Lung Khi Mao (ลุงขี้เมา): meaning and key lines
Carabaoคาราบาว
What the song is about
ลุงขี้เมาlung kîi-mao, “Lung Khi Mao (The Drunk Uncle)”, is a classic Thai song by Carabao (1981). The first song of Carabao's first album: a cautionary tale about an old drunk who was once a hard-working rice farmer, until debt took his land and he drifted to the city as a labourer. Its lines teach an old man, back when he was young, wages, hardly ever full, the old name for Bangkok, and the more … the more.
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Song facts
- Artist
- Carabao
- Released
- 1981
- Style
- Classic
- Level
- B1 (intermediate)
- Mood
- sombre, compassionate, cautionary
- Views
- about 59M (Oct 2026)
- Video
- Carabao Official (official artist channel)
- Lyrics
- Key lines quoted; the full song is in the video
Key lines, explained
Tap a line to hear it. Once the video is playing, lines jump to their moment in the song.
- มี miiชายชรา chaai-chá-raaเป็น bpenคน konขี้เมา kîi-mao
There was an old man who was a drunk
The song begins like a fable: its first word, อุทาหรณ์ù-taa-hǎwn, means a cautionary tale. มีmii at the start of a sentence = there is, there was: มีคนมาหาmii kon maa hǎa = someone's here to see you. ชายชราchaai-chá-raa = an old man, a written word (ชายchaai = man, ชราchá-raa = aged); in speech, คนแก่kon gàe. ขี้เมาkîi-mao = a drunk: ขี้kîi + a word makes someone who always is or does it (see the grammar). - เมื่อ mûeaครั้ง krángยัง yangหนุ่ม nùmแก gaeเคย koeiทำนา tam-naa
Back when he was young, he farmed rice
เมื่อครั้งmûea kráng = back when (written): เมื่อครั้งยังเด็กmûea kráng yang dèk = back when I was a child. ยังหนุ่มyang nùm = still young (หนุ่มnùm = a young man; young). แกgae here is 'he', a casual word for an older person you talk about; said to someone, it's 'you' between close friends (what a tap shows) and rude to anyone else. เคยkoei + verb = used to. ทำนาtam-naa = to grow rice (นาnaa = a rice field). The next line: he worked with his back to the sky, growing rice for people to eat. - เหน็ดเหนื่อย nèt-nùeayแทบ tâepตาย dtaaiได้ dâiแต่ dtàeค่าแรง kâa-raengต่ำ dtàmต่ำ dtàm
Worked half to death, and all he gets is a pittance
Debt has taken his land, and now he carries loads in town as a day labourer, from morning to night. เหน็ดเหนื่อยnèt-nùeay = worn out, a stronger เหนื่อยnùeay (tired). แทบtâep = almost: แทบตายtâep dtaai = half to death, a common exaggeration (หิวแทบตายhǐu tâep dtaai = starving). ได้แต่dâi dtàe = to only get, can only: แต่dtàe here means 'only', not 'but'. ค่าแรงkâa-raeng = wages, pay for labour: ค่าแรงขั้นต่ำkâa-raeng kân-dtàm = the minimum wage. ต่ำdtàm = low; doubled, ต่ำต่ำdtàm dtàm, it's 'really low'. - ในยาม nai yaamจะ jàกิน ginไม่ค่อย mâi kâwyเต็ม dtemอิ่ม ìm
When it's time to eat, he's hardly ever full
ในยามnai yaam = in times of, when (written): ยามyaam is an old word for a time, a part of the day (ยามเช้าyaam cháao = morning time); on its own today, ยามyaam is a security guard. ไม่ค่อยmâi kâwy = not very, hardly: ไม่ค่อยหวานmâi kâwy wǎan = not very sweet. Lyric sheets write ไม่เคยmâi koei (never) here, but in this video he sings ไม่ค่อยmâi kâwy. อิ่มìm = full (after eating): อิ่มแล้วìm láew = I'm full; เต็มอิ่มdtem ìm = completely full. The next line: when it's time to sleep, he never (ไม่เคยmâi koei) sleeps enough. - ร่อนเร่ râwn-rêeเข้า kâoมา maaเป็น bpenจับกัง jàp-gangใน naiบางกอก baang-gàwk
