Hive Open Mic Week 112 | Ujung Aspal Pondok Gede - Cover song by Indonesiabersatu

Hello brothers and sisters, we are a punk rock band from Medan, Indonesia. Our band was formed in 2005 and still exists today. Today, in the Hive Open Mic community, we are here for the weekly #openmic event that takes place every week. This week's theme is "local tradition" initiated by @nellynohemi.

So, we performed a cover song entitled "Ujung Aspal Pondok Gede" which was sung by a legendary musician from Indonesia, namely "Iwan Fals". This song tells about the transition from a village to a city by the ruler.

Ujung Aspal Pondok Gede is a place that used to be a village. There are still many indigenous people who still adhere to ancestral traditions such as giving offerings and performing some ritual offerings when the harvest season arrives. The friendly and welcoming villagers are very close to nature because they regard nature as a mother that must be protected and preserved.

But one day, the ruler wanted to make it a city by building a factory there. Many of the local people had to be willing to lose their homes due to forced evictions. A beautiful village full of smiles has now been replaced by a city filled with factory smoke. Local traditions are almost extinct because of the greed of the rulers there.

The following are the lyrics of the song in Indonesian;

"Di kamar ini, aku dilahirkan
Di balai bambu buah tangan bapakku
Di rumah ini, aku dibesarkan
Dibelai mesra lentik jari Ibu

Nama dusunku Ujung Aspal Pondok Gede
Rimbun dan anggun, ramah senyum penghuni dusun

Kambing sembilan, motor tiga bapak punya
Ladang yang luas habis sudah s'bagai gantinya

Sampai saat tanah moyangku
Tersentuh sebuah rencana
Dari serakahnya kota
Terlihat murung wajah pribumi
Terdengar langkah hewan bernyanyi

Di depan masjid, samping rumah wakil Pak Lurah
Tempat dulu kami bermain, mengisi cerahnya hari
Namun, sebentar lagi angkuh tembok pabrik berdiri
Satu per satu sahabat pergi dan takkan pernah kembali"

The translation of the lyrics in English is;

"In this room, I was born
In the bamboo hall my father's handiwork
In this house, I grew up
Caressed tenderly by the mother's finger

The name of my hamlet is Ujung Aspal Pondok Gede
Lush and elegant, friendly smiles of the villagers

Goat is nine, three motorbikes Father mine
The vast field has been used up instead

Until the land of my ancestors
Touched by a plan
From the greed of the city
Look gloomy native face
Heard the footsteps of animals singing

In front of the mosque, next to the deputy head of the village head
The place where we used to play, filled the sunny day
However, soon the factory walls will stand up
One by one friend leave and never come back"

About Iwan Fals

He is a musician and also a legendary singer from Indonesia with the real name Virgiawan Liestanto. Iwan Fals was born on September 3, 1961. Every song he wrote, tells a lot about the dark times of the 1970s and 1980s in politics, known as the New Order era.

Some of the theme songs sung by Iwan Fals refer to social life in Indonesia, criticism of the government system, empathy for marginal groups, to the big disaster that hit Indonesia. In 1984, he was imprisoned by the police because the lyrics he sang were considered the cause of the riots. Below is the original song is sung by Iwan Fals;

Thank you for watching and listening to the songs we play. Peace to all of us.