Sa Ugoy ng Duyan
| "Sa Ugoy ng Duyan" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| English title | In the cradle's rocking |
| Written | 1947 |
| Composer(s) | Lucio San Pedro |
| Lyricist(s) | Levi Celerio |
| Language | Tagalog |
Sa Ugoy ng Duyan (English translation: In the cradle's rocking) is a Filipino lullaby. It was co-written by Lucio San Pedro and Levi Celerio, who were both National Artists of the Philippines; this was their most popular collaboration. Due to its popularity in the Philippines, it has been regarded by one writer as being "as familiar as our national anthem."[1]
Composition
The music for the song was derived from the fourth movement of San Pedro's Suite Pastorale and was to have been submitted to a competition in 1943, during the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines. However, because he could not find a collaborator, he did not submit it to the said contest.[2]
In 1946, San Pedro came up again with the idea of writing the song while in New York. The inspiration for the song came from his own mother. While on a stopover in Honolulu on his way back home, in 1947, he met Celerio, who wrote the words during their return trip. The song was completed by the time they landed in Manila.[3]
Both San Pedro and Celerio were later named National Artists of the Philippines. They died in 2002, only two days apart of each other.
Lyrics
The lyrics is written in the first person point of view. It is made up of two stanzas, with four lines each.
In the first stanza, the singer wishes that his childhood and his memories of his mother will never fade. He also wants to hear his mother's song again, which to him is a song of love.
In the second stanza, he describes his sleep as being peaceful, while stars watch and guard him. For him, his life becomes heaven whenever his mother sings him her lullaby. Finally, he reveals the reason for his longing: he is enduring some hardship, and this is why he was longing for his mother's lullaby.
In the final line (coda), the singer addresses his mother and wishes that he could sleep again in his old cradle.
Versions
The song was originally intended to be an artsong, and as a result some of its first interpreters were the baritone Aurelio Estanislao and soprano Evelyn Mandac.[3]
Since then, it has been interpreted and recorded by various singers and singing groups, including:
- May Gorospe-Favis
- Jay Cayuca
- Jeremiah (a Philippine boy band)
- Kuh Ledesma
- Lea Salonga
- Aiza Seguerra
- Basil Valdez
- Regine Velasquez
- Kristel Belo
It was also performed by Christian Bautista during the funeral of former president Corazon Aquino.[4]
External links
- ↑ The Genius of Levi Celerio - from PEP.ph
- ↑ Remembering Maestro Lucio San Pedro, the Creative Nationalist - from the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
- 1 2 Despite neglect, Lucio San Pedro and Levi Celerio remained faithful to their Muse - from Philippine Daily Inquirer, as archived in Google News
- ↑ 9am funeral mass, Cebu masses - from Philippine Daily Inquirer]
- Goodbye Celerio and San Pedro - from the Philippine Star