15 Hours Aheadប៉ានៅថ្ងៃស្អែក

(Hello? ...Pa?) (ប៉ា says good morning, baby.) [Verse 1] I was ten in my pajamas, cartoons on the TV Six AM, a knock, and Mak said go back to sleep But I saw them through the screen door, saw his hands behind his back Last hug was through a window, and they never brought him back Learned the word "deported" when I barely learned to spell Mak worked doubles at the shop, so I raised myself as well Every night at nine, my phone lights up It's noon tomorrow where he wakes up [Chorus] Fifteen hours ahead You're already in tomorrow ប៉ានៅថ្ងៃស្អែក And I'm still here in today Goodnight, Pa ប៉ា, good morning Someday I'mma catch up to you [Verse 2] Math homework on FaceTime, he was bad at fractions too Blew my candles on a screen, he sang off-key, I knew He could barely speak his Khmer, so we learned it side by side One word every night, two students, different time First word was នឹក, it means I miss you Then ស្រឡាញ់, he said it twice to make sure it came through [Verse 3] Prom night in Long Beach, showed my dress at three his time He went quiet, then he said I look just like my យាយ Graduation on a laptop, he was clapping in the dark Every paycheck from the boba shop went in a jar marked "Pa" Last word we learned was ជួបគ្នា, it means we'll meet He said "soon, កូន," and this time I booked the seat [Bridge] កូនអើយ... ប៉ារង់ចាំកូន ប៉ាសុំទោស, for every year I missed Don't, Pa. I'm coming. ប៉ា! កូនមកដល់ហើយ... [Final Chorus] Zero hours apart No more waiting on tomorrow ប៉ានៅទីនេះ And I'm finally here today No more goodnight, Pa No more good morning I finally caught up to you (ប៉ា... what's the word for home?) (ផ្ទះ... It's wherever you are.) KHMER IN THIS SONG ប៉ានៅថ្ងៃស្អែក: Pa's in tomorrow នឹក: To miss someone ស្រឡាញ់: To love ជួបគ្នា: To meet each other យាយ: Grandma កូនអើយ... ប៉ារង់ចាំកូន: My child, Pa's waiting for you ប៉ាសុំទោស: Pa's sorry កូនមកដល់ហើយ: You made it, you're here ប៉ានៅទីនេះ: Pa's right here ផ្ទះ: Home Created by Somleng Studio with AI-assisted music and visuals. A fictional story inspired by real Khmer American experiences.