BELOW THE LINE
By AMBASSADOR JOSE ABETO ZAIDE
Ambassador José Abeto Zaide
I was a tenderfoot first grader at Padre Faura when I first learned to sing the “Land of the Morning” (in English because our grade school principal Fr. David wanted us to learn the Arrneow accent).
I remember that the song ended, ‘It’s rapture to die.” I didn’t think much of it, because I was just learning stilted English. I may not have appreciated in the beginning the sacrifice that our national anthem called for; but I thought it right because it was what my teacher and the school principal taught us.
Much later, we learned to sing the anthem in Pilipino, with the ending easier to the tongue, “…ang mamatay ng dahil sa iyo.” (Like a love song also titled, “Dahil sa Iyo.”). Learning our national anthem in Pilipino, I thought offering one’s life for country was a natural - since we had been drilled in catechism about sacrifice, death, and resurrection. Moreover, our national hero Dr Jose Rizal was felled at Bagumbayan.
LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY? Recently Senate President Vicente Sotto III tweaked the Philippine national anthem "Lupang Hinirang" to give it a more positive twist. In his considered opinion, the ending “…ang mamatay nang dahil sa'yo” is a loser. So, thinking aloud, he wanted to replace it with a positive, upbeat punch, vide, ”…Ang ipaglaban kalayaan mo!" (Exclamation mark provided.)
HISTORICAL FOOTNOTES. The Marcha Filipina Magdalo was composed in 1898 by Julian Felipe, and the lyrics were later supplied by Jose Palma. a young Filipino soldier, poet, and writer. President Emilio Aguinaldo adopted this as Marcha Filipina Nacional and the national anthem of the new-born country.
During the American colonial rule of the Philippines, a Filipino writer, Camilo Osias, and, A.L. Lane, an American, translated the Spanish lyrics of the anthem into English and titled it “The Philippine Hymn” (aka more popularly as “Land of the Morning”).
Finally, during the term of President Ramon Magsaysay, Julian Cruz Balmaceda and Ildefonso Santos translated the lyrics into Filipino with the title "Lupang Hinirang." This became the official version of the Philippine National Anthem in 1956. All Filipinos -- Tagalog Bisaya, Ilocano, Kampampangan, balikbayan, atbp. -- were enjoined to sing it in Pilipino.
The translations and transmutations of the hymn and especially on the final couplet are fairly accurate to the original Spanish (but for the strainws lyric s to fit the meter): “Es una gloria para tus hijos/Cuando te ofenden, por ti morir.” (original Spanish) ; ”But it is glory ever, when thou art wronged/For us, thy sons to suffer and die” (English); and finally, “Aming ligaya na pag may mang-aapi/Ang mamatay ng dahil sa iyo” (official version in Pilipino)..
CAVEAT. If we were to oblige the good intentions of Senate President Sotto, should we also change both the original Spanish and the Americanized English versions into the desired preferable happier ending?
Both Julian Felipe and Jose Palma are now Philippine national heroes. If this new proposal had gathered traction, would the contemporary author of a revised, updated, putative official version of our national anthem be likewise so honored?
But we are not rushing pell-mell into this because Senate President Sotto realized the jabberwocky his initiative stirred. In the event, I am confident that the combined wisdom of our Senate will deliberate and make haste slowly on any proposal relating to our national anthem and other matters of import.
FEEDBACK: [email protected]
Ambassador José Abeto Zaide
I was a tenderfoot first grader at Padre Faura when I first learned to sing the “Land of the Morning” (in English because our grade school principal Fr. David wanted us to learn the Arrneow accent).
I remember that the song ended, ‘It’s rapture to die.” I didn’t think much of it, because I was just learning stilted English. I may not have appreciated in the beginning the sacrifice that our national anthem called for; but I thought it right because it was what my teacher and the school principal taught us.
Much later, we learned to sing the anthem in Pilipino, with the ending easier to the tongue, “…ang mamatay ng dahil sa iyo.” (Like a love song also titled, “Dahil sa Iyo.”). Learning our national anthem in Pilipino, I thought offering one’s life for country was a natural - since we had been drilled in catechism about sacrifice, death, and resurrection. Moreover, our national hero Dr Jose Rizal was felled at Bagumbayan.
LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY? Recently Senate President Vicente Sotto III tweaked the Philippine national anthem "Lupang Hinirang" to give it a more positive twist. In his considered opinion, the ending “…ang mamatay nang dahil sa'yo” is a loser. So, thinking aloud, he wanted to replace it with a positive, upbeat punch, vide, ”…Ang ipaglaban kalayaan mo!" (Exclamation mark provided.)
HISTORICAL FOOTNOTES. The Marcha Filipina Magdalo was composed in 1898 by Julian Felipe, and the lyrics were later supplied by Jose Palma. a young Filipino soldier, poet, and writer. President Emilio Aguinaldo adopted this as Marcha Filipina Nacional and the national anthem of the new-born country.
During the American colonial rule of the Philippines, a Filipino writer, Camilo Osias, and, A.L. Lane, an American, translated the Spanish lyrics of the anthem into English and titled it “The Philippine Hymn” (aka more popularly as “Land of the Morning”).
Finally, during the term of President Ramon Magsaysay, Julian Cruz Balmaceda and Ildefonso Santos translated the lyrics into Filipino with the title "Lupang Hinirang." This became the official version of the Philippine National Anthem in 1956. All Filipinos -- Tagalog Bisaya, Ilocano, Kampampangan, balikbayan, atbp. -- were enjoined to sing it in Pilipino.
The translations and transmutations of the hymn and especially on the final couplet are fairly accurate to the original Spanish (but for the strainws lyric s to fit the meter): “Es una gloria para tus hijos/Cuando te ofenden, por ti morir.” (original Spanish) ; ”But it is glory ever, when thou art wronged/For us, thy sons to suffer and die” (English); and finally, “Aming ligaya na pag may mang-aapi/Ang mamatay ng dahil sa iyo” (official version in Pilipino)..
CAVEAT. If we were to oblige the good intentions of Senate President Sotto, should we also change both the original Spanish and the Americanized English versions into the desired preferable happier ending?
Both Julian Felipe and Jose Palma are now Philippine national heroes. If this new proposal had gathered traction, would the contemporary author of a revised, updated, putative official version of our national anthem be likewise so honored?
But we are not rushing pell-mell into this because Senate President Sotto realized the jabberwocky his initiative stirred. In the event, I am confident that the combined wisdom of our Senate will deliberate and make haste slowly on any proposal relating to our national anthem and other matters of import.
FEEDBACK: [email protected]