Drunkard's Song: It Is Not the Wine That Intoxicates Us
Updated: Oct 16
Drunkard’s Song《她說是酒鬼的歌》 is now available on major streaming platforms, and the MV is also out on YouTube! As the second single from Chapter One: “LOOP” of the Anak Borneo Universe (ABU), the song sounds cheerful on the surface, like the joy that comes after drinking. But beneath that cheerfulness, there is also helplessness and escape in the face of life’s uncertainty.
A Song That Sparked from World News
“Gun smoke rolls in the wind
The river of time leaves us with no way forward or back”
This song was written in early 2026. It was inspired by the bloody suppression of protesters by the Iranian authorities, followed by the escalation of war after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. The helplessness of ordinary people facing powerful forces, and the feeling of being forced into conflict, reminded me of the situation faced by Indigenous communities whose rights are often sacrificed under the pressure of mainstream development.
Those similarities moved me deeply. I cannot speak on behalf of anyone. I can only record these feelings in my own way, along with my helplessness, regret and sadness.
A Short Escape, A Brief Relief
“Cry! Laugh! Speak! Enjoy yourself!
Cherish this brief moment of joy”
Alcohol cannot solve any problem. In many cases, it is also something that can easily be abused. In this song, alcohol becomes a way of escaping reality, as well as a temporary emotional outlet. Through a slightly drunk and loosened state, people can briefly release the emotions they want to express, the words they want to say, and the part of themselves that still wants to play.
After all, life is unpredictable. Sometimes, all we can do is set our worries aside for a while and cherish the time we have together in the present.
The Drunkard's Story in Sound
When deciding the musical and arrangement direction of the song, I did not want to make it too heavy. Instead, I placed a light, grounded reggae rhythm inside an alternative rock framework. Even with that lighter rhythm, I still intentionally added a touch of melancholy into the chords.
The chorus uses a rather unconventional progression: F–B♭m–A♭–D♭m–C7. There are quite a few borrowed chords in it, blurring the original sense of F major and allowing the melody to drift between major and minor colours. This constant shift, while still echoing itself, creates a feeling of weightlessness and unease. The final C7 pulls the harmony back towards F, but it does not completely erase the floating feeling left behind by what came before.
By the bass solo, the rhythm shifts from 4/4 into a 6/8 half-time drunk groove, with the chords moving through Fm–B♭–B–GmMaj7. The chromatic movement from B♭ to B, followed by the unresolved colour of GmMaj7, makes Kent’s bass feel like a drunk man muttering to himself, gradually falling into a drunken nightmare.
Buddha Beat’s flute then enters in a normal 6/8 pulse, over a section with a Dorian flavour, as if calling the half-lost protagonist to wake up. I am very grateful to both of them for adding different voices to this song. Personally, I have always enjoyed this kind of dramatic musical arrangement.
Drunkard's Song in the Anak Borneo Universe
In the MV, this sense of weightlessness falls onto Evan Tesat from ABU. He begins in his room writing songs, then moves through different places performing this drunkard’s song. Images of war, forest fires and poverty appear throughout. As he moves from a relatively sober state into drunkenness, the solo pulls him into an amber-coloured nightmare.
Eng Gang, the main character from LOOP’s first single Happy Life《籠裡》, also appears in the dream. What exactly Evan sees there, I will leave for everyone to discover in the MV.
At the end of the song, I brought in the opening melody from my older work Eating Durian《吃榴槤》. The overall atmosphere shifts from a performer singing at the front into something closer to a campfire gathering or tribal carnival, where everyone sings together. The chords also remove the earlier sense of melancholy, symbolising the protagonist’s movement from escaping reality through alcohol to accepting the present situation and standing together with his people.
It Is Not the Alcohol That Makes Us Drunk
Sometimes, it is not the alcohol that makes us drunk. The drunkenness was already within us. Looking at the world through the same amber colour of alcohol, the protagonist moves through different states of mind: escape, loss, and eventually finding himself again.
Just as “she”, my other half, said, Drunkard’s Song is about the transformation of a drunkard’s life: from drinking, to alcoholism, and from alcoholism to learning how to taste.
It is not the wine that intoxicates us — it is we who come to know our own drunkenness.
Listen to Drunkard’s Song《她說是酒鬼的歌》: https://artists.landr.com/991048611801
Watch the MV: https://youtu.be/E1ZOvcqEbso
More works and updates from Anak Borneo Universe (ABU):
Official website: https://www.evananakborneo.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evan_anak_borneo
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