He was popular for his gritty-witty ballads accentuated on life of Indonesia's marginalized groups or political satire on the troubled Indonesian social/political scene under Soeharto. His socially aware hit-songs including: "Oemar Bakri" tells about teacher, "Lonteku" is a love story between a criminal and a prostitute, and "Wakil Rakyat" is about members of parliament.
After Reformasi movement on 1997 which leads to democratisation he was a kind of losing the edge for political satire, but his mature musical experience keeps him on Indonesian pop chart with inward-looking songs and songs about personal relationships.
Cikal
Iwan Fals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Kerbau di kepalamu senang bekerja
Kerbau di sini teman petani
Ular di negara maju menjadi sampah nuklir
Ular di dalam buku menjadi hiasan tato
Ular di sini memakan tikus
Ularku ular sanca
Kerbauku teman petani
Ularku memakan tikus
Kerbauku besar, kerbauku seram
Tetapi ia bukan pemalas
Hidupnya sederhana
Sancaku besar, sancaku seram
Mengganti kulit, keluar sarang, makan, dan bertapa
Hidupnya sederhana
Ularku ular sanca
Kerbauku kerbau petani
Ularku memakan tikus
Kerbauku teman petani
Walau kerbauku bukan harimau
Tetapi ia bisa seperti harimau
Kerbauku tetap kerbau
Kerbau petani yang senang bekerja
Sancaku melilitnya
Kerbauku tidak terganggu
Karena sancaku dan kerbau
Temannya petani
Lalu di mana anak-anak sang tikus?
Bayi, bayi, bayi
Murni dan kosong
Bayi, bayi, bayi
Bayi ya bayi
Kalau kita sedang tidur dan tiba-tiba saja kita terbangun
Karena lubang hidung kita terkena kumis harimau
Mungkin kita akan lari, ya lari
Tetapi bayiku tidak
Bukan karena bayiku belum bisa berlari
Aku percaya
Aku percaya
Bayiku tidak akan pernah berpikir
Bahwa harimau itu jahat
Bayiku menarik-narik kumis
Dan memukul-mukul mulut harimau
Harimau malah memberikan bayiku mainan
Bayiku menjadi bayi harimau
Bayi harimau anak petani
Seperti sanca melilit kerbau
Ia ada di gorong-gorong kota
Lantas apa agamanya?
Kerbauku kerbau petani
Ularku ular sanca
Bayiku murni dan kosong
Ia ada di gorong-gorong kota
Kerbauku kerbau petani
Ularku ular sanca
Bayiku bayi harimau
Ia ada di gorong-gorong kota
Bayi, bayi, bayi
Murni dan kosong
Bayi, bayi, bayi
Bayi harimau
Bayi, bayi, bayi
Yang berkalung sanca
Bayi, bayi, bayi
Yang disusui kerbau
In these lyrics, Iwan Fals discusses the different lives and roles of animals in different contexts. He starts off comparing the water buffalo on his head and the water buffalo on someone else's head- his is pure and the other buffalo is happy to work in the fields. He then goes on to compare the snake in a developed country where it is a nuclear waste, to the snake in a book where it is a tattoo. But where he is, the snake eats rats. He emphasizes that his buffalo is a farmer's buffalo, and his snake is the sanca- a type of python.
He then goes on to describe his buffalo and the sanca in more detail. His buffalo may be large and intimidating, but it is not lazy and lives a simple life. Similarly, the sanca may be large and terrifying, but it sheds its skin, comes out of its nest to eat and go into meditation, all while leading a simple life. He then repeats the comparison of the farmer's buffalo and the sanca eating rats.
He goes on to imagine what it would be like to be awakened suddenly by the whiskers of a tiger in your nose. Most people would run, but not his baby. He believes that his baby would not think the tiger was evil, but instead pull on its whiskers and hit its mouth, resulting in the tiger giving his baby a toy. He then continues to describe his baby who is pure and empty, living in the city sewers and is nursed by the buffalo.
Line by Line Meaning
Kerbau di kepalaku ada yang suci
There is something holy about the buffalo in my mind
Kerbau di kepalamu senang bekerja
The buffalo in your mind enjoys working
Kerbau di sini teman petani
The buffalo here is a farmer's friend
Ular di negara maju menjadi sampah nuklir
Snakes in developed countries become nuclear waste
Ular di dalam buku menjadi hiasan tato
Snakes in books become tattoo decorations
Ular di sini memakan tikus
The snake here eats mice
Kerbauku kerbau petani
My buffalo is a farmer's buffalo
Ularku ular sanca
My snake is a python
Kerbauku teman petani
My buffalo is a farmer's friend
Ularku memakan tikus
My snake eats mice
Kerbauku besar, kerbauku seram
My buffalo is big, my buffalo is scary
Tetapi ia bukan pemalas
But it is not lazy
Hidupnya sederhana
Its life is simple
Sancaku besar, sancaku seram
My snake is big, my snake is scary
Mengganti kulit, keluar sarang, makan, dan bertapa
Shedding its skin, coming out of its burrow, eating, and meditating
Ularku ular sanca
My snake is a python
Kerbauku kerbau petani
My buffalo is a farmer's buffalo
Ularku memakan tikus
My snake eats mice
Kerbauku teman petani
My buffalo is a farmer's friend
Walau kerbauku bukan harimau
Although my buffalo is not a tiger
Tetapi ia bisa seperti harimau
But it can be like a tiger
Kerbauku tetap kerbau
My buffalo remains a buffalo
Kerbau petani yang senang bekerja
A farmer's buffalo that likes to work
Sancaku melilitnya
My snake coils around it
Kerbauku tidak terganggu
My buffalo is not disturbed
Karena sancaku dan kerbau
Because the snake and the buffalo
Temannya petani
Are friends with the farmer
Lalu di mana anak-anak sang tikus?
Then what happened to the mice's children?
Bayi, bayi, bayi
Baby, baby, baby
Murni dan kosong
Pure and empty
Bayi ya bayi
Baby, oh baby
Kalau kita sedang tidur dan tiba-tiba saja kita terbangun
If we are sleeping and suddenly awaken
Karena lubang hidung kita terkena kumis harimau
Because a tiger's whiskers touched our nostrils
Mungkin kita akan lari, ya lari
Maybe we will run, yes run
Tetapi bayiku tidak
But my baby won't
Bukan karena bayiku belum bisa berlari
Not because my baby cannot run yet
Aku percaya
I believe
Bayiku tidak akan pernah berpikir
My baby will never think
Bahwa harimau itu jahat
That tigers are evil
Bayiku menarik-narik kumis
My baby pulls the tiger's whiskers
Dan memukul-mukul mulut harimau
And hits the tiger's mouth
Harimau malah memberikan bayiku mainan
The tiger gives my baby toys instead
Bayiku menjadi bayi harimau
My baby becomes a baby tiger
Bayi harimau anak petani
A farmer's baby tiger
Seperti sanca melilit kerbau
Like a python coiling around a buffalo
Ia ada di gorong-gorong kota
It is in the city's sewer pipes
Lantas apa agamanya?
Then what is its religion?
Bayiku murni dan kosong
My baby is pure and empty
Bayiku bayi harimau
My baby is a baby tiger
Bayi, bayi, bayi
Baby, baby, baby
Yang berkalung sanca
Who wears a python necklace
Yang disusui kerbau
Who is breastfed by a buffalo
Contributed by Elliot V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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