Cambodian Music

You probably have never heard ‘60s and early ‘70s Cambodian music. If you have, congratulations! You’re at least 20% cooler than I thought you were.

Here’s a nice introduction for those of you that are cool-ness challenged. The song is Chnam Oun 16 (16 is read something like “dawp-bram-muay”) by Ros Sereysothea. I’m informed that it was featured in a movie by the same title. A translation of the lyrics from Khmer into English is below.

This year, I'm 16... This year I'm 16

There are no worries

fa la la la

Life is like flowers,

giving off a nice scent

fa la la la la la la la

This year, I'm 16... This year I'm 16

There are no worries

fa la la la

What is love?

Is it bitter, sour, or sweet?

fa la la la la la la la

[Source]

Going by the lyrics, it was essentially the “Call Me Maybe” of its day, only actually really good. The song remains popular in Cambodia to this day.

Unfortunately, only a few years after the song was released, the oppressive Khmer Rouge regime came into power. Ros Sereysothea, and other iconic Cambodian musicians such as Sinn Sisamouth, lost their lives, along with two million others. Cambodia, and the Cambodian music industry in particular, have never fully recovered.

Thankfully, their music has been preserved, and will continue to be enjoyed for generations to come.