1. |
Boarding Call
02:38
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VERSE 1:
The day has finally come after months, anticipating
Take a look around at other brown faces waiting
Contemplating where their journey’s gonna take ‘em
When they get back to the Motherland, the place originated
I don’t know what to expect or even what I’ll see
But I’m hoping to connect with my soul in the Philippines
Can’t believe it’s happening after all
Through the roots of my family tree, I feel the bond
Boarding call, excitement ensues
Settle in and give a nod to the people passing through
Out the window I see the clouds below
As the hands of time move a step closer to home
Cuz even though I’ve never been, I hold it dear to my heart
With the start of our descent, the rapid beat of my heart
As the clouds begin to part, there it is in plain view
Six in the morning as the dawn breaks through
VERSE 2:
Anticipation building as the wheels touch down
Landing gear on the ground, an applause from the crowd
With a buzz in the air, hear the seatbelts unfasten
Smiling brown faces make their way through the cabin
Grabbing bags stowed away in the overhead
Almost there, but it ain’t quite over yet
Standing in line, gotta make our way through customs
…Get the passport stamp before the luggage
Maneuver through the terminal, arrive at baggage claim
Jockey for position then we play the waiting game
…let it sink in as I’m people watching
Swimming in a sea of balikbayan boxes
The feeling of excitement from spotting what is ours
Heading through the doors, I feel the beat of my heart
Engulfed by the hot, humid Philippine air
Hell yeah, I’m finally here…
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2. |
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VERSE 1:
The oldest child out of six kids
At the age of 15 had to leave the province
To the capital city in Manila for school
Separated from his family because he had to
Do it to increase…the opportunities
graduated then he moved overseas
Settled in Guam at the age of 19
Reunited once again with his family
Did different odd jobs as the years passed by
Fell in love with a woman who soon became his wife
In their mid-20’s, with a house and two kids
Still something was missing, it was Education
Never finished college but he wanted it bad
Knew he didn’t stand a chance in his job to advance
So he went back, earned his degree at 34
Right around the same time that they had their third born
VERSE 2:
From a boy to a man, with a fam of his own
With the love of his life, together they built a home
Now time to leave the island and continue the chase
Of the American Dream, migrated to the States
Tryna find work but he found it was hard
When companies didn’t care about degrees from abroad
Yet he never complained, he worked hard and did the job
Made the sacrifices without a second thought
…Didn’t have much material wealth
But they made ends meet and did alright for themselves
Raised three kids, put ‘em all through college
Raise a glass, mission accomplished
Time to relax, kick back, put his feet up
Retired with his wife, now all their time is freed up
Long overdue booked a flight for the return
To where it all began in the place of his birth
VERSE 3:
He left his homeland as a teen in ‘66
Only went back twice, 21 years since
The last visit…but even longer than that
48 years since he saw where it all began
A bittersweet return to his hometown
At a loss for words at the sight of his old house
With a flood of memories from elementary years
Conflicted emotions, at times holding back tears
Reuniting with his peers over beers and jokes
Couldn’t help but wonder if he never left home
How it changed so much in the course of a lifetime
Found comfort in the familiar skyline
Sights and the sounds, reminiscent of a place
Coming full circle after five decades
Three quarters of his life past, he found his way back
Glad I got to be a part of the homecoming for my Dad…
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3. |
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VERSE 1:
I was only 8 when you passed away
On my Mom & Dad’s wedding anniversary day
We barely got home from church when my mom got the news
That the one who gave her life just couldn’t pull through
So we were mourning the loss of a mother and a wife
Too young to understand, sad to say I didn’t cry
Now I’m here at your grave, tears pourin’ from my eyes
Falling to my knees, can’t understand why
21 years later I’m feeling it now
a flood of emotions from not having you around
I know you would be proud of the man I’ve become
Proud of all your granddaughters and all your grandsons
And the great grand ones who you never got to meet
Your legacy lives on, carried through the memories
All the wisdom passed down the blood line
Cuz I know you’re looking down from heaven…smiling
VERSE 2:
The minute that I heard the news, everything froze
I sat there in silence as the tears followed
Just a few months ago, I was right at your side
Looking in your eyes, with your hand in mine
It was tough to see Father Time taking its toll
