Saan mo ba kinuha yung lyrics mo...

... sa songhits?

Christian Bautista messes up the best part of the Philippine national anthem* and apologizes for it. He should thank his stars he looks (and probably sings) way better than Malu Fernandez, else there'd be hordes of people crucifying him online.

Lyrics are a problem only if you don't understand them. One of our neighbors used to be a bodabil (vaudeville) singer and asked for my aunts' help whenever he was learning a new Frank Sinatra song (yes, it was that long ago, Ol Blue Eyes was still releasing new stuff) . He spoke no english and had to have the words explained to him so that he could emote properly.

Now that's dedication.

If Christian Bautista spent half as much time trying to understand what the words of the national anthem meant as our old neighbor did, maybe he wouldn't have mangled it so. Of course it could just be an honest mistake, so apology accepted. But next time, take more care. Schoolchildren sing it properly everyday, a professional singer should do no less.


* * * * *

Ah, but I remember those old "songhits." The generic term (tagline, I think) for the various music mags in the 80s and 90s that printed press releases from record companies, had a columnist or two, and had chords and guitar guides for amateurs. Back in the days when Magic Sing was still a dream and videoke machines were expensive, drunks had to have a gitarista around to accompany them.

The more dedicated ones had a couple of those thick "1001 Songs" books (so bale 2002 songs ang alam niya?) to bring out. After all, you had to be ready when someone requests "The Way We Were" or some other ditty you weren't familiar with.

But "1001 Songs" contained folk, rock, and pop standards, not the current hits that everyone wanted to sing. To save time trying to make kapa the song, you bought a songhits, which usually gets the basic progression right but mangles lyrics.

Today those mags are becoming unnecessary thanks to the internet. Sites like Ultimate Guitar with its searchable databases, have made the songhits of old obsolete. Click on the link but make sure your pop up blocker is on. Check out the song lists, half the tabbers there are Pinoy.

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*Which isn't technically an anthem; it's a march.