JSO1101

Folk Songs of The Asian Archipelago

Geylang Sipaku Geylang

Arr. Jason Ong

SATB, a cappella
 Folk Songs Of The Asian Archipelago

IV Geylang, Sipaku Geylang

SOME NOTES ON THE SONG

Geylang, Sipaku Geylang is a popular Singaporean folksong. It is written in the traditional Malay
pantun style. The pantun is a four-lined verse consisting of alternating, roughly rhyming lines. Each
line should contain between 8 and 12 syllables. Typically, the first two lines of the pantun has no
discernible connection in meaning to the next two lines.

As the pantun is traditionally an oral form of expression, no one knows who actually wrote this song.
Nevertheless, Geylang, Sipaku Geylang has been embraced by the nation, and the song is taught in
primary schools, with the result that almost everyone in the country is well acquainted with it.

The direct translation of “geylang” in Malay is “bracelet” or “ring”, while “sipaku” is “nails”. However,
the suggested translation here is that “geylang” refers to creepers, while “sipaku” refers to ferns.
Moreover, Geylang is also a well known area in Singapore. If we take all of these into account, the
meaning of the song takes on the following form:

SONG TRANSLATION

Geylang, Sipaku Geylang Translation

Geylang sipaku Geylang, Geylang full of ferns,

Geylang si rama rama, Geylang full of butterflies,
Pulang, marilah pulang, Come let's go home,
Marilah pulang bersama-sama Let's go home together

Jangan memegang arang, Do not carry the charcoal,

Letak di dalam raga. Just put it in a basket.
Jangan mengata orang, Do not be quick to criticize others,
Diri sendiri baik dijaga. Better to watch your own behavior.

This arrangement has a certain laid-back quality, and letter A can be sung in a more relaxed manner,
with a little rubato in tempo. Letter B calls to mind a sunny, tropical beach on a lazy day. The song
culminates in letter C, the reiteration of the first chorus. Yet, the dynamics of the entire song never
reaches forte (f). It is a homage to the gentle ways of the Malay people, in a time when life was simpler.

Jason Ong
October 2011
 Folk Songs Of The Asian Archipelago

Geylang Sipaku Geylang

SATB, a cappella

Traditional Malay
Arr. Jason Ong

° # c mp
A Moderately q = 82
U mf
& w w œ Œ b˙ ˙™
S
œ
Ooh Gey - lang Gey -

#c U

l
mp
A & Œ œ ˙ w œ Œ ˙ ˙™ Œ

B. ¢
&
‹

?# c
#c
Ó
Ooh

∑
Œ
mp Ooh
œ

sa w
Œ

Ó
œ
Ooh
˙

Œ
Ooh
mp
œ
œœ

nœ
Œ

Œ
Gey

b˙
Gey

b˙
Gey
-

-
lang

U
˙™
lang

U™
˙
lang
Œ

Œ
ru
° #
& Ϫ Ϫ
5

œ œJ œ j j œ
S
J œ ˙™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙™
Pe

lang, si - pa - ku Gey - lang Gey - lang, si ra - ma ra - ma Pu -

#
A & w ˙™ #œ œ œ œ nœ bœ œ n˙ nœ
Ooh Ooh Pu -

#
n˙ ™
& w œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ
‹ Ooh
T

Ooh Pu -

? # œ™ #˙ ™ nœ ™
j
˙™
œ œ
¢
B. J œ œ œ œ œ #œ
Ooh Ooh Pu -

|
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of this score is illegal

Copyright © 201 9 Jasongs Music

Published and distributed by Muziksea
www.muziksea.com
 ° # œ œ™ ˙™
2

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l
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13

&

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lang,

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j
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-

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Ϫ
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¢ œ œ œ œ b˙
B.
J J J J J œ J J ˙
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Pe

