In between advising undergraduate and graduate (M.A.) students at the UP College of Mass Communication today (June 5), I listened to the songs from the 2001 album Rosas ng Digma (Rose of War) by Musikang Bayan (People’s Music).

It was while listening to these songs that I remembered a long-delayed promise to critique the three other songs that I like most in the album. If you may recall, I wrote about the title cut Rosas ng Digma and Ang Tugon in my previous post. I now take this opportunity to analyze Kahit Kailan, Sa Duyan ng Digma and I Could Have Said.

Kahit Kailan is a song of love between two comrades. Unlike some songs in the album that focus on the love between an activist and a non-activist, there is an attempt in Kahit Kailan to relate a progressive couple’s natural yearning for each other’s company to the need to fulfill political tasks that oftentimes result in self-sacrifice. Please analyze the lyrics of this song to assess the “political correctness” of a particular activist who is both deeply committed and a hopeless romantic.

Kahit Kailan

Bawat sandali nitong buhay nating maikli
Ibig ko laging sabihin na kita’y minamahal
Di sa lahat ng panahon magkatabi’t magkaakbay
Darating din ang araw tayo ay mawawalay

Kahit kailan, kahit saan
Mananatili ka sa puso ko
Ang pag-ibig nating dalawa patuloy na magliliyab

* Itong ating nadarama ay dalisay at payak
Isang pag-ibig na sumibol sa marahas na panahon
Panahong hindi malaya, katarunga’y di tapat
Pangyayaring di tumutugma sa buhay nating pangarap

** Kahit kailan, kahit saan
Pakikibaka’y di mapigilan
Ang sigaw ng ating puso baguhin ang mundo
Kahit kailan, kahit saan
Tagumpay man o kabiguan
Ang pag-ibig nating dalawa hangad ay paglaya

(Repeat *)

(Repeat ** 2x)

Ang pag-ibig nating dalawa hangad ay paglaya

If you’ve been in love before, you know that you cannot blame a person for entertaining thoughts like separation from the one he or she loves. To paraphrase (and contextualize) an old saying, there are only two things you cannot avoid in the Philippines – the value-added tax (VAT) and death.

The first is one of the many reasons to revolt, the second is an inevitable occurrence that you hope will happen first to the real enemies of the state (acronyms GMA and FG come to mind). In any case, there’s nothing defeatist about anxieties over separation (pagkawalay or paghihiwalay) from a loved one.

From a revolutionary point of view, however, there is something wrong in making public pronouncements about the possibility of failure in the struggle for meaningful change. Adherence to a cause carries with it a high degree of certainty about the correctness of one’s political line.

While ideology, politics and organization can evolve over time, taking into account the objective conditions of society, the failure brought about by incorrectness is never an option. It is possible that there will be errors in strategy and tactics along the way, but the failure (kabiguan) referred to in the song does not talk about a task in particular but the movement in general.

What makes matters worse is the song’s underlying message: Despite the failure of the revolution, the love that exists between the two will still thrive. Isn’t it that love between two activists should be anchored on the movement they belong to?

As a last point, allow me to analyze the song’s last line: Ang pag-ibig nating dalawa hangad ay paglaya. (Loose translation: The love between us yearns for freedom.) Freedom from what? Is it from the inherently rigid structure of the progressive organization they belong to? Or is it freedom from the shackles of state repression?

As regards Sa Duyan ng Digma, it is a very, very short song that I like so much that I thought about singing it when I married Joy in December 2004. (Point of digression: I ended up singing another song instead.)

Why do I like it? In terms of form, there are no high notes. In terms of content, it’s politically correct…almost. Read the lyrics below to know what I mean.

