I want to talk about three words appearing in this song. All three are loan words from Sanskrit and are also well-known names.

In the second verse is "Pheakdei." The word pheakdei means devotion, loyalty, and faithfulness. Pheakdei is a common unisex name.

Appearing in the third verse is "Nimuol." Nimuol is defined as something without flaws, or flawless. It means without suspicion, doubt, or mistake. Nimuol is without defects. Nimuol is a female name. As I mentioned in various songs, female names are sometimes used in place of words of endearment or just mean "you." This doesn’t necessarily mean that the women referred to in the songs are called these names.

Also in the third verse is the word "Vichara." Vichara is one of the most profound words in the Sanskrit language. Vichara means thought or deliberation. It essentially means self-enquiry. Vichara emphasizes thought analysis as a means to distinguish between the real and the unreal, between Brahman (universal reality) and Atman (the self). Although in Khmer the word still retains its meaning, most Khmer people understand it to mean feelings, emotions, senses, and faculty and reason. Just like Nimuol, Vichara is a female name.


“A Time To Cry”
(Peil Dael Trov Yum)
Music, Lyrics & Vocal by Sinn Sisamouth
Arrangement by Has Salan

A long-hidden song is now moaning and wailing. One teardrop tells me that this life is plagued by love karma.

I found it hard to believe how coldly your emotions had changed, changed without any sympathy. I could not believe your merciless heart, a heart that was driven by greed and desire, dared to secretly have another lover. Was this what you meant by devoted love?

The more I think about it, the more absurd it seems—so unfathomable that your emotions were lighter than cotton. Feelings that fluttered like birds, finding a new love and discarding the old one on a whim.

Now is the time for me to cry—a time fraught with pain in this chapter of my life. There is no hope for our beloved love. Forget it! I’ll just have to accept my battered sentiments as part of fate and karma.

Translation is a serious craft. One must capture the voice of an author writing in one language and relate it to another without overtaking the original author’s voice. One has to leave traces that the translation had ever taken place. Translating lyrics doesn't work if one were to translate word by word, or even sentence by sentence. And translating Khmer lyrics to English is even harder as some words just don't translate well. So I took some liberties to get a smoother translation.

For any copyright issue that might occur, please contact DM @ dalidamak@gmail.com. No copyright infringement is intended for the song and pictures used in this video.

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