At 90 years old, near the end of the road
You still lived a full life, did so much for so many
The sacrifice to provide for your family
Thankful for that one last chance to talk
About anything and everything in Life. I love…
The sound of your laugh, the smile on your face
A snapshot of time held in a special place
You’re in a better place, finally at peace
…just let your Soul be free
Reunited with the love of your life
Now I know you’re both looking down from heaven…smiling
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4. |
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VERSE 1 (Precise):
One last embrace before boarding on the plane
Kids tugging on her shirt, ask her to explain
Why she has to leave, while she’s masking the pain
Her husband tries to hold back the tears, but can’t refrain
Cuz they don’t know just what the future holds
Overseas she has to go to keep the family afloat
Cuz back home the chances of survival
Are slim to none with no hopes of moving up
So she’s shipped off all alone in a foreign land
exported for her labor, forced to leave the Motherland
exploited by employers…who’ll never care to understand
what it means to leave behind your other half
The memories missed, the moments lost in time
Thinking of the images embedded in her mind
Dreaming of the day her family could reunite
Hug her kids, hold ‘em tight, never have to say goodbye again
VERSE 2 (Art of Verse)
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5. |
Hustle to Survive
01:48
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VERSE:
Everybody need a dollar, on the hustle to survive
From the early sunrise and late into the night
Tryna find an odd job, but not to floss on the block
Working with what ‘cha got, only got one thought
That’s to feed those who you hold close…
An everyday struggle when you just don’t know
The next time you’ll eat a meal, on the brink of defeat
But ya never giving in, true resiliency
…Stay steady on the grind…
Tryna stay afloat in a race against time
Gotta make due, gotta make it on through
Need a dollar for necessary shelter and food
Living for today, looking forward to the next one
Can’t afford to look in a backwards direction
Life is hard, but ya do what you can
When all you own is the labor from your own two hands
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6. |
Likas
02:48
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VERSE 1:
The darker the skin, well…the deeper the roots
But through centuries the colonizer, hiding the truth
They got us lookin’ up to that old Great White Hope
Abandoning the soul for skin whitening soap
Getting high on the social totem pole
Separate themselves from those who ain’t mestizo
The worst type of oppression is total mind control
When the perception of your reflection isn’t seen as beautiful
Got us emulating those who came with the sword and the cross
Give up everything you know or have to suffer the loss
Now it’s all ass backwards and flipped on its head
Inundated with these images and told that we’re less
If we ain’t light, we ain’t right, here’s some products to buy
Look inside, it’s a lie, so why even try
To spend our lives tryna look White, looking like some fiends
In search of the next fix in a fabricated dream
VERSE 2:
The darker the skin, well…the deeper the roots
But through centuries the colonizer hiding the truth
Got us lookin’ up to that old Red, White, and Blue
Anything American put up on a pedestal
While the puppet master laughing all the way to the bank
Pockets deep like the effects of papaya soap ads
Colonial mentality, a systematic attack
Colonial relationship ain’t just a thing of the past
Mass media and schools, fertile ground to plant the seeds
Perfect tools…to lure the work-force overseas
But why we even gotta leave for the American Dream?
US imperialism the mastermind of the scheme
But we ain’t gotta be imprisoned in a permanent state
Cuz the beauty of the people is in the power to change
That’s why our movement is based on National Democracy
To see the Philippines achieve true sovereignty
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7. |
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VERSE 1:
We broadcast live from the belly of the beast
Where the powers that be in control don’t wanna see the Philippines
Be free…and so they try to kill the movement
Here and abroad, both working in collusion
With the PNP, the AFP, but we ready to be
Taking it to the streets, for National Democracy
No justice, no peace for human rights abuses
A unified front, different sectors, all inclusive
A true revolution rooted in the masa
From the mountain jungles to the city yelling “Makibaka”
3rd World to the 1st World, the struggle is protracted
We study theories, implement it through our practice
Our stance is anti-imperialism
Solidarity to those opposed to the current broken system
That’s crumbling from within, let’s continue organizing
Take a look around, it’s a global uprising
VERSE 2:
Now I know you might be thinking “what’s this gotta do with me?”
