“เพื่อนรัก (Dear Friend)” by The Parkinson

Before I left the Philippines, I started listening to Pimsleur’s Learn to Speak Thai. It took me a few months to finish even the first lesson, because I was psyching myself out that Thai is a tonal language and therefore difficult. It’s almost like all the vowels are somewhere on their way to being dipththongs but not quite there, and the glottal consonants are all blended, and the plosives are all blended too. Thai has a very distinct sound that most foreigners, certainly myself included, can’t seem to imitate well.

Once I fully committed and got into the Pimsleur’s Thai though, it was a lot easier. Now when I try speaking a few phrases here and there, people say my Thai accent is pretty good. Mostly foreigners have said that though (hehe), but they’re the ones that have been in Thailand a long time, and are also married to Thais, so I’ll take the feedback. I still have a long way to go to be more comfortable with speaking Thai, but I’m going to be here a long time so that’s fine.

Since I arrived in Bangkok, I’ve made an effort to watch Thai TV channels. I have no clue what anyone is saying, but it does help in terms of getting familiar with how the Thai language sounds. I especially like the channels where they show Buddhist monks chanting and performing religious ceremonies in temples. I also spend time on the music channels, because I believe that listening to and singing music from a language you’re learning helps a lot. Last night I heard this song start, and I thought hmmm, sounds really smooth. Then I started watching the video, and, well, I’ll let you see it for yourself.

I didn’t catch the first part of the video, so at first I was like oh cool, it’s a lesbian love story. Romi would like this. The Thai culture is very open to the LGBT community, and I’ve seen commercials and even primetime TV shows that are centered around LGBT themes, so I thought it was nice to see an LGBT story in a music video. Then I watched the video a bit more, and towards the end I was like why is she trying to flatten her boobs? Did she fall in love with her friend so much that she wanted to transition to being a man? Luckily I found Deungdutjai’s blog for the explanation of what actually happens in the video.

The focus of The Parkinson’s “เพื่อนรัก (Dear Friend)” video is a male-to-female pre-operation transgender who is best friends with a girl. In the process of her transition, she realizes that she’s falling in love with her best friend. Her best friend is straight and seems to be starting a relationship with a boy. The transwoman’s feelings grow stronger and stronger for her best friend, and she has a moment after her sex reassignment surgery where she regrets completing the transition. By the end, she kisses her best friend, and the music ends on a cliffhanger.

I had mixed feelings about the theme of the video once I fully understood what was going on. Personally, I get irritated and borderline offended when people suggest that maybe if I found the right girl I wouldn’t want to be gay. I also think anyone involved in or believes in gay conversion therapy is out-of-this-world crazier than the people they think they are trying to help. I was worried that this video could be used to support that insane and totally incorrect idea that you can choose the gender of the people you are attracted to. Love is love, and it isn’t something you choose to happen. It just does. I finally calmed down when I saw at the end of the video that the transwoman kissed her best friend while wearing pretty women’s clothes that emphasized her new female form. To me, that meant that she came to accept who she was, and was hopeful that her best friend would accept who she was now too.

The music video is really thought-provoking. It’s almost like a mini indie flick. You can really feel the internal conflict that the transwoman is going through. I feel grateful they decided to show her eventual acceptance of who she really was, even if we are unsure if her best friend would accept her too. I love how they cast an actual transwoman as well. That’s something we don’t see too often in music videos. Video aside, the music is really beautiful too. The Parkinson is almost like a Thai version of South Border, falsettos and all. This song and its video have made me even more committed to learn Thai.

“เพื่อนรัก (Dear Friend)”
The Parkinson

ขอโทษที่ฉันเอง ไม่อาจเป็นเหมือนเดิม อย่างที่เธอต้องการ Oh…baby
Kor toht tee chun eng mai aht bpen meuan derm yahng tee tur dtaung gahn oh baby
I’m sorry that I might not be the same, like you want, oh, baby
แค่เพื่อนเท่านั้น พยายามเข้าใจ
Kae peuan tao nun payayahm kao jai
We’re only friends, I’m trying to understand
แต่ทำไมในใจของฉันยังสั่น Oh baby
Dtae tummai nai jai kaung chun yung sun oh baby
But why is my heart still pounding inside? Oh, baby

เธอ… เธอคงไม่รู้ ว่า…
Tur tur kong mai roo wah
You, you probably don’t know that
เพื่อนเธอคนนี้ ภายในใจนั้น
Peuan tur kon nee pai nai jai nun
This friend of yours, inside their heart
ข้างใน… ได้เปลี่ยนไปแล้ว
Kahng nai dai bplian bpai laeo
Inside, they’ve changed

