She is known for her sense of humor, which is expressed in both her music and her onstage performances. Many of her songs alternate between emotional reflections on romance and outright comedy. Two of her more famous songs include "Sensitive New Age Guys" and "Bald Headed Men".
Moken Spoken Here
Christine Lavin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Way out on the Surin Islands
in the middle of the Andaman Sea
there lives a happy people
with a small vocabulary . . .
if you have no word for 'worry'
imagine never having a birthday party?
and guess what? you don't care . . .
if you have no word for 'take' or 'want'
you must have everything you need . . .
if you have no yen for material gain
guess what? no greed
No hello
no goodbye
no 'how are ya?'
no need to lie
no telling time
no asking when?
never hearing 'are we there yet?'
over and over again
No road rage
no cellphones
with their annoying downloadable
hippity hoppity ring tones
no car alarms
no baseball scores
no second hand smoke
no slamming doors
No noisy neighbors
you can hear through the walls
no tailgaters
or telemarketer calls
no panhandlers
no spam
are you happy about going away?
I know I am
Did you know Eskimos have 28 different words for 'snow'
well the Moken don't have a single word for 'eskimo'
Let's pack our bags
what's there is enough-for-us
on an island without a single
the-saur-us
or greenhouse gases
or toxic spills
or internet access
or sleeping pills
How do we get there?
how soon can we go?
do they take Master Card?
what do you mean no?
no credit cards?
no central air?
no direct flights?
well how does one get there?
Oh . . . Take one plane to another plane
to a train to a boat?
from a boat to a dock?
from a dock to a float?
from a float to a beach?
hike the beach to a hut?
does this hut have a bathroom?
oh . . . it sounds lovely, but . . .
Way out on the Surin Islands
as peaceful as can be
there lies a perfect paradise
a paradise I'll never see
The song "Moken Spoken Here" by Christine Lavin is an ode to the Moken tribe, a group of nomadic people living on the Surin islands in the Andaman Sea. The lyrics describe the unique way of life of the Moken, who spend six months of the year living on handmade boats and the other six months living on the beach. They learn to swim before walking and are skilled divers who can see underwater twice as well as others in the so-called civilized world. The Moken language is unusual and doesn't have words for "want," "take," "goodbye," "hello," or even "worry." They have no concept of time and age, making it an attractive and fascinating way of living for Christine Lavin.
The song highlights how different life would be for those who are accustomed to material possessions to live in a place with no concept of it. There is no worry, greed, or material gain, which means that the people always have everything they need. There is no concept of birthday parties, but nobody seems to care. The song contrasts modern society's annoyances like cellphone ringtones and car alarms with the peace at the Surin Islands. The absence of direct flights or credit card is a minor inconvenience compared to the pollution-free and restful environment provided.
Line by Line Meaning
Way out on the Surin Islands
A reference to the location of the Moken tribe who live on the Surin islands in the Andaman Sea.
in the middle of the Andaman Sea
Further detail about the location of the Moken tribe on the Surin Islands.
there lives a happy people
The assertion that the Moken people are happy.
with a small vocabulary . . .
The Moken language is unusual in that it has relatively few words.
if you have no word for 'worry'
The Moken don't have a word for 'worry'.
there must be no worry there . . .
It is implied that the lack of a word for 'worry' means that the Moken have little or nothing to worry about.
imagine never having a birthday party?
As a result of their lack of a concept of time, the Moken don't celebrate birthdays.
and guess what? you don't care . . .
The Moken are not concerned about not having birthday parties because they don't have a concept of time.
if you have no word for 'take' or 'want'
The Moken language doesn't have words for 'take' or 'want'.
you must have everything you need . . .
The absence of words for 'take' or 'want' suggests that the Moken have everything they need or want.
if you have no yen for material gain
The Moken tribe don't have a desire for material possessions.
guess what? no greed
The lack of a desire for material possessions indicates a lack of greed in the Moken culture.
No hello
The Moken language doesn't have a word for 'hello'
no goodbye
The Moken language doesn't have a word for 'goodbye'
no 'how are ya?'
The Moken language doesn't have an equivalent phrase to 'how are you?'.
no need to lie
The absence of certain words in the Moken language suggests a culture where there is no need to lie.
no telling time
The Moken do not have a concept of time, meaning that they do not have a way of telling time.
no asking when?
Without a concept of time, there is no equivalent phrase to 'when?' in the Moken language.
never hearing 'are we there yet?'
The lack of a concept of time in the Moken culture means that there is no equivalent to the phrase 'are we there yet?'
over and over again
Emphasizing the repetition of the phrase 'are we there yet?'
