Saruŋ Baŋgih

April 19, 2008

This is the most popular Bikol song, to the point that this is called the unofficial regional anthem of the Bikol Region. The composer, Potenciano V Gregorio ,was born on May 19, 1880 in Libog, Albay, Philippines. A violin prodigy, he composed this song at the age of 17 (1897). He is the leader of Banda de Lib-og that first played this song in public at the town fiesta of Guinobatan, Albay on August 15, 1910.When he auditioned for the Philippine Constabulary Band in 1919, he played this song in banduria and piano. He composed other songs but were not as popular as this one. He died in February 12,1939 at the age of 59 in a hospital in Honolulu after catching pneumonia aboard a ship on the way to compete in the Golden Gate International Exposition in USA. In June 1951, the song was sung in the opening of the United Nations General Assembly in Flushing Meadow, NY. Carlos P Romulo was then the President of the UN General Assembly.

This is the song lyrics as rendered in my proposed orthography.

Saruŋ baŋgih, sah higda•чan
Naka•daŋog чakoh hinu•nih nin saroŋ gamgam
Sah lubhah koh katu•rogan
Bakoч kundiч siчmoŋ ti•ŋog чiyoh palan

Da•gos чakoh ba•ŋon sih saku•yaŋ matah чimi•nuklat
Kadtoŋ kadikluman чako naŋalagka•lag
Sih sakoŋ pagheliŋ pasi•riŋ sah чita•чas
Siчmoŋ lahog na•heliŋ koh maliwa•nag

Sarung Banggi

This is in the current Coastal Bikol orthography, with Interlinear literal translation.

Sarung banggi, sa higdaan
One       night,      in   place of lying
Nakadangog   ako hinuni nin sarong gamgam
Was able to hear I      call       of   one         bird
Sa lobha  ko,    katurogan
In   thought of me, “sleepness”
Bako kundi simong tingog* iyo palan
Not     but     your       voice       yes  it’s so

Dagos ako bangon si     sakuyang mata iminuklat
Then     I      get up    (the)  my              eyes   opened
Kadtong kadikluman ako nangalagkalag
That         darkness        I      looked all around
Si    sakong paghiling  pasiring sa itaas
(The) my         line of sight toward     to  up
Simong lahog nahiling        ko    maliwanag
Your       face     was able to see of me clear

*original lyrics probably used “boses”, which is a borrowing from Castellano voces, so I substituted instead with the equivalent Bikol word.

Here’s my best attempt for a semantic translation.

One night in bed.
I heard a tweet of a bird
I thought it’s a dream
But no, its really your voice.

Then I get up and opened my eyes.
In the darkness, I looked all around, up and down
My gaze went up
I saw your face is bright.