The December song
Blue Plastic Bag
Blue Plastic Bag is a song inspired by the story of my grandparents and their children. The youngest, who later became my mother, was only 11 years old when they left Indonesia in 1958. As a mixed Dutch-Indonesian family, they faced unique challenges—too Dutch for Indonesia, too “brown” for Australia, where they hoped to emigrate, and too unfamiliar for the Netherlands, where they eventually settled.
This song is dedicated to all refugees who share the painful experience of leaving everything behind, forced to pack up and go in haste. The blue plastic bag in the song symbolizes the few precious items they managed to bring, capturing both the loss and resilience of starting over.
Song Lyrics & credits
Yuna Mas - 'Blue Plastic Bag'
Lyrics
They arrived
Her parents knew the day would come
At dinner, the shock was still great
The men
Their guns and knives were not what scared them most
What did were their eyes filled with hate
You must leave right now
There’s no time to pack
She took the first thing that she found
A blue plastic bag
They rushed
They took their stuff so brainlessly
Driven by panic and fear
Following her feelings
She grabbed memories
The bag became her souvenir
You must leave right now
There’s no time to pack
She took the first thing that she found
A blue plastic bag
The flight
Silent but for her mother’s sobs
Exhausted, she fell asleep
Suitcases and packs and clothes
So many people here
She woke up Oh no, where’s my bag?
You must leave right now
There’s no time to pack
She took the first thing that she found
A blue plastic bag
I want my blue bag
It’s a blue plastic bag
I’ll find my blue bag
I want my blue bag
It’s a blue plastic bag
It’s gone for good
Copyright: Aline Juliá
Credits
Written, composed and sung by Aline Juliá.
Arranged and produced by all of us
Jan Hautekiet – piano & keyboards
Pieter Vereertbrugghen – drum & percussion
Dirk De Groef – guitar
Koen Vanbets – bass
Milos Willemse Juliá – euphonium
Dmitri Dijkstra – trumpets
Barbara Pieters – sax
Yannic Fonderie – vocal production
Dirk Lekenne – recording engineer/mixer