เปลี่ยนไปเป็นรัก รักจนหมดหัวใจ
Bplian bpai bpen ruk ruk jon mot hua jai
It’s changed into love, love with all of my heart
รักเพียงแต่เธอ ขอเพียงให้เธอได้รู้
Ruk piang dtae tur kor piang hai tur dai roo
I love only you, I just want you to know
ไม่มีอีกแล้ว เพื่อนที่เธอไว้ใจ
Mai mee eek laeo peuan tee tur wai jai
The friend you trusted doesn’t exist anymore
เหลือเพียงแต่คนๆ หนึ่ง ที่เก็บซ่อนความรักไว้ไม่ไหว
Leua piang dtae kon kon neung tee gep saun kwahm ruk wai mai wai
All that’s left is just one person who can’t hide their love anymore
ถ้าเธอไม่คิดอะไรอย่างนั้น ก็แค่ทำว่าฉันไม่เคยพูดไป
Tah tur mai kit arai yahng nun gor kae tum wah chun mai koey poot bpai
If you don’t feel anything like that, just act like I never said anything
(แค่สักครั้งที่ฉันได้บอกเธอว่ารัก)
(Kae suk krung tee chun dai bauk tur wah ruk)
(Just once that I told you I loved you)

ฉันคงไม่รู้ตัว ไม่ได้ทันระวัง
Chun kong mai roo dtua mai dai tung rawung
I didn’t realize it, I wasn’t careful
อยากให้เธอเข้าใจ Oh…Baby
Yahk hai tur kao jai oh baby
I want you to understand, oh, baby
สัญญาจากนี้ไป หากเรายังต้องเจอ จะไม่ทำให้เธอนั้นต้องรำคาญ Oh baby
Sunyah jahk nee bpai hahk rao yung dtaung jur ja mai tum hai tur nun dtaung rumkahn oh baby
I promise, from how on, if we still must meet, I won’t bother you, oh, baby

เธอ… เธอคงไม่รู้ ว่า…
Tur tur kong mai roo wah
You, you probably don’t know that
เพื่อนเธอคนนี้ ภายในใจนั้น
Peuan tur kon nee pai nai jai nun
This friend of yours, inside their heart
ข้างใน… ได้เปลี่ยนไปแล้ว
Kahng nai dai bplian bpai laeo
Inside, they’ve changed

เปลี่ยนไปเป็นรัก รักจนหมดหัวใจ
Bplian bpai bpen ruk ruk jon mot hua jai
It’s changed into love, love with all of my heart
รักเพียงแต่เธอ ขอเพียงให้เธอได้รู้
Ruk piang dtae tur kor piang hai tur dai roo
I love only you, I just want you to know
ไม่มีอีกแล้ว เพื่อนที่เธอไว้ใจ
Mai mee eek laeo peuan tee tur wai jai
The friend you trusted doesn’t exist anymore
เหลือเพียงแต่คนๆ หนึ่ง ที่เก็บซ่อนความรักไว้ไม่ไหว
Leua piang dtae kon kon neung tee gep saun kwahm ruk wai mai wai
All that’s left is just one person who can’t hide their love anymore
ถ้าเธอไม่คิดอะไรอย่างนั้น ก็แค่ทำว่าฉันไม่เคยพูดไป
Tah tur mai kit arai yahng nun gor kae tum wah chun mai koey poot bpai
If you don’t feel anything like that, just act like I never said anything
(แค่สักครั้งที่ฉันได้บอกเธอว่ารัก)
(Kae suk krung tee chun dai bauk tur wah ruk)
(Just once that I told you I loved you)

เปลี่ยนไปเป็นรัก รักจนหมดหัวใจ
Bplian bpai bpen ruk ruk jon mot hua jai
It’s changed into love, love with all of my heart
รักเพียงแต่เธอ ขอเพียงให้เธอได้รู้
Ruk piang dtae tur kor piang hai tur dai roo
I love only you, I just want you to know
ไม่มีอีกแล้ว เพื่อนที่เธอไว้ใจ
Mai mee eek laeo peuan tee tur wai jai
The friend you trusted doesn’t exist anymore
เหลือเพียงแต่คนๆ หนึ่ง ที่เก็บซ่อนความรักไว้ไม่ไหว
Leua piang dtae kon kon neung tee gep saun kwahm ruk wai mai wai
All that’s left is just one person who can’t hide their love anymore
ถ้าเธอไม่คิดอะไรอย่างนั้น ก็แค่ทำว่าฉันไม่เคยพูดไป
Tah tur mai kit arai yahng nun gor kae tum wah chun mai koey poot bpai
If you don’t feel anything like that, just act like I never said anything
(แค่สักครั้งที่ฉันได้บอกเธอว่ารัก)
(Kae suk krung tee chun dai bauk tur wah ruk)
(Just once that I told you I loved you)