I posted this on backslappers.com a few months ago, but thought I would bring it here in the interest of new content. The thread sparked a few others to make contributions of their own, which was cool. Apologies if you saw this over there already ..

My take on a Cambodian version of one the greatest songs of all time .... American Pie by Don McLean.

All in Good fun but a bit topical in places ... enjoy

"Cambodian Pie"

[Intro]
A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could put these people in a trance
And maybe they'd stop screaming “Tuk Tuk” for a while

But February made me cry like a river
With every khmer 440 post my computer would deliver
Bad puns on the doorstep
So drunk I couldn’t take one more step

I can't remember if I lied
When I met another’s bar girl bride
How my something touched her deep inside
The day the music died

[Chorus]
So bye-bye, Miss Cambodian Pie
Took a Moto to the levee, as that was all I could buy
And them good old bongs were drunk on Mekong, and high
Singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

[Verse 1]
Did you write the book of sex?
And do Jess101’s posts leave you vexed?
Should you worry you are next?
Now do you believe in rock and roll
Can ramvang save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you're in love with me
But those lady’s drinks ain’t exactly free
Let’s both throw of our clothes
Man, How Dagz love his Ho’s

I was an overweight middle-aged, broncin' buck
With a pink wife-beater and chasing Ganzberg trucks
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died

[Chorus]
So bye-bye, Miss Cambodian Pie
Took a Moto to the levee, as that was all I could buy
And them good old bongs were drunk on Mekong, and high
Singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

[Verse 2]
Now for ten years in the Kingdom of Wonder
Better than the US, Europe, or down-under
But not everything is how it’s supposed to be.
Where the molesters evade the NGOs
Too busy drinking Lattes I suppose
Can it get better? Who really knows?

Oh, and while the king was looking down
A jester stole his now useless crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned

And once Pol Pot read a book on Marx
As Western politicians took a walk in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died

[Chorus]
So bye-bye, Miss Cambodian Pie
Took a Moto to the levee, as that was all I could buy
And them good old bongs were drunk on Mekong, and high
Singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

[Verse 3]
Helter skelter in a summer swelter
Rainsy wants the “Yuon” to have no shelter
Dark clouds are high and dropping fast
Seeds of hate being planted just like grass
Maybe time to try a forward pass
If we still can’t learn from the past.

Now Phnom Penh air ain’t sweet perfume
But overseas it’s all a marching tune
We can all get up to dance
Cambodia gives us that chance

'Cause the players here rule the field
The marching band is only a shield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?

[Chorus]
So bye-bye, Miss Cambodian Pie
Took a Moto to the levee, as that was all I could buy
And them good old bongs were drunk on Mekong, and high
Singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

[Verse 4]
Oh, and here we are all in one place
A bunch of expats lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on Srey be nimble, Srey be quick
Got a hard-on like a candlestick
'Cause Cialis is the sex-pat’s only friend

Oh, and as I watched her on the stage
The manager’s fists were clenched in rage
The drinks were going slow
And no-one was ordering to go

And as the hours climbed into the night
The end of the happy hour sacrificial rite
I saw Barmaids laughing with delight
The day the music died

So bye-bye, Miss Cambodian Pie
Took a Moto to the levee, as that was all I could buy
And them good old bongs were drunk on Mekong, and high
Singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
[Outro]

I met a Srey who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and asked me for some Cash
I went down to the Garage Bar
Where I'd heard the music from afar
But a man there said someone had stolen his stash

And in the streets, the children pleaded
So much a hassle but help is needed
But not a word was spoken
The Tuk Tuks all were broken

And all the men I admire most
Had joined their bar-fines for an end-of-night toast
They caught the last bus for the Sihanoukville coast
The day the music died

So bye-bye, Miss Cambodian Pie
Took a Moto to the levee, as that was all I could buy
And them good old bongs were drunk on Mekong, and high
Singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

[Chorus]
So bye-bye, Miss Cambodian Pie
Took a Moto to the levee, as that was all I could buy
And them good old bongs were drunk on Mekong, and high
Singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"

Excellent!

Something more trad fer yeez, to be sure.......

In Phnom Penh's foul city
where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Sreymom Maly
She wheeled and she tooted
Through the streets so polluted
Screeching Ajai, ajai, ajai a jai-oii

Ajai ajai oii, ajai ajai oii,

Screeching Ajai, ajai, ajai a jai-oii

She was a street person,
Of this I am certain
That so were her mother and father before
and they wheeled and they tooted
through streets not quite so polluted
Screeching Ajai, ajai, ajai a jai-oii

Ajai ajai oii, ajai ajai oii,

Screeching Ajai, ajai, ajai a jai-oii


She caught dengue fever
and no-one would save her
and that was the end of sweet Sreymom Maly,
and her khamaoch wheels and toots
as more traffic pollutes
Screeching Ajai, ajai, ajai a jai-oii

Ajai ajai oii, ajai ajai oii,

Screeching Ajai, ajai, ajai a jai-oii

Kampong Spooner wrote:Something more trad fer yeez, to be sure.......

In Phnom Penh's foul city
where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Sreymom Maly
She wheeled and she tooted
Through the streets so polluted
Screeching Ajai, ajai, ajai a jai-oii

Ajai ajai oii, ajai ajai oii,

Screeching Ajai, ajai, ajai a jai-oii

She was a street person,
Of this I am certain
That so were her mother and father before
and they wheeled and they tooted
through streets not quite so polluted
Screeching Ajai, ajai, ajai a jai-oii

Ajai ajai oii, ajai ajai oii,

Screeching Ajai, ajai, ajai a jai-oii


She caught dengue fever
and no-one would save her
and that was the end of sweet Sreymom Maly,
and her khamaoch wheels and toots
as more traffic pollutes
Screeching Ajai, ajai, ajai a jai-oii

Ajai ajai oii, ajai ajai oii,

Screeching Ajai, ajai, ajai a jai-oii

I like it. Very nice. Moving. Rings truth.

Kampong Spooner wrote:Something more trad fer yeez, to be sure.......

I like it