Terang Bulan ia a song adopted from a famous song during the late 19th century in the French occupied territories in the Indian Ocean.

The song was composed by Pierre-Jean de Béranger

Pierre-Jean de Béranger

Pierre-Jean de Béranger was a prolific French poet and chansonnier , who enjoyed great popularity and influence in France during his lifetime, but faded into obscurity in the decades following his death...

 (1780–1857), a French lyricist. It became a popular French melody, and was prominent on the island of Mahé in Seychelles

Seychelles

Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....

. The song's popularity spread across the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

 and reached as far as the Malay Archipelago

Malay Archipelago

The Malay Archipelago refers to the archipelago between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. The name was derived from the anachronistic concept of a Malay race....

 early in the 20th century. In 1901, it was presented as Perak State Anthem during installation ceremony of King Edward VII. In 1920s, an Indonesian Bangsawan

Bangsawan

Bangsawan is a type of traditional Malay opera. It was known to have developed from a sort of Indian theatre performance during the 19th century by visiting Indian travellers....

 made the first debut of the song while performing in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. The melody soon became very popular among the people and was given the name Terang Bulan (Bright Moon), becoming a Malay

Malay language

Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

 evergreen, playing at parties, in cabarets and sung by almost everybody in the 1920s and 1930s. Since the independence of Malaysia, it was prohibited from being played as a popular melody, as any such use is proscribed by statute.

Perak State Anthem

The Sultan of Perak

Perak

Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...

, during his exile in Seychelles, was aware of the song's popularity. When Sultan Idris Murshidul’adzam Shah who was the Ruler of the State of Perak from 1887 to 1916 represented the Malay Rulers of the Federated Malay States at the installation ceremony of King Edward VII in 1901, his protocol officer was asked what his state anthem was. Realizing that his state did not in fact possess an anthem, in order not to appear backward in front of his hosts, proceeded to hum the aforementioned tune, thus 'creating' the state anthem of Perak.....

Adoption as Malaysian National Anthem

The Chief Minister and Minister for Home Affairs of the then Federation of Malaya

Federation of Malaya

The Federation of Malaya is the name given to a federation of 11 states that existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957...

, Tunku Abdul Rahman

Tunku Abdul Rahman

Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the...

 settled with Perak State Anthem as the National Anthem of the Federation, on account of its "traditional flavour". The name was changed to Negaraku

Negaraku

"Negaraku" is the national anthem of Malaysia. "Negaraku" was selected as a national anthem at the time of the Federation of Malaya's independence from Britain in 1957. The tune was originally used as the state anthem of Perak, which was adopted from a popular French melody titled "La Rosalie"...

, the lyrics were changed and popular replays of the songs in cabarets and parties ceased as it became proscribed by statute. When Malaysia was formed the song remained as the country's national anthem.

The tune of Terang Bulan was adopted as Mamula Moon song by Felix Mendelssohn & His Hawaiian Serenaders in their album Paradise Isle in 1947.

Original Lyrics

Lyrics	Translation (literal)
Terang bulan, terang di pinggir kali Buaya timbul disangkalah mati Jangan percaya mulutnya lelaki Berani sumpah 'tapi takut mati Waktu potong padi di tengah sawah Sambil bernyanyi riuh rendah Memotong padi semua orang Sedari pagi sampai petang Waktu potong padi di tengah sawah Sambil bernyanyi riuh rendah Bersenang hati sambil bersuka Tolonglah kami bersama sama	The moon is shining, moon shine reflects on the river Floating crocodile thought to be dead Don't believe man's word Dare to pledge but afraid of dying Whilst harvesting paddy in the field Singing gaily Everybody is harvesting paddy morning past to evening (unnoticed) Whilst harvesting paddy in the field Singing gaily Heart at ease while having fun Help us together

• Terang Bulan by Rudy Van Dalm. one of Indonesian Band in late 40's

Several versions of these lyrics exist, whose meanings are very similar or identical. The original lyrics are generally considered to be unknown as many variations exist.

Dutch Version

Dutch singer, Zangeres Zonder Naam has also recorded the Dutch version of Terang Bulan entitled Terang Boelan. The meaning in the Dutch version is entirely different from the Terang Bulan original lyrics though the Dutch version mentions the island of Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

 (or possibly the Dutch East Indies

Dutch East Indies

The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....

).

Dutch version

Translation (literal)

Terang boelan, de maan schijnt over Java En aan 't strand zit Nonja heel alleen Ze denkt nog altijd aan haar Toean Landa Die met z'n schip zolang van haar verdween Ze denkt nog altijd aan haar Toean Landa Die met z'n schip zolang van haar verdween Hij had beloofd dat hij terug zou komen Maar wat hij zei, dat bleek helaas niet waar Ze zijn voorbij, haar mooie toekomstdromen Haar hart doet pijn, het leven valt zo zwaar Ze zijn voorbij, haar mooie toekomstdromen Haar hart doet pijn, het leven valt zo zwaar Toch is er iets dat haar nog vreugd kan geven Dat is haar kind, met ogen hemelsblauw De zon, die straalt weer even in haar leven Als 't kindje zegt: "Ik blijf voorgoed bij jou" De zon, die straalt weer even in haar leven Als 't kindje zegt: "Ik blijf voorgoed bij jou" De zon, die straalt weer even in haar leven Als 't kindje zegt: "Ik blijf voorgoed bij jou" De zon, die straalt weer even in haar leven Als 't kindje zegt: "Ik blijf voorgoed bij jou"

The Bright Moon, the moon shines on Java And at her beach is just across Nonja She still thinks her Tuan Landa Those with his ship until it disappeared from She still thinks her Tuan Landa Those with his ship until it disappeared from He had promised he would return But he said that unfortunately was not true They are gone, her beautiful future dreams Her heart hurts, life is so hard They are gone, her beautiful future dreams Her heart hurts, life is so hard Yet there is something that can give her joy That is her child, with blue eyes The sun that shines again here in her life If it's child says: "I will stay with you forever" The sun that shines again here in her life If it's child says: "I will stay with you forever" The sun that shines again here in her life If it's child says: "I will stay with you forever" The sun that shines again here in her life If it's child says: "I will stay with you forever"