° # U
17 B Gentle swaying rhythm, q = 92

‰ ‰ b˙
S & w œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ w

# U
Ooh ooh wah ooh

A & w w ˙ ˙ w
- ma Ooh wah ooh

# U w ˙˙ b˙˙ w
& w w w
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T

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?# U
Ϫ Ϫ Ϫ
j
¢ bœ œ bœ
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B. w J J
ma dung* do do dung do wah dung do do
(*pronounced "doong")
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 ° # n˙ ™ œ œ™ #œ œ œ œ ™ œ œ ™ œ œ œ œ™
4
33
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j
& ˙ œ œ™ œ œ™ œ œ œ
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° # ˙~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ˙

A
S
37

&

#
ga

& ˙~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ˙

#
ga

& ˙~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ˙
sa ˙

˙
b˙
wah

b˙˙
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˙
w
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w
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Pe

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41 D q = 82

& œ
S J J
lang ma - ri - lah pu - lang ma - ri - lah pu - lang ber - sa - ma sa - ma Pu -

#
A & nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ #œ œ œ nœ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ ˙
lang ma - ri - lah pu - lang, pu - lang ma - ri - lah pu - lang ma - ri - lah ber - sa - ma sa - ma

&
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T

- lang ma - ri - lah ber - sa - ma -

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pu sa ma

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 ° # œ ‰ œ œ™ œ œ œ œ ™ œ œ™ œ œ œ ˙ œ ˙™
5
j
45

& J œ ‰ œ
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J
lang ma - ri - lah pu - lang ma - ri - lah pu - lang ber - sa - ma

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A & Œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œœ nœœ œœ ˙˙ œ œ œ
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#
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° # ˙ #œ ˙ ™
49 mp rit.

S & ˙ w w œ Œ ˙
sa - ma Gey - lang

n#œœ #˙˙ ™™
# Ó Œ
mp
A & ˙ œ ˙ w œ Œ ˙˙
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ma sa - ma Gey - lang

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# mp sa - ma

& ˙ Ó Ó Œ œ w œ ˙ œœ Œ ˙
‹ ma
T Œ
sa - ma Gey - lang

?# ˙ œ nœ Œ
¢
mp
B. Ó ∑ Ó Œ ˙ w
Pe

ma sa - ma Gey - lang

Copyright © 201 9 Jasongs Music

Published and distributed by Muziksea
www.muziksea.com
 SOME GENERAL NOTES ON
BAHASA INDONESIA & BAHASA MELAYU
PRONUNCIATION

In Asia, the Malay language is perhaps, one of the easiest to learn. It is written in the Roman letters,
and for the most part, what you see is what you get.

Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Melayu have similar pronunciation. However, the words pronounced
by the average person varies from region to region. Since Indonesia, being one of the largest
archipelagos in the world, with thousands of islands inhabited by people, variations (dialects) of the
language is bound to arise. Add to that the Dutch and French influence (due to colonization, etc), the
resulting spoken language can be quite different across the islands. Likewise for the Malaysians. Some
of the biggest differences between the two lies in the use of certain verbs, nouns, and the way some
sentences are constructed. These in-depth discussions is beyond the scope here, as we are only
concerned with the pronunciation. There is plenty of information available on the internet for those
who are interested to find out more.

However, it can be noted that when singing, it is a common practice to pronounce the words as spoken
in Baku (High) Malay. Hence, when in doubt, go with the Baku pronunciation. You won't be wrong.
Finally, it's always a good idea to consult with a native speaker, who may be more equipped to provide
you with more information.

