| PHILIPPINE NATIONAL ANTHEM |
| On June 5, 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo issued a decree which stated that June 12 will be the proclamation of the Philippine independence. At the same time, he tasked musician Julian Felipe to compose something to be played during that day. On June 11, Felipe finished his Marcha Magdalo and played it in front of Aguinaldo and other revolutionary leaders. And right there and then, it was adopted as the official march of the country. It was played by the San Francisco Malabon band the next day along with the intial unfurling of the Philippine flag. The title was also changed to Marcha Nacional Filipinas (Philippine National March). But it could not be sung because it didn't have any words and the people felt the need for the lyrics of the march especially when the Philippine-American war broke out. A 23 year old soldier and poet by the name of Jose Palma supplied the words to Felipe's music in defiance to the new colonial masters. He wrote his poem entitled Filipinas: Letra Para Marcha Nacional inside a railway depot in Bayambang, Pangasinan. It was published on September 3, 1899 in the revolutionary gazette La Independencia, where Palma was also a member of the editorial staff. When Aguinaldo was captured by the Americans, they discouraged the people from singing the national anthem until the 1920s when Palma's spanish words underwent various revisions, as well as Tagalog and English translations. Among the English translations, the work of Camilo Osias and M.A.L. Lane was the most popular. In 1956, the Department of Education created a committee comprised of musicians, lyricists and technical people to produce a more suitable Tagalog lyrics, and this resulted to Lupang Hinirang. On December 19, 1963, under Presidential Proclamation No. 60, the new translation of Palma's Filipinas was officially proclaimed as the Philippine National Anthem which is sung until now. |
| LUPANG HINIRANG Bayang Magiliw Perlas ng Silanganan Alab ng puso Sa dibdib mo'y buhay. Lupang hinirang Duyan ka ng magiting Sa manlulupig Di ka pasisiil. Sa dagat at bundok sa simoy at Sa langit mong bughaw May dilag ang tula at awit sa Paglayang minamahal. Ang kislap ng watawat Mo'y tagumpay na nagniningning Ang bituwin at araw niya Kailan pa ma'y di magdidilim. Lupa ng araw ng luwalhati't pagsinta Buhay ay lagi sa piling mo Aming ligaya na pag may nang-aapi Ang mamatay ng dahil sa 'yo. |
| BELOVED COUNTRY (by Osias and Lane) Land of the morning Child of the sun returning With fervor burning Thee do our souls adore. Land dear and holy Cradle of noble heroes Ne'er shall invaders Trample thy sacred shores. Ever within thy skies and through thy clouds And o'er thy hills and seas, Do we behold the radiance Feel the throb Of glorious liberty. Thy banner dear to all our hearts Its sun and stars alight. O never shall its shinining fields Be dimmed by tyrant's might. Beautiful land of love, O land of light In thine embrace 'tis rapture to lie But it is glory ever, when thou art wronged For us, your sons, to die. |
| Filipinas (Original Spanish Version) Tierra adorada Hija del sol de Oriente Su fuego ardiente En ti la tiendo esta. Patria de amores Del heroismo cuna Los invasores No te hallaran jamas. En tu azul cielos En tus auras En tus montes y en tu mar Esplente y late el poema De tu amada libertad. Tu pabellon, que en las lides La Victoria ilumino No vera nunca apagados Sus estrellas y sus sol. Tierra de dichas, de sol y amores En tu regazo dulce es vivir Es una gloria para tus hijos Cuando te ofenden, por ti morir. |
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