TRANSCRIBER’s NOTES

*“(Ka?)” probably refers to a place name although I cannot decipher the exact word.

*UPDATE: As suggested by several people in the comments and in discord, this refers to the town of Atimonan, part of what was then known as Tayabas Province and later on renamed as Quezon Province. There was a Japanese landing in Atimonan during the Philippine Campaign of 1941-1942. Thanks for the correction.

NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF THE SONG

1. In the article by Dr. Vicencio Jose entitled *Patriotic Lyrics in Folk Tradition* (2001), Dr. Jose records two variant lyrics of the song, both from the Second World War. One version from Nueva Ecija was labeled “Nang Magpaalam si MacArthur”. Another version, from Bataan, was titled “Presidente Manuel Quezon” and is dated circa 1943.

2. The Ermar Duet’s version recorded in 1975 seems to be a combination of the two versions, although some parts in their rendition were not present in these variants from Dr. Jose’s paper. It might be explained by one of either possibilities here:

a.) Since it seems that the lyrics in Dr. Jose’s paper were collected through interviews years after the war, it is possible that the interviewees misremembered parts of the song and/or forgot some of the verses altogether.

b.) The Ermar Duet made some revisions and additions on the lyrics when they recorded their version on 1975.

As of now, I am inclined to accept possibility “a”. More study might be required.

3. The song uses the tune of the “Open City March”. According to a column by Manuel Quezon III (MLQ3), the march was used to welcome parading Japanese troops in Manila when they entered the City. There seems to be no information on the authorship of the Open City March. In his podcast, MLQ3 mentioned in passing that Felipe Padilla De Leon composed it. I doubt this very much unless there is a primary source that can verify. The question now is whether the song (with the lyrics) came first before the march or whether people made words or lyrics to fit into the march.

References:

Jose, Vivencio R.. 2001. Patriotic Lyrics in Folk Tradition: Implications on National History. Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/documen....t/497735738/Patrioti

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SOURCES

Audio: https://youtu.be/Qnpz_aYNPF8

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