Tetum Coastal Lullaby
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Tetum Coastal Lullaby Lyrics. An original lullaby inspired by Timor-Leste’s coastal lowlands near the capital, Dili, where Tetum is the national language. Tetum shares official status with Portuguese, a legacy of centuries of colonial rule, and Dili’s own harbor is watched over by the towering Cristo Rei statue, a well-known landmark rising above the Timor Sea coastline. Here you will find the lyrics, meaning, and chords.
Lyrics & chords
An original arrangement, with guitar & piano chords above each line.
Verse
What the words mean
Chords — guitar & piano
What “Tetum Coastal Lullaby” Means
“Inan” means mother in Tetum, the national language spoken along Timor-Leste’s coastal lowlands near the capital, Dili. This original lullaby draws on those harbor and coconut-palm images of Tetum coastal life, with “inan” used as a warm address rather than a literal translation.
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- An original lullaby by Relax In No Time, inspired by the musical traditions of its region. The words, melody, arrangement and recording are ours.
- Recording and arrangement: real instruments played by hand, no AI music, by Relax In No Time.
- Chords: written by us for guitar and piano.
- Translation: our own meaning-for-meaning translation, written for understanding. The sung words stay in the original language.
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