Sa Duyan ng Digma

Hangga’t ang ating pag-ibig ay tunay
Bawat pintig ng pag-asa’y taglay
At sa ating digma at pagsuyo
Kainlanma’y di mabibigo

Hangga’t ang ating pag-ibig ay tunay
Bawat mithi natin ay may saysay
At di magsasawang hanapin
Ang tunay na paglaya natin

* Tayo’y maglakbay, hawak-kamay
Aabutin natin ang tagumpay
Bagong bukas ay naghihintay
Aking mahal

Hangga’t ang ating pag-ibig ay tunay
Himig ng bayan ay laging buhay
Sa bawat isip at damdamin
Patuloy nating aawitin

(Repeat * 2x)

Aking mahal

Unlike Kahit Kailan, Sa Duyan ng Digma boosts the morale of activist couples by stressing that failure is not an option in the struggle for change. There is also a good context to the relationship as holding hands, for example, is not just a public display of affection but actual work in fulfilling political tasks. What makes this song effective is that it is sung by a woman: It is the female, perceived in patriarchal society as the “weaker sex,” who assures her partner that total victory will be achieved.

The journey (lakbay) of the couple can be interpreted in various ways, but I am inclined to think that the partner is being asked to join the female in going to the mountains and be part of the revolutionary struggle.

So now, you may ask: What is the weakness of this seemingly perfect song, politically speaking? Haven’t you noticed that the couple’s being part of the movement, together with the eventual victory of the struggle, is contingent on their unrequited love for each other? (“Hangga’t ang ating pag-ibig ay tunay” or “As long as our love is true”) One gets the impression that their separation for whatever reason will negatively affect the struggle, particularly their commitment to be a part of it.

While we acknowledge that an activist also needs to mend a broken heart, failure in love should not affect his or her ideological, political and organizational commitment.

Allow me to end this post with an analysis of I Could Have Said, the only English song in the album.

In terms of form, it is undeniably my favorite, not because it’s in English, but because it uses “I love you” several times without being corny. This reminds me of Paul McCartney’s Silly Love Songs which, ironically, also has “I love you” repeated two or four times throughout the song, either as refrain, bridge or counterpoint.

In terms of content, it is also generally politically correct. Kindly analyze the lyrics below:

I Could Have Said

I have seen so much faces
As I walk to my age
But there’s someone
I can never compare;
You have the eyes of compassion
And the voice of the truth
For you were borne out
In the midst of the struggle

Something makes me feel this strange
Somehow I long for you

As I’ve been watching you
From the day till night
You were singing
The songs of the people;
And the echo resounded
To my thoughts, to my soul
To my music, it ever continued

Something makes me look at you so differently,
Somehow I wanted to be beside you

* As thousands march the streets
And the red flags were waving
We’re alongside
The oppressed and disheartened,
You have vowed not to leave them
As we get all the beatings
From a state
That doesn’t care

But you made it clear to me
You made me feel the sweet things of freedom

** I’ve been thinking of you
A beauty so perfect
For you are one
With the struggle of the people

But before you have left to the hills and the mountains
I wish I could have said, “I love you.”

I love you (2x)

(Repeat *)

(Repeat **)

You made me feel
Feel the sweet things
The sweet things of freedom

Sweet things of freedom (3x)

The music is quite haunting, and the lyrics are obviously strong. That it is sung by a female makes the message more effective. The female is apparently a non-activist who gets intrigued by the lifestyle of an activist and then joins the latter in rallies and other activities. The object of her affection decides to go to the mountains to become a revolutionary, and she is left behind, regretting her failure to profess her love.

What proves to be a bit unfortunate is the message that, as a woman, one should keep to herself her feelings because she should wait for the man to say “I love you.” This is a very feudal attitude and it’s ironic that eradicating feudalism is a major objective of the revolutionary movement.

One may also be led to ask why the woman decided to be left behind when the object of her affection went to the hills. If they share the same conviction, they should go together, right?

These weaknesses notwithstanding, Rosas ng Digma remains one of my favorite albums and nothing can make me delete its 12 songs from my computer and MP4 player. I just hope, however, that should the producers and artists decide to come up with a second volume, these constructive criticisms will be kept in mind.