A SONG ANALYSIS : "MAGELLAN"

I.  MAGELLAN

Sung by Yoyoy Villame (RIP)

On March sixteen fifteen hundred twenty one
When Philippines was discovered by Magellan
They were sailing day and night
Across the big ocean
Until they saw a small Limasawa island.

Magellan landed in Limasawa at noon
The people met him very welcome on the shore
They did not understand
The speaking they have done
Because Kastila gid at Waray-Waray man

When Magellan landed in Cebu City
Rajah Humabon met him they were very happy
All people were baptized
And built the church of Christ
And that's the beginning of our Catholic life

But Lapu-Lapu met him on the shore
And drive Magellan to go back home

When Magellan visited in Mactan
To Christianize them everyone

Then Magellan got so mad
Ordered his men to camouflage
"Mactan Island we could not grab
Cause Lapu-Lapu is very hard"

Then the battle began at dawn
Bolos and spears versus guns and cannons
When Magellan was hit on his neck
He stumble down and cried and cried

"Oh mother, mother, I am sick
Call the doctor very quick
Doctor, Doctor shall I die
Tell my Mama do not cry
Tell my Mama do not cry
Tell my Mama do not cry"

That's the end of Magellan in the island of Mactan long time ago ladies and gentlemen…

II.  SUMMARY

          The above famous song is all about the voyage of Magellan who, in search of the Spice Islands, landed in Limasawa, and ‘discovered’  the Philippines. That was the start of the spread of Christianity in our country.  Many Filipinos, except for Lapu lapu and his native men, welcomed Magellan and his Spanish troop. Lapu lapu and company staged a war because they did not want the Spaniards to take over their turf, Mactan Islands. The ending of the song was composed of the lines of a popular nursery rhyme.

III. REVIEW

         The lyrics are actually lines and stanzas of a poem. However, without the jolly background music, the overall lyrics will sound less interesting.

          Over all, the poem/lyrics had a meaningful historical gist, even if some lines had grammatical errors, like (but I believe that these “errors” were made so as to have a good laugh):

1. When Philippines was discovered by Magellan – should have the article “the” before “Philippines”

2. Until they saw a small Limasawa island – the article “a” should be “the”

3. The people met him very welcome on the shore – awkward sentence construction

4. Rajah Humabon met him they were very happy – should have a punctuation mark (; or ‘ or .) or the  

     conjunction “and” between “Rajah Humabon met him” and “they were very happy”

5.  And that's the beginning of our Catholic life – should have been “that was” instead of “that is”

6.  And drive Magellan to go back home – should have been “drove” instead of “drive”

7. When Magellan visited in Mactan – the preposition “in” is not needed here

8.  To Christianize them everyone – awkward if without the punctuation mark ; in between “them” and “everyone”

9. Cause Lapu-Lapu is very hard- “Cause” is the short cut of “because,” so it should have been ‘Cause

10. Doctor, Doctor shall I die – should have the question mark at the end

IV. CONCLUSION

          Despite the ten errors in grammar, the song is still quite entertaining, mainly because of its upbeat melody, as well as the singer’s unique and innate humorous style in singing.  And, most of all, disregarding such errors, the summary somehow helps the youngsters know a very important part of our country’s history.

V.  RECOMMENDATION

          After I resigned as a fulltime High School English teacher, I was hired to substitute a Grade 4 Civics teacher for three months. When our lessons were about the Spanish colonization, I decided to play a video-cd of the above song right after our film viewing on Magellan at the AVRoom. The students really had fun singing and dancing to Yoyoy Villame’s upbeat songs. I played it three times, and the meeting after, we had a recap on the film via question-and-answer. Most of the students remembered and liked the song better than the film.

          I hereby recommend this song as an ice-breaker during a film viewing activity in the intermediate years, when the topic in Civics reaches the Spanish colonization. So as not to confuse the students, a short explanation regarding the grammar may be done prior to the playing of the said song. Thekids will truly enjoy the singing and dancing to this merry song while learning remarkable facts about our very own Philippine History. --ARV

SOURCES:
           1. SONG :  www.opmpinoy.com/opm-magellan-lyrics-11063.html
           2.  VIDEO -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-xSgQcYPmQ&feature=player_embedded#at=23