermain di mata
(Who seem to be in front of my very eyes already)
Nun menghijau gunung ladang dan rimba
(In the distance, see the green mountains, fields and forest)
Langit nan tinggi bertambah birunya
(The sky so high seems to be bluer than ever)
Deru angin turut sama berlagu
(Even the blowing of the wind sounds like music to my ears)
Semuanya bagaikan turut gembira
(As though, everything is as happy as me)
Balik kampung oh oh…( 3X )
(Back to my hometown)
Hati girang
(My heart is happy/elated)
Ho ho… Balik kampung (3X)
(Back to my hometown)
Hati girang
(My heart is happy/elated)
Terbayang wajah-wajah yang ku sayang
(I can imagine the faces that I love)
Satu-satu tersemat di kalbu
(Each one of them in my heart)
Pasti terubat rindu di hati
(The longing
Menyambut kepulangan ku nanti
(They will welcome my return)
Perjalanan jauh tak ku rasa
(The journey is long but I don’t feel it)
Kerna hati ku melonjak sama
(Because my heart is jumping)
Ingin berjumpa sanak saudara
(Longing to see my family & relatives)
Yang selalu bermain di mata
(Who seem to be in front of my very eyes already)
Nun menghijau gunung ladang dan rimba
(In the distance, see the green mountains, fields and forest)
Langit nan tinggi bertambah birunya
(The sky so high seems to be bluer than ever)
Deru angin turut sama berlagu
(Even the blowing of the wind sounds like music to my ears)
Semuanya bagaikan turut gembira
(As though, everything is as happy as me)
Balik kampung oh oh…( 3X )
(Back to my hometown)
Hati girang
(My heart is happy/elated)
Ho ho… Balik kampung (3X)
(Back to my hometown)
Hati girang
(My heart is happy/elated)
Terbayang wajah-wajah yang ku sayang
(I can imagine the faces that I love)
Satu-satu tersemat di kalbu
(Each one of them in my heart)
Pasti terubat rindu di hati
(The longing
Menyambut kepulangan ku nanti
(They will welcome my return)
This song is commonly heard this time of the year, played over and over and over again in shopping centres and on the radio, as Hari Raya Aidilfitri is always associated with balik kampung and family. I used to get annoyed with it but, now that I understand what the lyrics mean, I actually find myself singing along merrily! :D
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Update (14-Oct-08):
Click here to listen to a snippet of the song. The full song is available for download from this site.
Hmmm, I wonder how they sing it, it must be a lovely tune!
I think it would not be a problem learning the Malaysian language. Some of their words and its meaning are similar to ours.
sheng: i’ll look for an mp3 and post a snippet one of these days.
blogusvox: yes, very easy indeed. many words are the same: anak, kanan, mahal.