New translation! This time I just felt like translating and talking about this song because I genuinely love talking about the little nuances here. It's one of the more recent videos that really pulled me back into OPM. I explain a lot of the nuances and the historical background below + some personal stories related to it too.
This serenade I'm offering, for the maiden
with unparalleled beauty, with the scent of roses
If tricky fate would wish it
I won't let it disappear
This letter I'm hoping your eyes would read
I'm ready to do everything, I'll even court your family
I've only now felt such eternal awe
All I wish for is
The two of us be together at the end and at the beginning
Proving that first love does last
How many poems has it been, why is it getting unnoticed?
My only wish, at the end you'll be with me
If it's possible, until the end of time
I will never let you go forever
Our sweet past relationship, where'd it go? (I keep looking for you, whoa)
How come between us, I'm the only one left? (I wish I could still see you)
Your beautiful voice, would I still hear it?
Ready to go through life[1] even if you're not here anymore
Wherever you are, may you be happy now (let you go free, whoa)
Even if we won't be together anymore (I still love you)
Just please listen to my wish that you would take care
Oh, Leonora my love, ah
Alternative Translations and Additional Context
Ready to go through - this is just the literal translation of the line but contextually it's closer to the lyric I used or something close to "Ready to go through everything".
The song is based on the real-life historical figure Leonor Rivera-Kipping, one of the many lovers of the Philippine National hero José Rizal. The two were childhood sweethearts, however, due to Rizal traveling to Europe to study and Leonor's mother Silvestra Bauzon not liking how political he was while favoring an Englishman named Henry Charles Kipping so Silvestra and Kipping kept the letters that Rizal sent to Leonor. This made her think that she was abandoned and later on married Kipping instead (Quirino, 2015).
On the night of her wedding, she found the letters and in her frustration tore them apart sewing some of them on the hem of her wedding dress and burnt the others. After her marriage to Kipping, she vowed to never play the piano again. She died at 26 in childbirth alongside her newborn daughter, after which Kipping abandoned their only living son and traveled back to England just to die three years later, no mention of Leonor ever being his wife (Quirino, 2015).
Her final wish before her death was to be buried with the silver box that contained the ashes of Rizal's letters (Martinez-Clemente, 2011). Sadly, her grave was a casualty during the war and her remains and her grave site has been lost forever (Quirino, 2015).
Leonor serves as the inspiration for the character of Maria Clara in Rizal's acclaimed novels that Filipinos are mandated to learn at school Noli Me Tangere and its sequel El Filibusterismo. Maria Clara is the female love interest of the series protagonist Crisostomo Ibarra and the two have a severely tragic love story due to the politics surrounding Ibarra and both of their relationships.
From my understanding of the books, Leonor may also have been the inspiration for the El Filibusterismo character Paulita Gomez who abandons her relationship with her lover, one of the leading characters named Isagani, after he was accused of being an insurrectionist despite being innocent. At the end of the story, Paulita marries someone else and Isagani watches the reception from outside her house.
The place this music video was shot is actually a historical house of another one of Rizal's many lovers Segunda Katigbak! The place is called Casa Segunda and is located in Lipa City, Batangas. My classmates and I visited the place and rented it out for a project a couple of years back.
Another fun fact is that the group most likely didn't actually play the piano in the house because they weren't allowed to considering how old it is. It's an antique and it was already falling apart when we went there way before this video was probably shot. That's the reason for them keeping the camera away from the keys.
They're also not allowed to sit on the antique seat in front of the piano because of how fragile it was and it already was falling apart too when we went there. We ignored this for one of our shoots and did it quickly before anyone could notice, but they may have just positioned the camera so they don't have to show them sitting down on the chair.
We found a random kitten in the house? I don't know what happened to it. It wasn't outside either, it was like inside one of the bedrooms. I don't know if the staff or family owned it but it did look like a stray.
Some of my classmates still hasn't paid me back for the rent we were supposed to split. It isn't a fun fact, I'm just a little salty.
'Tong alay kong harana, para sa dalagang
Walang kasingganda, amoy-rosas ang halimuyak
Kung nanaisin ng tadhanang mapanlinlang
'Di hahayaang mawala pa
'Tong liham na umaasang mata mo ang makabasa
Handang gawin lahat, maging pamilya'y liligawan
Ngayon lang nakadama ng wagas na pagkamangha
Hiling ko lang naman na
Tayo na sanang dalawa ang siyang huli at ang umpisa
Papatunayang ang unang pag-ibig ay 'di mawawala
Nakailang tula na, ba't tila 'di napupuna?
Ang tangi kong hiling, hanggang dulo ikaw ang kapiling
Kung puwede lang, hanggang pangmagpakailanman
Hinding-hindi na papakawalan kailanman
Ang dating tamis ng pagsasama, nasa'n na? (Hinahanap-hanap ka, whoa)
Ba't sa 'ting dal'wa, ako na lang ang natira? (Sana'y magkita pa)
Tinig mong kay ganda, maririnig pa ba?
Handang tahaking mag-isa kahit wala ka na
Kung nasa'n ka man, nawa ay masaya ka na (palalayain ka, whoa)
Kahit na 'di na tayo magsasama pa (mahal pa rin kita)
Dinggin mo lang ang hiling na mag-iingat ka
Oh, Leonora kong sinta, ah
Martinez-Clemente, J. (2011, June 20). Keeping up with legacy of Rizal’s ‘true love’. Inquirer.net. Retrieved on 5 September 2024, from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/16626/keeping-up-with-legacy-of-rizal%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98true-love%E2%80%99
Quirino, E. (2015, February 17). Leonor Rivera, a Hero’s Sweetheart. Positively Filipino. Retrieved on 5 September 2024, from https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/leonor-rivera-a-heros-sweetheart
