Protest song from ‘Les Misérables’ gets Tagalog treatment

On the 45th anniversary of the declaration of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos' Martial Law the people will be singing.

There is no shortage of songs of revolt in the Philippines, but a familiar tune has been adapted by theater stalwarts and released on Wednesday, the eve of the "National Day of Protest."

Award-winning writer and composer Vincent De Jesus has adapted "Do You Hear the People Sing?" from the musical "Les Misérables". Fellow theater stalwarts Rody Vera and Joel Saracho contributed additional lyrics.

In a video uploaded by Narwin Espiritu on Wednesday, a male singer could be seen singing the melody written by Claude-Michel Schönberg, a capella. 

De Jesus first shared the full lyrics on his Facebook page. "There was thread among theater people — there was Bibeth Orteza, Audie Gemora, me — and we were talking about what we're going to do on September 21," De Jesus tells GMA News Online, adding it was Orteza who suggested "Do You Hear The People Sing?"

Because he won't be able to go to Thursday's rally, De Jesus volunteered to do the minus one as his participation. "But then I said, 'why don't I translate the chorus para ma-contextualize sa atin?' Then one thing led to another until I finished the entire song," De Jesus says.

Because Rody Vera and Joel Saracho also had their versions, De Jesus decided to collapse the three versions' choruses into one, which is what we'll hear in the current version.

In all, it took De Jesus one hour to finish the lyrics. "Galit kasi ako," he explains. "Hindi lang dapat metaphor. Dapat direcho na. When I finished, we decided to put it on Facebook para we can save on paper; people can just share it there."  

And share they did. It reached one of Espiritu's friends, Mr. Lito Arlegeu, who saw it on the Citizen Safe Facebook group last Tuesday.

Arlegeu and Espiritu were deeply moved by it: "It captured what we wanted to express as a Filipino," Espiritu tells GMA News Online on Facebook Messenger. 

At about 8 p.m., he showed the lyrics to his friend Eunikkoh Castillo and asked if he could sing it. "I'm not a professional singer, so I was very anxious to do an a capella. But because of the wonderful translation, I went for it," Castillo says.   

It was very difficult, he adds, but the group only took three takes to finish the video, with Espiritu doing the videographer and editor duties. "By 10 p.m., we were done," Castillo says. 

Quickly, Espiritu released the video on Facebook Wednesday.

Read the lyrics below:

Di niyo ba naririnig?
Tinig ng bayan na galit
Himig ito ng Pilipinong
Di muli palulupig

Dudurugin ang dilim
Ang araw ay mag-aalab
At mga pusong nagtimpi
Ay magliliyab

Ikaw ba'y makikibaka
At hindi maduduwag
Na gisingin ang mga panatikong bingi’t bulag
Kasinungalingan labanan hanggang mabuwag

Di niyo ba naririnig?
Tinig ng bayan na galit
Himig ito ng Pilipinong
Di muli palulupig

Dudurugin ang dilim
Ang araw ay mag-aalab
At mga pusong nagtimpi
Ay magliliyab

Ikaw ba ay dadaing na lang
Kimi’t magmumukmok
Habang nagpapakasasa
Ang mga trapong bulok
Gisingin ang puso
Galitin hanggang pumutok

Di niyo ba naririnig?
Tinig ng bayan na galit
Himig ito ng Pilipinong
Di muli palulupig

Dudurugin ang dilim
Ang araw ay mag-aalab
At mga pusong nagtimpi
Ay magliliyab!
Magliliyab!

De Jesus is a Gawad Urian-, Gold Screen-, and Star Awards-winning musical scorer. He is also a two-time Palanca winner for plays and a FAMAS Hall of Famer.

Vera, producer of GMA News TV's "Bayan Ko", has received similar acclaim. He has also been recognized at the Gawad Urian, Gold Screen Awards, and Star Awards. Vera is a Palanca Awards Hall of Famer.

"Do You Hear the People Sing?" is a song that doubles as a call for a civilian uprising against tyranny.

Says Espiritu, "The original song's message, is very timely and universal. And that message is hope amidst suffering and despair; and the primacy of freedom and dignity."

The song has been previously translated to different languages in real-life protest, notably in Hong Kong during Occupy Central movement in 2014.

It has been sung in protests in Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, and South Korea. — LA, GMA News