For me, the most inspiring lyric for a Malay song is penned by the late Tan Sri P.Ramlee. Here I would like to focus on P.Ramlee's linguistic talent in composing Malay lyrics, many of which are classics, and they have a profound impact in cultivating my love for Bahasa Malaysia.
My favourite romantic lyric is the Malay song entitled Getaran Jiwa
I have to admit it is difficult for me to switch to an entirely different mood now to my favourite comical lyric which is a Malay song also by P.Ramlee entitled:
Bujang Lapok
Personally, I met many romantic men. I don't meet many men who are both romantic and humorous as P.Ramlee was. Can you imagine writing a successful song based on...three old bachelors? The lyric of this Malay song portrayed the old bachelors as being:
1. skinny ( kena bantai tulang rusuk ) when their ribs are walloped up.
2. in a financial mess. They can only afford matches but not cigarettes, they can't find rice in the house so they have to eat cencaluk. Their pockets must have been empty for a very long time that they are dusty.
3. unhygenic enough to repel girls. They forget to wash up their buttocks ( cebok ) and have stinky armpits. ( ketiak siapa busuk?)
4. comical in the way they walk- as if walking in their sleep, nodding ( tersenggok-senggok, terhangguk-hangguk) and sloping ( senget).
There are two versions of Bujang Lapuk, this is the first one:
Hoiii.. menceceh... (5X) Hoiii.. menceceh... (5X)
Bujang lapuk pakai songkok Basikal cabuk tak pernah gosok Tayar kempis roda bengkok Badan kering macam keropok
Bujang lapuk keliling kampung Naik basikal hai pakai sarung Minum air dah naik kembung Sakit perut terpekik terlolong
Hai bujang lapuk tak boleh harap Basikal cabuk dah naik kurap Baru putus hai urat saraf Masuk angin keluar asap
Bujang lapuk... loyar buruk Sana sini hai bikin sibuk Naik basikal semacam beruk Takde kerja tolak habuk
Wanna sing along...?
Then the other version:
La. . la. . la. . la. . la. . la. . la .... Pok Pok Pok Bujang lapok Ada mancis tak ada rokok Jalan jauh tersenggok-senggok Tumit melecet hai lutut terbengkok
Pok Pok Pok Bujang lapok Poket kosong hai penuh habuk Tak da nasi pakai cencaluk Sampai kini terlupa cebok
Jalan yang mana hai tolonglah tunjuk Jalan lurus, ai, jalan belok-belok Aku dah penat, terbatuk-batuk Bau asem Hai ketiak siapa busuk La. . la. . la. . la. . la. . la. . la. . la. Pok Pok Pok Bujang lapok Kena bantai tulang rusuk Jalan senget terhangguk-hangguk Jumpa doktor tampal koyok Bujang Lapok ....
I have not done justice to P.Ramlee's gift as a writer of the best lyrics for Malay songs by briefly discussing only two samples. In my heart, he is indeed the BUDAYAWAN BANGSA.
But I hope that you have seen a glimpse of the beauty of Bahasa Malaysia through his lyrics and Malay songs.