Below are some common vowels and consonants which should be noted :

LETTER IPA SYM AS IN

a ɑ father (air, bola)

a ə
e ə
e e
i i
o o
o ɔ
u ʊ
u o
comma* (apa, sejaha)
comma (bersama, kelapa, terbang, melayang, Negara,
tepi, telaga, menyabung)
ray (Geylang, ondeh, boleh, lenggang, beta)
kit (itu, nasi)
oh** (boleh, bola)
raw (tanjong, katong)
good
oh*** (Dayung)

c tʃ chair (Cina)
g ɡ gold (panggung)
j dʒ giant (jo)
ng ŋ singer**** (hinggap)
ny nj new (menyabung)

* It is fairly common for many words ending with 'a' to be pronounced with the ə sound. Hence 'apa'
would be spoken as 'ah-per'. However this doesn't seem to be a hard and fast rule. For instance, the
word 'malay' would be pronounced as 'mer-lay', and NOT 'mah-ley'. Likewise, 'beta' is pronounced
'bay-tah'. When in doubt, pronounce all 'a's as ɑ.

** In English, the vowel 'o' is a dipthong, oʊ (made up of 'oh' and 'ooh'. In Malay, 'o' has only the 'oh'
sound. Hence, 'boleh' would be pronounced 'boh-lay'.

*** While 'u' is mostly pronounced as 'ʊ', it is occasionally pronounced as 'o' (as in 'oh'). Hence 'dayung'
would be 'dah-yong' rather than 'dah-yoong'. Same goes for 'Bandung' which would be 'Bah-n-dong'.
The word ‘kangkung’ is pronounced as 'kah-ng-kong', and NOT 'kah-ng-koong'.

**** The 'ng' is only pronounced 'ŋ' when it occurs in the middle of a word. If a word ends with 'ng',
it is pronounced the same way you would for an English word (eg. bang, song, etc).

The letter ‘r’, whenever possible, should be given a slight roll. (eg. Quatro).

Consonants such as the letters t, p and k, are pronounced without plosives.

Just like any language, the pronunciation of the same word can vary from region to region. I have
compiled this guide based on my experience, as well as speaking with several people who speak the
language, and consulting with resources from the internet. However, I am not a linguist, nor a native
speaker of any of the Bahasa languages, so do bear that in mind.

As this is intended to be a general guide, any specific words in a particular song that needs to be
addressed shall be dealt with separately.

GEYLANG, SI PAKU GEYLANG PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

Using the table above, the appropriate IPA symbol shall be used to replace its corresponding vowel
(in red) and consonant (in blue). The use of the IPA symbol system is to provide a consistent and
universal platform that can be understood by as many people as possible.

Geylang sipaku Geylang, ɡeylɑng sipɑkʊ ɡeylɑng,

Geylang si rama rama, ɡeylɑng si rɑmɑ rɑmɑ,
Pulang, marilah pulang, Pʊlɑng, mɑrilɑh pʊlɑng,
Marilah pulang bersama-sama Mɑrilɑh pʊlɑng bərsɑmɑ-sɑmɑ

Jangan memegang arang, dʒɑŋɑn məməɡɑng ɑrɑng,

Letak di dalam raga. Lətɑk di dɑlɑm rɑɡɑ.
Jangan mengata orang, dʒɑŋɑn məŋɑtɑ orɑng,
Diri sendiri baik dijaga. Diri səndiri bɑik didʒɑɡɑ.

Folk Songs of the Asian Archipelago

Folk Songs of the Asian Archipelago is an on-going series that seeks to collect the folk songs of Asia,
which includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Japan, Thailand, Korea and Taiwan, and
introduce them to the world, especially to younger singers, in the hope that they will enjoy and discover
more folk songs from other parts of Asia. The collection currently includes :

I 望 春 风 (Taiwan) (SSA / SAB / SATB, accompanied)

II 天 乌 乌 (Taiwan) (SAB, accompanied)
III Ayo Mama (Indonesia) (2-part, accompanied)
IV Geylang Sipaku Geylang (Singapore) (SATB / TTBB, a cappella)
V Malay Folksong Medley (Ondeh Ondeh, Dayung Sampan, Lenggang Kangkung)
(Malaysia / Singapore / Indonesia) (2-Part / SSA, accompanied) (SATB / TTBB,
a cappella)