“I ain’t even Filipino, so it’s not my problem, G”
but it is, that’s your tax dollars going overseas
to fund the military plan of counterinsurgency
Oplan Bayanihan, say it’s friendly exercise
Pull the wool over our eyes to violate our Human Rights
If you choose to speak and fight get killed in broad daylight
Torture and forced disappearances, it just ain’t right
Now don’t you think the cash…deducted from your paychecks
Could be better used for things like education?
Budget cuts, tuition costs, debt is through the ceiling
Income tax, income gap steadily increasing
We can’t compete with that, but we could keep up with Kardashians?
Dreaming of a life filled with bourgeois extravagance
We rooted in the ground, not floating in the clouds
When the revolution comes, then we’ll see who’s really down
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8. |
For Love
02:50
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VERSE 1:
Thinking of the innocent memories distant
A simpler time as the daughter of a fisherman
It started to change when her mom passed away
When she was only 8, dreaming of a brighter day
But nowadays solitude is all that she knows
Leave the family behind, reminiscing of home
Alone in a city full of more lost souls
Price tag on her soul, on the auction block
Take the hand of a strange man, back to the room
Another object for sex, broken shadows of youth
Every touch, every thrust, more numb to the pain
Every night a reminder won’t let her run from the shame
Graduated high school, but can’t dream of higher learning
If it means for the time being: no money earning
Sending back almost every cent
Not proud of what she does, but she doesn’t regret
That she’s able to provide for the fam that she loves
Clinging to the hope to one day fly free
Wonder why life’s gotta be so tough
With the world on her back at the age of 19
VERSE 2:
21 years old, graduated University
of Philippines, now she working full time
but it’s not a 9 to 5, it’s a way of life
dedicated to the movement to organize
from the masses to the masses, back to the basics
class analysis of the living situation
a sticky situation, when it comes to her mom
who doesn’t understand why she doesn’t get a job
got six younger brothers, gotta deal with the pain
the youngest one cries, doesn’t recognize her face
a stranger in her own home…
unfamiliar to her own blood, but still remains strong
Gabriela Silang in the modern day form
Upholding the tradition of the ones who came before
But it’s still a tug of war, is it family or…
Serve the People so they won’t have to struggle anymore
She has a kasama and a partner in love
Both bound and connected by a common belief
Separated all the time, fighting on the front lines
For agrarian reform and a new society
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9. |
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10. |
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VERSE 1:
Sun up to sun down, I’m one with the land
Feet rooted in the ground, working with my two hands
The farming life: the only one that I know
In tough times turn to 5-6 loans
Diving deeper in debt, can’t afford a decent meal
Thinking ‘bout our daughter, is her fate already sealed?
Don’t want her growing up not knowing how to read or write
Or make the same mistake I did by signing the dotted line
I fell for the lines by men dressed to the nines
Making lofty promises to live a better life
It used to be we would plant what we would eat
Now they dictate the crops meant to be sent overseas
Every year they demand a larger yield
Everybody profits but the ones who work the fields
Landlords, loan sharks, corporations, middle men
Ignoring…the worsening conditions that we’re living in
…but what makes my heart break
is when I see my daughter’s eyes going through the hunger pains
I feel our livelihood slipping away
But deep down I know there’s a way that it could change
CHORUS:
There was a farmer, his name was Tano
The land that he tilled was all that he had
VERSE 2:
The tension weighs thick, time ticks, it’s a powder keg
Lines drawn…it’s Us against Them
We started organizing, couldn’t take it any more
…So they responded with military force
Occupying our schools and our homes
Terrorize the people, full militarized zone
Sole purpose: quell the movement of the masses
Tipping point in a clash against the fascists
In the picket lines, they pushed and we pushed back
Drowning in an echo of bullets and gun claps
While people ducking and running, I’m tryna find my family
Stopped dead in my tracks and now I can’t even breathe
I see my child in the field face down
Shot in the back another life taken down
With her body laying motionless in my arms
The anguish of a scream’s like the ring of an alarm
Followed by the tears falling from a dark place
Where the blood stains paint a picture that won’t be erased
From my memory, the pain remains forever present
The reality of life, the plight of the peasant
CHORUS:
There was a farmer, his name was Tano
The land that he tilled was all that he had
VERSE 3:
The pain and anger’s taking hold of my soul
It’s like nothing could stop it from spinning out of control
Until they started coming through and integrating with us
Mass work in the community, developing trust
Droppin’ knowledge why we live in these conditions
How the only way to freedom is defeat the current system
Build a new society that’s based in socialism
Knowing victory won’t happen if the hope is missing
Fighting for our basic rights, the dignity to live
Nobody seems to hear the cries blowing in the wind
The ones in government serve their own interest
Left with no other choice but to stand up and resist
Raising up a fist, along with my consciousness
See the real enemy is tightening the grip
The imperialists label us a terrorist
But really what it is, is the complete opposite
Real change is from the bottom, not the top
The suffering of our people gotta come to a stop
Struggle on a higher level than I ever have before
Now I’m a principled guerilla fighter in the people’s war
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11. |
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VERSE 1:
I wonder what’ll happen when this is all done?
