Monday, February 25, 2013

Lampung Boy



  
  A Reggae lament

Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)

Why did you have to be so charming?
With your big smile, so disarming?
Where did you get such pretty looks?
I thought that was just in picture books

Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung boy, where did you learn the art
Of breaking all the ladies hearts
Lampung boy, who taught you the skill
Of going in for the Lampung kill


Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)
Watch out ladies, watch out girls
Don’t take Lampung boys for fools
Watch out boys, watch out men
Lampung boy is at it again
He’ll charm your wife, he’ll charm your daughter
He’ll even charm you when you oughta know better
Cos after all if you're a Lampung man
And once you were a boy of Lampung land


Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)

I shoulda known better, shoulda been prepared
All that anguish I coulda been spared
But when you meet a Lampung boy, you’ll understand
They just aren't like any other kind of man 

Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)

I’ve been to your beaches
I been to your hills
Where butterflies flap in a garden so still
I’ve been to your expo
Seen an elephant or two
But that didn’t help me to get over you


Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)
I’ve tasted your delicacies
I’ve drunk your wine
And while that made me feel more than fine
It didn’t kill the sweet memory
Of sitting in a kissing booth
Staring out at the sea with

Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)

Lampung boy will make your heart stop still
You can never ever have your fill
When Lampung boy gives you a smile
You might pass out for a little while
Don’t worry they will pick you up
And carry you home in a Lampung truck
‘Cos Lampung people are used to it
Girls falling down in fainting fit
Over 

Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)


This is my ode, this is my hymn
To a boy I once knew on a whim
Who showed me the sights of Lampung town
One of the friendliest places I’ve ever found
Home of 



Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)
Lets go back to Lampung town
See who is hanging around
Lets go down to Pasar Seni
Lampung boys you’ll find a plenty
Making music, making art
And doing all that Lampung craft

Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung boy  (waka ya wakaya)
Lampung Boy (waka ya wakaya)
Oh how I miss my
Lampung boy





Text(c) Jan Cornall Lampung 2006
Paintings (c) Jumaadi, courtesy of the artist and Watters Gallery.
http://www.wattersgallery.com/artists/JUMAADI/Jumaadi.html



Below: Lampung batik by X-co Ras Mohaq, one of the guys at Pasar Seni, a craft collective in Bandar Lampung, and one of the Lampung crew I travelled with in 2006.
See all the fabulous Lampung batik on his site:
http://batiktunu.blogspot.com.au/





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