bonus track sunday
"Man of Constant Sorrow" by Pen Ran
Surprise! I’ve got a bonus track for you this week. Every so often, I hear a song that knocks my socks off but that doesn’t fit neatly into a playlist for some reason or another. In the case of the song below, the history surrounding it is so haunting that to include it on a regular weekly mixtape feels dismissive. Regularly scheduled mixtapes will resume midweek, but today, just one song for you: “Man of Constant Sorrow” by Pen Ran (or, Pan Ron in some Western sources).
Click here to link directly to the song.
Pen Ran was a part of a flourishing pop culture and music scene in Phnom Penh before the horrors of the Khmer Rouge. In 1960s Cambodia, musicians were exploring new sounds and translating them into a distinctly Cambodian context. This reimagining of “Man of Constant Sorrow” is a window into this blending of Western influences and traditional sounds in mid-century Cambodian popular music.
I’ll pause here to recommend the documentary, Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll. Watching it, you can easily feel the excitement that musicians and artists felt as new records arrived from other parts of the world. The music scene in Phnom Penh music scene joyfully absorbed those influences and blended them with traditional instruments and sounds to create something distinctive.
Pen Ran was a part of this scene. She was particularly known for her flirtatious songs and risqué lyrics in the late 60s and early 70s. However, like many musicians and artists, she was also never seen again after 1979. Her fate is among the 1.7 million killed during the Khmer Rouge genocide.
Pen Ran’s story and the others featured in Don't Think I've Forgotten are a chilling reminder of the ways in art and artists can be silenced and erased by those in power. But it's also a powerful reminder of music's enduring quality. In the documentary, survivors share stories of singing pop songs in the fields where they knew they wouldn't be heard.
That enduring quality is what I think makes this song so special. I first heard this song a few weeks ago as the closing track on a compilation called, Cambodian Soul Sounds, Volume 1. I nearly fell off the couch when I realized I was hearing a cover of “Man of Constant Sorrow.” Growing up, I went to Bluegrass festivals with my grandpa where I’m sure I heard traditional renderings of this song. Hearing it reimagined in this context and finding such a deep history attached to it makes it too special to bury in a playlist. Enjoy this bonus track and I'll see you midweek.