Joy Isaguirre | Musings of a Blog Convert

Today we celebrate our nation’s 109th Independence Day!

Marcha Nacional Filipinas, also known as The Philippine National Anthem (or the Himno Nacional Filipino was played in 1898 without words. In 1899, Jose Palma gave it its first lyrics in Spanish, with the inspiring Filipinas.

After the repeal of the Flag Law in the 1920s, it became necessary to translate the lyrics. The American colonial government commissioned Camilo Osias, a Filipino writer, and American writer A.L. Lane to translate the Spanish lyrics to English. The Philippine Commonwealth officially adopted the Filipino translation in 1934. An entire pre-war generation of Filipinos thus grew up singing the National Anthem in English. Finally, during the term of President Ramon Magsaysay, the National Anthem was translated by Julian Cruz Balmaceda and Ildefonso Santos. On May 26, 1956, Lupang Hinirang was finally sung in Filipino. Minor revisions were made in 1962, and it is this final version which is in use today.

Philippine National Anthem
(by Camilo Osias and A.L.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 shore.
Ever within thy skies and through thy clouds
And o’er thy hills and sea,
Do we behold the radiance, feel and throb,
Of glorious liberty.
Thy banner, dear to all our hearts,
Its sun and stars alight,
O never shall its shining field
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, thy sons to suffer and die.

Lupang Hinirang
(by Julian Cruz Balmaceda and Ildefonso Santos)

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 bituin at araw niya,
Kailan pa ma’y di magdidilim.

Lupa ng araw, ng Luwalhati’t pagsinta,
Buhay ay langit sa piling mo;
Aming ligaya, na pag may mang-aapi,
Ang mamatay nang dahil sa iyo.

Source: The Philippine National Flag and Anthem, Sonia Magbanua Zaide, Modesta Grey Lugos