Tanah airku Indonesia (Indonesia, my homeland) Negeri elok amat kucinta (My dearly beloved beautiful country) Tanah tumpah darahku yang mulia (My glorious home country) Yang kupuja s'panjang masa (Let me adore you all the time) Tanah airku aman dan makmur (My safe and prosperous homeland) Pulau kelapa yang amat subur (The fertile coconut island) Pulau melati pujaan bangsa (The nation's adoration jasmine island) Sejak dulu kala (Since a long, long time ago) Melambai-lambai nyiur di pantai (The palm trees on the beach are waving) Berbisik-bisik raja k'lana (And the wind is whispering) Memuja pulau nan indah permai (Adoring the beautiful scenic island) Tanah airku Indonesia (Indonesia, my homeland)
Ismail Marzuki (1914-1958), a composer, poetically portrayed the beauty of Indonesia in the above song lyrics. The song title "Rayuan Pulau Kelapa" can be roughly translated as "Solace of the Coconut Island".
While there is an island off-coast Jakarta with the name of Coconut Island, the song title doesn't actually refer to any specific island. It just provide a general description of Indonesia as a tropical archipelago, with more than 17.000 islands.
So, this is a blog to share a a little bit of everything you might want to know about Indonesia, "Negeri Rayuan Pulau Kelapa"...
Word has it that...
- Despite being played daily as closing song on the national TV, many Indonesians might fail to name the song title.
- The song is somehow very popular in Russia. The Russian translation is known as `Strana Ratnaya Indoneziya`.