When it’s finally time to pack it up
And get back to the States to my comfortable life
Will the fire die down? Will I continue the fight?
I can’t lie cuz deep down I’m kinda scared
I’ll get lost in the mix and barely even care
My deepest fear: that I’m gonna forget
All the stories that I heard from the people I met
I’m just not ready to leave
I wanna stay with the masses, embody what it means
To serve the people with the truest intentions
Instead of acting with a selfish agenda
Upon my return to the belly of the beast
When confronted by everything designed to tempt me
Immersed in a culture full of contradictions
Gotta stay on track through constant resistance
VERSE 2:
This for the husband and wife who let me sleep in their house
Shared a handful of rice, one fish to go around
Despite not knowing when the next meal would be
Put others before self in a true community
This for their neighbor, his wife, and their child
Who showed that there’s always a reason to smile
To the members of the co-op, the workers in the field
Who fight for fair wages, not another raw deal
To the labor organizer who was forced to flee
The harassment and surveillance from the military
To see the pain in his eyes from those long six months
Since he last saw his wife and his son
To the Gabriela women who welcomed me in
Treated me as their own, plus all the little kids
With their smiles that shined with each camera pose
The reason for the freedom that we’re all fighting for
Last but not least, this is dedicated
To my expo guide whose life is dedicated
To the struggle…and the ND movement
This is for The People cuz this is our music
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12. |
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VERSE:
I got a heavy hearted feeling cuz it’s time to say goodbye
Staring out the window at the fading city lights
As we ascend into the sky, leave the Motherland behind
With a collection of memories to last a lifetime
The first time I laid eyes on the city, heard the sounds
To driving through the province and the rural farm towns
That first day caught a case of culture shock
But shook it as the days passed, it felt like I was not
Foreign in an unfamiliar land, I found my home
Searching for my soul, I was right where I belonged
Even though what should’ve been my native tongue was amiss
I tried to learn what I could to reacquaint with it
Reunited with fam, for some the first intro
Heard stories firsthand and the history they been through
Stayed with peasants, worked the land, saw the struggle that they live through
Now I understand the dedication need to give to
The movement for a true National Democracy
So the people could be free, the way they ought to be
Where the quality of life ain’t a privilege but a right
I see the deeper meaning to a fist held high
With our held high, we gotta keep pushin
And tell the stories of a system: broke and crooked
But the Hope still remains when we see how day to day
Dare to struggle, dare to fight cuz we dare not be afraid
Separated by an ocean apart
But I promise it won’t be enough to keep us apart
Cuz I barely even left and I already miss it
Don’t know when but looking forward to the next time I visit
So even if I grew up and still live in the States
The Philippines is in my heart where it’s forever ingrained
I said even though I still might reside in the States
The Philippines is in my heart where it’s forever ingrained
**Closing Monologue by Kiwi Illafonte is from the documentary film "Sounds of a New Hope", directed by Eric Tandoc**
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