The Philippine National Anthem

Every Filipino must know that their National Anthem is entitled Lupang Hinirang (Tagalog, "Chosen Land"). According to Section 36 of Republic Act No. 8491, Lupang Hinirang shall have the following lyrics.

Bayang Magiliw
Perlas ng Silanganan
Alab ng puso
Sa Dibdib mo’y buhay.

Lupang Hinirang,
Duyan ka ng magiting,
Sa manlulupig
Di ka pasisiil

Sa dagat at bundok,
Sa simoy at sa langit mong bughaw,
May dilag ang tula

At awit sa paglayang minamahal.
Ang kislap ng watawat mo'y
Tagumpay na nagniningning;

Ang bituin at araw niya,
Kailan pa ma'y 'di magdidilim

Lupa ng araw, ng luwalhati't pagsinta,
Buhay ay langit sa piling mo;
Aming ligaya na 'pag may mang-aapi,
Ang mamatay nang dahil sa iyo.

Video credit: YouTube / Jeorge Ejercito-Estregan

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The music of Lupang Hinirang was composed in 1898 by Julian Felipe. The lyrics were adapted from the Spanish poem Filipinas, written by in 1899 by Jose Palma in 1899. It did not have lyrics when it was adopted as the anthem of the revolutionary First Philippine Republic led by President Emilio Aguinaldo. and subsequently played during the proclamation of Philippine independence on June 12, 1898.

Tierra adorada,
hija del sol de Oriente,
su fuego ardiente
en ti latiendo está.

Tierra de amores,
del heroísmo cuna,
los invasores
no te hollarán jamás.

En tu azul cielo, en tus auras,
en tus montes y en tu mar
esplende y late el poema
de tu amada libertad.

Tu pabellón que en las lides
la victoria iluminó,
no verá nunca apagados
sus estrellas ni su sol.

Tierra de dichas, de sol y amores
en tu regazo dulce es vivir;
es una gloria para tus hijos,
cuando te ofenden, por ti morir.


The American colonial government banned the song from being played until 1919, when the Flag Law was repealed.The musical arrangement and composition by Felipe was officially adopted as as the Philippine National Anthem upon approval of Commonwealth Act No. 382 on September 5, 1938. The English lyrics are as follows:


Land of the morning
Child of the sun returning
With fervor burning
Thee do our souls adore.

Land dear and holy,
Cradle of noble heroes,
Ne'er shall invaders
Trample thy sacred shores.

Ever within thy skies and through thy clouds
And o'er thy hills and sea
Do we behold the radiance, feel the throb
Of glorious liberty

Thy banner dear to all our hearts
Its sun and stars alight,
Oh, never shall its shining fields
Be dimmed by tyrants might!

Beautiful land of love, o land of light,
In thine embrace 'tis rapture to lie
But it is glory ever, when thou art wronged
For us, thy sons to suffer and die


Starting the 1940s, the Spanish lyrics were translated into Tagalog. A final, Pilipino version from 1956 was revised in the 1960s to the present lyrics.