Pasko Na, Sinta Ko

This kitteh is singing you a carol:

I don't generally like Christmas music, but there is a carol from where I was born that I absolutely love. I listen to it even when it's not Christmas. Please listen to it, it's called "Pasko Na, Sinta Ko," Then come back for the translation!

A google-translate gives you something SO DISTANT from the song's meaning. Direct translations of the song don't carry the same gravity as the original. Quick and dirty translations seem rather trite and cheesy, and the lyrics lose a lot of  seriousness. Let me explain; the word "love" in English, can be given to objects - you can love pies and a new notebook, but you can use  the word "love" for serious things too - you can also love your sister and your boyfriend. Because you can use "love" for practically anything, the gravity of the word love is somewhat lost though inflation. In Tagalog, the word love is reserved only for people, and usually only for the significant other. When someone tells you "Mahal Kita", it's the serious kind of love, reserved only for one.

Here's the best I can do with translating. I'm no language expert though. I don't think I captured the deep ache of the song, but here it goes:

It's christmas my darling
I'm searching for you
Why am I so sullen?
I've been abandoned

If you will be lost
from my presence, my darling
then what of this Chirstmas
you left behind

It's wasted, my love
the promises;
the glances of sincerity.
is it your yearning to forget completely
our tenderness and joy?

if you will be lost
from my presence, my darling
then what of this Christmas
I offer for you.

I hope you liked the song. To me it is perfect. If you know my language, the lyrics are perfect, the melody is beautiful and the accompaniment isn't over-engineered like a lot of modern music. And Lea Salonga did a marvelous job singing it.

So, Merry Christmas, from me, I give you a song from my homeland and I hope you enjoy it.

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In other news, I just got back from the aquarium in Houston. I painted this while I was there:

and sketched these: