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KASAMA Vol. 22 No. 1 / January-February-March 2008 / Solidarity Philippines Australia Network
 

Bayan Ko
 

Ang bayan kong Pilipinas
Lupain ng ginto’t bulaklak
Pag-ibig ang sa kanyang palad
Nag-alay ng ganda’t dilag.
At sa kanyang yumi at ganda
Dayuhan ay nahalina
Bayan ko, binihag ka
Nasadlak sa dusa.

Ibon mang may layang lumipad
Kulungin mo at umiiyak
Bayan pa kayang sakdal dilag
Ang di magnasang makaalpas!
Pilipinas kong minumutya
Pugad ng luha ko’t dalita
Aking adhika,
Makita kang sakdal laya.

My Country
 

My country the Philippines
Land of gold and flowers
With love in her palms
She offers beauty and virtue.
And of her modesty and beauty
The foreigner was attracted
O, my country, you were enslaved
Mired in hardship.

Even birds that are free to fly
Cage them and they cry,
Much more a beautiful country
Shall long to be free.
Philippines my beloved,
Cradle of my tears and poverty
I’ll aspire,
To see you truly free.

“Bayan Ko” (“My Country”) is one of the most recognizable patriotic songs in the Philippines that, because of its popularity, is sometimes assumed to be a folk song and the country’s unofficial national anthem. It was originally written as a poem by Jose Corazon de Jesus in 1929, and set to music by Constancio de Guzman.

Written as a protest song during the American occupation of the Philippines, it is often sung in protest rallies and demonstrations throughout Philippine history.

On the YouTube website at this address http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5HXqQR1LM4&feature=related you can download Kuh Ledesma’s rendition of “Bayan Ko” illustrated with a selection of paintings by the great Filipino artist Fernando Amorsolo.
 

Fruit Pickers Under The Mango Tree