Nursery RhymesToba, Toba, Oan Ki'ik
Toba, Toba, Oan Ki'ikToba, Toba, Oan Ki'ik
A lullaby from Timor-Leste

Toba, Toba, Oan Ki'ik

Key: A minor~58 BPMGuitar & Piano chordsOriginal · Timor-Leste
Relax In No Time video

Toba, Toba, Oan Ki'ik Lyrics. An original lullaby inspired by Timor-Leste's Tetum-language cradle-song tradition, from one of the world's youngest nations, its mountains famous for coffee grown in the shade. Here you will find the lyrics, English translation, meaning, and chords.

Sing & play

Lyrics & chords

An original arrangement, with guitar & piano chords above each line.

Verse

Am E Am
Toba, toba, oan ki'ik,
Dm E Am
foho sira hodi malirin kalan.
C G
Kafe nia been hela iha rai,
Dm E Am
toba, toba, ha'u nia doben.
In English

What the words mean

“Sleep, sleep, little child, the mountains cool down at night. The coffee dreams in the earth, sleep, sleep, my dear one.”
Play it

Chords — guitar & piano

Am
x
Guitar
CEA
Piano
Dm
xx
Guitar
DFA
Piano
E
Guitar
EBG#
Piano
C
x
Guitar
CEG
Piano
G
Guitar
DGB
Piano
Good to know

What “Toba, Toba, Oan Ki'ik” Means

Timor-Leste, one of the world’s youngest countries (independent since 2002), is known for its mountainous terrain and shade-grown coffee, among the most prized in Southeast Asia. This original lullaby, in Tetum (the national language alongside Portuguese), borrows both, the cooling mountain nights and the coffee groves.

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