He drifted into Bangkok to work as a day labourer
The last verse tells the farmer's story again: out of options, he drifts into the city. ร่อนเร่râwn-rêe = to wander, to drift from place to place. เข้ามาkâo maa = to come in (to the city). จับกังjàp-gang = a day labourer, hired by the day to carry heavy loads. บางกอกbaang-gàwk = Bangkok, the old name of the place, which the rest of the world kept; Thais call their capital กรุงเทพgrung-têep. - มัน manกลุ้ม glûmก็ gâwยิ่ง yîngกิน ginยิ่ง yîngกิน ginก็ gâwยิ่ง yîngเมา mao
He feels low, so he drinks more, and the more he drinks, the drunker he gets
The trap the song warns about. กลุ้มglûm = gloomy, worried sick: กลุ้มใจglûm jai = to be troubled. ยิ่งyîng + verb = all the more: ยิ่งกินyîng gin = he drinks even more; ยิ่ง...ก็ยิ่ง...yîng … gâw yîng … = the more …, the more … (see the grammar). กินgin is 'to eat', but for alcohol Thais often say กินเหล้าgin lâo, to drink liquor; ดื่มdùuem is the general word 'to drink'. เมาmao = drunk. มันman (it) only fills the beat.
Words you'll learn
- ชายชรา chaai-chá-raa
an elderly man (written)
- ขี้เมา kîi-mao
a drunk, a drunkard
- หนุ่ม nùm
young man; young
- ทำนา tam-naa
to grow rice, to farm the paddies
- เหน็ดเหนื่อย nèt-nùeay
worn out, exhausted
- แทบ tâep
almost
- ค่าแรง kâa-raeng
wage, wages (for labour)
- ต่ำ dtàm
low
- ในยาม nai yaam
in times of, when (written)
- อิ่ม ìm
full (after eating)
อิ่มแล้วìm láew (full already) is the polite way to say no to more food.
- ร่อนเร่ râwn-rêe
to wander, to drift from place to place
- จับกัง jàp-gang
a day labourer who carries loads
- บางกอก baang-gàwk
Bangkok (the old name)
- กลุ้ม glûm
gloomy, worried sick
- ยิ่ง yîng
even more, all the more; the more … (the more …)
Grammar in this song
ขี้kîi + a word = someone who always is or does it, usually a fault: ขี้เมาkîi-mao (a drunk), ขี้เกียจkîi-gìat (lazy), ขี้อายkîi-aai (shy), ขี้ลืมkîi-luuem (forgetful), ขี้หึงkîi-hǔeng (the jealous type, also a Silly Fools song).
ยิ่งyîng … ยิ่งyîng … = the more …, the more …: ยิ่งกินยิ่งเมาyîng gin yîng mao (the more he drinks, the drunker he gets), ยิ่งเร็วยิ่งดีyîng rew yîng dii (the sooner the better), ยิ่งเรียนยิ่งสนุกyîng rian yîng sà-nùk (the more you learn, the more fun it is). In a longer sentence, ก็gâw comes before the second ยิ่งyîng.
The culture behind it
"ลุงขี้เมาlung kîi-mao" opens Carabao's very first album, ขี้เมาkîi-mao (1981), from the years before the band was famous. Aed Carabao (Yuenyong Opakul) wrote the words and borrowed the melody of Anak, a hit by the Filipino singer Freddie Aguilar; the band had formed while its founders studied in Manila. The album was not a success, and Carabao's breakthrough only came two albums later, in 1983. In 2007, for their 25th anniversary, the band looked back to this song with an album called ลูกลุงขี้เมาlûuk lung kîi-mao, 'The Drunk Uncle's Son'.
Like much of เพลงเพื่อชีวิตpleeng pûea chii-wít, 'songs for life', it tells the story behind a familiar sight: a farmer who works หลังสู้ฟ้าหน้าสู้ดินlǎng sûu fáa nâa sûu din, back to the sky and face to the earth, as Thais describe work in the paddies, falls into debt, loses his land and ends up carrying loads in the city, until drink finishes what poverty began: one morning he is found dead under a footbridge. ลุงlung (uncle) is what Thais call any older man, family or not.
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