Resolve To Make That Change

What comes to mind when New Year has come? Resolutions! I think that before resolutions can be made for the year, it would require self-reflection. Here is a song that I believe captures that self-reflection that we all need: Man in the Mirror.


I'm Gonna Make A Change, For Once In My Life
It's Gonna Feel Real Good, Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right . . .

As I, Turn Up The Collar On My Favourite Winter Coat
This Wind Is Blowin' My Mind. I See The Kids In The Street,
With Not Enough To Eat, Who Am I, To Be Blind?
Pretending Not To See
Their Needs
A Summer's Disregard,
A Broken Bottle Top
And A One Man's Soul
They Follow Each Other On
The Wind Ya' Know
'Cause They Got Nowhere
To Go
That's Why I Want You To
Know


I'm Starting With The Man In
The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change
His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
**Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change


I've Been A Victim Of A Selfish Kind Of Love
It's Time That I Realize That There Are Some With No Home, Not A Nickel To Loan
Could It Be Really Me, Pretending That They're Not Alone?

A Willow Deeply Scarred, Somebody's Broken Heart And A Washed-Out Dream
They Follow The Pattern Of The Wind, Ya' See Cause They Got Place To Be
That's Why I’m Starting With Me


**Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make The Change, You Gotta Get It Right, While You Got The Time
'Cause When You Close Your Heart
You Can't Close Your . . .Your Mind!

That Man, That Man, That Man, That Man, With That Man In The Mirror...



Time to self-reflect and make that change!

Let Others Shine

"Bituing Walang Ningning" is one of my favorite OPM's (Original Pilipino Music). Popularized in a movie during the 1980's, this song expresses one's love as pure and everlasting to the point of being "outshone" by the one you love. Let the loved one shine and its lover bask in its beautiful light. This is also one of many songs sang by Filipino choirs.

Here are the lyrics to the song. Admittedly, translation is not my strong suit. Here is Novo Concertante Manila's rendition of the song. Listen and be drawn into the melody, the harmony, and the feeling being expressed. When I was still with the choir, I'd imagine a lover putting his loved one in the the spotlight. Trust me when I say that any international audience will be caught enamored in its music despite the language barrier.

 
Kung minsan ang pangarap
Habambuhay itong hinahanap
Bakit nga ba nakapagtataka
'Pag ito ay nakamtan mo na
Bakit may kulang pa

Mga bituin aking narating
Ngunit langit ko pa rin ang iyong piling
Kapag tayong dalawa'y naging isa
Kahit na ilang laksang bituin
'Di kayang pantayan ating ningning


CHORUS 1
Balutin mo ako ng hiwaga ng iyong pagmamahal
Hayaang matakpan ang kinang na 'di magtatagal
Mabuti pa kaya'y maging bituing walang ningning
Kung kapalit nito'y walang paglaho mong pagtingin


CHORUS 2
Itago mo ako sa lilim ng iyong pagmamahal
Limutin ang mapaglarong kinang ng tagumpay
Sa piling mo ngayon ako'y bituing walang ningning
Nagkukubli sa liwanag ng ating pag-ibig

My time with the choir is done. It's time to let other people--aspiring singers and choristers--shine!

A Song To Uplift Your Spirits

I began as a chorister in my early twenties. Singing was a passion that ran through the veins of my family, especially my mom. It has become a passion for me to the point that I'd enjoy singing with the choir for sheer joy and pleasure--without a thought of getting paid for it. Sure, I've had gigs with the choir that were paid, but it doesn't necessarily go to the choristers themselves. It was a passion that's difficult to put in words. If I were to name a song that best describes this passion, it would be As Long As I Have Music.

This song goes out to all choristers, choirmasters, music directors, composers and singers around the world. Here is one of my favorite choral pieces sung by one of my favorite choirs, The Philippine Madrigal Singers.

When the world seems far beyond me
And I have no place to go

When my life seems cold and empty

And I feel I'm all alone

Then a song that I remember

Helps to ease my troubled mind

And I find the strength within me

To reach out just one more time

For as long as I have music

As long as there's a song for me to sing

I can find my way, I can see a brighter day

The music in my life will set my spirit free

When the road is dark and lonely

And I feel I want to cry

When the dreams I keep inside me

Seem to fade and almost die

Then I call upon my music

And it helps to dry my tears

And I know that I can make it

I'll go on despite my fears

For as long as I have music.....

I've had the opportunity to sing this song when I was a chorister. But I first heard this sang by the Philippine Madrigal Singers. Whenever I feel down and needed a boost for the day, this is one song that lifts up my spirits.