No road rage
The culture of the Moken does not include road rage.
no cellphones
The Moken culture lacks modern technology like cellphones.
with their annoying downloadable
A reference to the many cellphone ringtones that are available to download.
hippity hoppity ring tones
A humorous description of some cellphone ring tones.
no car alarms
The lack of modern technology means that there are no car alarms on the Surin islands where the Moken tribe lives.
no baseball scores
There is no interest in baseball on the Surin islands, nor is there any way for the Moken to keep score.
no second hand smoke
There is no smoking or second-hand smoke on the Surin islands according to the lyrics.
no slamming doors
Without modern technology, it is unlikely that doors are being slammed on the Surin islands.
No noisy neighbors
As a result of their isolation and lack of technology, there are no noisy neighbors on the Surin islands.
you can hear through the walls
Implies that there are either no walls or that they are thin enough that objects can be heard through them.
no tailgaters
There is likely no driving culture, allowing for the absence of tailgaters.
or telemarketer calls
The Moken don't have access to telephone technology, making telemarketer calls impossible.
no panhandlers
The Moken do not have a culture that includes panhandlers.
no spam
Spam email, similar to telemarketer calls, is not relevant to the Moken who do not have access to email or technology.
are you happy about going away?
The singer of the song questions the listener's enthusiasm about going somewhere without modern amenities.
I know I am
Despite the lack of modern technology, the artist of the song is still excited about going.
Did you know Eskimos have 28 different words for 'snow'
A reference to an interesting linguistic fact about the Inuit language's multiple words for 'snow.'
well the Moken don't have a single word for 'eskimo'
The absence of a word for 'eskimo' in the Moken language suggests that they do not have any contact with Inuit culture.
Let's pack our bags
The singer of the song is enthusiastic about visiting the Moken tribe.
what's there is enough-for-us
Despite not having modern technology or many amenities, the artist feels that 'what's there' will be enough to enjoy the visit.
on an island without a single
The Surin islands are relatively untouched by modern human influence.
the-saur-us
A humorous reference to the absence of thesauruses on the island.
or greenhouse gases
The Moken people don't have an impact on the environment through greenhouse gas emissions.
or toxic spills
The lack of modern industry or transportation means that there is no risk of toxic spills on the Surin islands.
or internet access
There is no internet access on the Surin islands where the Moken tribe lives.
or sleeping pills
Without modern medicine, sleeping pills or other medication aren't widely available to the Moken people.
How do we get there?
The singer is pondering the logistics of getting to the Surin islands.
how soon can we go?
The artist is impatient to travel to the Surin islands.
do they take Master Card?
The singer is half-jokingly asking if the Moken people would be willing to exchange goods or services for a Master Card payment.
what do you mean no?
The singer is responding to the fact that payment with a Master Card is unlikely to be possible.
no credit cards?
The Moken do not have a concept of credit, nor do they use credit cards.
no central air?
The Moken tribe do not use central air conditioning or other modern means of climate control.
no direct flights?
There are no direct commercial flights to the Surin regions where the Moken tribe lives.
well how does one get there?
Continuing the conversation about logistics, the singer is wondering how to reach the Surin islands.
Oh . . . Take one plane to another plane
The singer begins to explain a long and convoluted journey to reach the Surin islands.
to a train to a boat?
Describing a multi-step journey, beginning with flying from one country to another, then taking a train followed by a boat to reach the Surin islands.
from a boat to a dock?
Describing the final part of the journey from a larger boat to a dock on the Surin islands where the Moken tribe lives.
from a dock to a float?
Another step in the final journey description.
from a float to a beach?
Another step in the final journey description.
hike the beach to a hut?
Describing the final part of the journey to reach the Moken people, which involves hiking along the beach to reach their temporary homes.
does this hut have a bathroom?
The singer is half-jokingly asking if the temporary homes of the Moken people have bathrooms, given the lack of modern amenities.
oh . . . it sounds lovely, but . . .
After description of the journey and the lack of modern amenities, the singer begins to question whether the trip is a good idea after all.
Way out on the Surin Islands
Repeating the opening line, to emphasize the unique culture of the Moken tribe that lives there.
as peaceful as can be
Summing up the artist's impression of the Surin islands, and the peaceful culture of the Moken tribe.
there lies a perfect paradise
The artist views the Surin islands as a utopia, despite the lack of modern amenities.
a paradise I'll never see
The singer recognizes that the trip to visit the Moken people is unlikely to occur, and is lamenting missing out on the experience.
Contributed by Riley I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.