"Bengawan Solo" () is an Indonesian -style song written by a Javanese, Gesang Martohartono, in 1940. The song is a description of the longest river in the Indonesian island of Java, the Solo River. The song became popular in Indonesia (and Asia as a whole) during the Second World War and was one of the songs promoted nationally in the newly-independent country after the war.

The song is the first song written by an Indonesian in the Indonesian language to achieve widespread popularity in Indonesia. It also became popular in Japan, other Far East and Southeast Asian countries, and many versions of the song in different languages exist.

In October 2025, "Bengawan Solo" was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage of Indonesia by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia.

Background

thumb|Gesang Martohartono, composer of "Bengawan Solo", honoured in a postage stamp

The song was written in 1940 by Gesang Martohartono when he was 23. Gesang was an untrained musician from Surakarta when he composed "Bengawan Solo". He initially performed the song locally at weddings and social functions, and it then started to gain popularity in Indonesia after two local radio stations began broadcasting the song.

The song is the first song in Bahasa Indonesia by a local composer to gain wide popularity in Indonesia and around the world. It was widely broadcast as a propaganda song in Indonesia during Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies that started in 1942 during World War II, and it was also one of the songs promoted nationally by Sukarno after the Second World War and independence in 1945.

In 1991, a group of appreciative Japanese war veterans arranged for a statue of Martohartono to be erected in a park in Surakarta. Gesang, who became a nationally renowned figure for the song, died in 2010.

Lyrics

thumb|19th century painting of Solo River

The song is a poetic description of Java's longest river, Solo River, which flows through central and eastern Java, Indonesia. It describes how its water changes in the dry and rainy seasons, and that it flows from the city of Surakarta (known locally as Solo) surrounded by mountains, eventually into the sea. It ends with the observation that it has always been used by merchants with boats.

Cover versions

During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, its melodies appealed to the occupying Japanese soldiers as well as the non-Indonesian prisoners (mainly Dutch civilians) in the internment camps. A Japanese colonel, Takahashi Kōryō, wrote new lyrics in Indonesian to the tune of "Bengsawan Solo" in a song called "Negeri Sekutu" in an attempt to popularize anti-Allies sentiment among Indonesians. Ichirō Fujiyama, a Japanese singer who was taken prisoner in East Java when Japan surrendered and spent some time in a prison in the Solo River area, took "Bengawan Solo" to Japan (with the lyrics translated to Japanese). It gained great popularity when recorded a version in 1947, which became a best-seller. Other singers such as Hibari Misora, Akira Kobayashi and Harumi Miyako also recorded the song. and Siti Nurhaliza with Noh Salleh. The recording by Oslan Hussein & Teruna Ria was ranked 11th in the list of 150 Best Indonesian Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone Indonesia in 2009.

Usage and cultural references

  • Bengawan Solo is the title of the 1949 Indonesian film with the song used as the title theme.
  • The song was used in both 1949 Japanese films, Stray Dog and The Quiet Duel, by Akira Kurosawa.
  • Bengawan Solo (ブンガワンソロ, Bungawan Soro) is the title of a 1951 Japanese film directed by Kon Ichikawa, with "Bengawan Solo" its theme song.
  • "Bengawan Solo" was used in the 1962 film An Autumn Afternoon by Yasujirō Ozu.
  • Bengawan Solo is the name of a popular chain of cake and pastry shops in Singapore.
  • The Mandarin version of this song was used as the ending theme song of the 2019 Chinese film The Wild Goose Lake.

See also

  • Music of Indonesia
  • Music of Java

References

  • [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csyYxUG6RQI] - a version of Bengawan Solo by Sundari Soekotjo on YouTube

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