Dayung Sampan


"Dayung Sampan" is an Indonesian folk song originating from Banten, commonly associated with Betawi and Peranakan Benteng culture. It's popular in Indonesia and Singapore.

Background and description

"Dayung Sampan" originated from the 1940s in Indonesia by the pasindhèn Dasimah. the song became popular and strongly associated with the Chinese-Betawi people in Banten. Traditionally, it's played using gambang kromong, a traditional Betawi orchestra with Chinese music influences.
The lyrics of "Dayung Sampan" tells about the life of fishermen and their journey into the sea to catch fish.

Popularity outside Indonesia

Dayung Sampan was first brought to Singapore by migrants from Indonesia. In 1956, a Mandarin cover titled "Poor Great Uncle" was sung by Wu Meiling and Chen Chuan.
In 1978, Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng made an Indonesian cover of the song, the version of "Dayung Sampan" performed by Teng was created by Singaporean composer, believed to originate from the 1950s. On 20 September, 1979, Teng released the album An Unforgettable Day, which featured a Mandarin cover of Dayung Sampan titled "Tian mi mi", with lyrics penned by Zhuang Nu.

Renditions

The oldest known recording of Dayung Sampan is sung by in the 1956 album Presents Songs From Old Djakarta In Krontjong Beat, arranged and directed by Rudi Pirngadi, while the version with the most popular and well-known lyrics was first sung by in her 1969 album Dayung Sampan, which was later included in her folk album Sarinande.

Other renditions

  • Titiek Sandhora released a cover in 1970, with lyrics similar to the one used by Teng.
  • Benyamin Sueb adapted the song's melody for the song "Minta Kawin" for his 1977 album "Telpon Umum", instead about asking to marry a Chinese-Indonesian.
  • Waldjinah released a Javanese cover of the song for her album Glenak-Glenik.
  • A kroncong version was released by Hetty Koes Endang in an album of the same name.
  • Included in her 2006 album Lenggok 20 Tahun featuring He Yun, Noraniza Idris covers the song with Malay lyrics.