Bes Pka (Pickin’ Flowers) is a Khmer wedding song, one of the manyLove, what flowers do you pick? What flowers do you pick?Oh my sweet love, do you pick areca blossoms?Love, what flowers do you pick? What flowers do you pick?Oh my sweet love, do you pick areca blossoms?When you do pick them, when you do pick them,Oh my sweet love, they are full of pollen.When you do pick them, when you do pick them,Oh my sweet love, they are full of pollen.Love, what flowers do you pick? What flowers do you pick?Oh my sweet love, do you pick coconut blossoms?Love, what flowers do you pick? What flowers do you pick?Oh my sweet love, do you pick coconut blossoms?Emerge from their big pods, emerge from their big pods,Oh my sweet love, the flower buds, the flower buds.Emerge from their big pods, emerge from their big pods,Oh my sweet love, the flower buds, the flower buds.Oh grandparents, oh grandparents, oh my sweet love, the ancestors…Oh grandparents, oh grandparents, oh my sweet love, the ancestors…Accept my coconut blossoms, accept my coconut blossoms,Oh my sweet love, grant me good fortune.Accept my coconut blossoms, accept my coconut blossoms,Oh my sweet love, grant me good fortune.
Khmer wedding songs. Wedding music, along with pinpeat (religious music),
mahori (secular music) and funeral music, made up the four categories in
classical Khmer music.
Areca blossoms, pka sla in Khmer, come from areca palms. The blossoms
are thrown by relatives and guests at the bride and bridegroom as blessings.
It’s one of the many traditional elements in Khmer weddings.
