Rocking Bangkok
The full name of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, is sometimes said to be the longest place name in the world. (Apparently there’s a competitor in Wales.)
A good way to hear the full name is to check out this video.
It’s a 1989 rock song by the Thai group Asanee-Wasan in which the full name of Bangkok is repeated several times. There’s great footage of Bangkok through the decades.
Here’s the full name that’s being sung:
Krungthep mahanakhon amon rattanakosin mahintharayutthaya mahadilok phop noppharat ratchathani burirom udomratchaniwet mahasathan amon phiman awatan sathit sakkathattiya witsanukam prasit
And here’s what it means:
The city of gods, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city of the god Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the royal city filled with delights, abounding in enormous royal palaces which resemble the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by the king of the gods Indra and built by his divine architect Vishvakarma.” (Adapted from a translation by Piriya Krairiksh)
8 Responses to “Rocking Bangkok”
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xensen on August 28th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
It’s a little bit of a tangent, but I like the band Dengue Fever, which is based in L.A. but has Southeast Asian (Cambodian) roots.
xensen on August 28th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
I played these two cuts for someone who said “the ones from Bangkok sound more Western than the ones from L.A.” Do you agree?
ELS on August 29th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Isn’t that a tight fit on official signs and stuff?
” WELCOME TO
Krungthep mahanakhon amon rattanakosin mahintharayutthaya mahadilok phop noppharat ratchathani burirom udomratchaniwet mahasathan amon phiman awatan sathit sakkathattiya witsanukam prasit ! ”
Although it probably DOES put a song on everyone’s tongue when walking through the airport……
forrest on August 29th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Thanks for the amusing comment, ELS. I can imagine the official signs you mention, stretching on and on
Actually the usual name for Bangkok is just the very first part of the long formal version, “Krungthep,” meaning “city of deities.” (The “thep” element is related to Sanskrit “deva” [deity] and ultimately to English words such as “divine.”)
But even though Krungthep is the usual name, that’s not what Thai people usually call the city. They say “Phra Nakhon” meaning “revered city.” (“Nakhon” [city] is derived from a Sanskrit word for “city”—“nagara”—which is also gave rise to a Cambodian word for “city”—“Angkor.”)
In case this is confusing, here’s Lewis Carroll’s White Knight to make things worse:
nico on August 31st, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Did anyone catch Dengue Fever at Outsidelands?
I’m not a fan of huge festivals, and since I didn’t want to even get near crowds I managed to avoid the Red Vic, too, where their documentary was screening (it screened for the first time at Indiefest last year, so don’t miss it next time!).
bittermelon on August 31st, 2009 at 12:34 pm
YES! DENGUE FEVER!
Forrest, what a wonderful video (educational AND catchy). Thanks for sharing. How’d you find this? Keep up the blog entries, please!
bluehour on August 31st, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Oooh…Dengue Fever are amazing, I saw the documentary on Friday. They played the opening of the Jewish Museum last year, how can we get a hold of them to play at the Asian…:)
And Forest, I’m sure we would love to see more of your rock & roll musical tastes.
JgMacD on October 3rd, 2009 at 1:37 pm
This brings back memories! We heard this EVERYWHERE we went! I had a blonde colleague who made fast friends everywhere by singing this song even in a Karoake bar long since closed on Sutter Street here in SF in 1992. The Thais couldn’t believe that a bunch of farang knew all the words to this and “Lin Gap Fan”, another big hit at the time. FYI, in the south they say “Bai Thep” when they are going up to Bangkok.