Filipino boy group SB19 got invited to this year’s Lollapalooza, so I thought I’d do a little something— I edited the English subtitles on one of their most popular songs, GENTO, as they sang it on The First Take.
The translation is generally fine. It’s just that one line was either skipped or forgotten, and some culturally-specific nuances were smoothed out to make them easier to understand for foreign viewers. So, here’s an attempt at a translation that’s closer to the source text. It may not sound as smooth as the original English translation, but it is more “accurate.”
Translation Notes
1. The title GENTO is word play. It sounds like both the Tagalog words “ganito” (like this) and “ginto” (gold).
2. At this line in the chorus...
Gento, gento
‘Di ‘to basta-basta bingo
The original en TL translated it as “This isn’t instant like bingo.” In my tl, I changed the word “instant” to “random.” The word in Tagalog is “basta-basta,” which can mean “simply,” “lightly,” or “easily.” Basically, something that doesn’t seem to require effort. It can also be used to describe something that happened by luck or chance.
3. The second line here isn’t translated at all xD
Kahit na wala pang hinto ciento por ciento
Bawat bitaw ko, mismo
Understandable, though. These lines are a nightmare to translate xD
Kahit na wala pang hinto = Even without a stop
ciento por ciento = 100% (from Spanish)
Bawat bitaw ko = literally, “each [thing] I let go.” It can be words; it can be actions.
mismo = himself/herself/myself/itself/etc. But the placing of this word in the Tagalog lyrics is a bit awkward. Usually “mismo” is placed right beside a subject pronoun, like “Ako mismo” (I myself) or “Ikaw mismo” (you yourself). But here, it’s placed right after an object pronoun (ko). It’s separated by a comma, too, so we know it’s not meant to be a pronoun intensifier. So, I opted to translate it as just a general intensifier:
Even without rest, I still give a hundred percent
on everything I do. That's right!
4. Several allusions in these lines:
Di ko na kailangan lumunok ng bato
Hindi mala-Darna 'to, aandar ang makina ko
Tanging mekaniko ay ako, ‘la nang moni-moniko
my translation:
I don’t need to swallow a stone.
This isn’t like Darna.
My engine can run with me alone as mechanic.
There’s no need for Moniko.
The first two lines are a reference to a popular Filipino comic book character, Darna. The story is about Narda, who turns into her superhero form Darna, by swallowing a stone.
The latter two lines are based on a Filipino tongue twister:
Minekaniko ni Moniko ang makina ng manika ni Monika.
which literally translates to: Moniko mechanicized (fixed) the machine in the doll of Monika.
Therefore, the lyrics in the song are saying that the speaker doesn’t need outside help; he can fix himself. Interesting thing about the Tagalog lyrics is that Moniko’s name is conjugated like a verb and used as one: moni-moniko. So, a more literal translation would be like “No more Moniko-ing.”
5. In the last stanza, a stronger form of the verb “dig” is used:
Halukayin mo na parang gento
my tl:
Dig it deep like GENTO! (like this)
The root word is “hukay,” which is what simply means “dig.” At first, the song uses the basic conjugated forms “hinukay” (passive form) and “hukayin” (command form). “Halukayin” is also in command form like “hukayin,” but it sounds much stronger. Like, I can imagine someone turning over the soil thoroughly with it.
