Dayung Sampan (SATB)
This song is a traditional folk song from Indonesia. In 1979, the melody was adapted into the classic hit, Tian Mi Mi, sung by the famous Chinese singer Teresa Teng. The song became very popular among the Southeast Asian countries. Dayung Sampan in both the Malay and Indonesian languages, means ‘rowing a wooden boat’. It poetically describes the historical and humble journey of Chinese migrants to Singapore. The sampan which originates from China are wooden boats, built using a flat plank to form the base and two planks on either side. The word is derived from the Chinese term 三板 (san ban), which translates to ‘three boards/planks’. This was in reference to how these boats were made, also alluding to the humble fragility and poor conditions of those early Chinese migrants who travelled to Southeast Asia, leaving everything behind, in search of new beginnings. An accessible arrangement for developing SATB choirs. Back to YCA Choral Series.