Ikaw by Yeng Constantino in Chabacano

How can I not share this? When I listened to this lady sing, I was like WOW! Etu is a Chabacano translation of the Tagalog song Ikaw sang by Yeng Constantino. This video is a cover of the original Chabacano version.

While there are now several Chabacano songs posted online, most aren't very good quality. Sometimes the audio is poor, sometimes the melody just doesn't sound right, sometimes it's the lyrics, and sometimes it's the singer. Etu is an exception to the rule.

Not that it wasn't sung well in the original version but I just happen to like this cover better. I think it's mainly because she sung the song very smoothly while the original one was sung with too much passion that for me, made it sound like a sad or angry song when it's actually a very happy song (which I think is exactly what this singer was able to convey with her rendition).

There are parts wherein the singer pronounces some words like in Spanish such as the word cielo (she had some training in Spanish, she told me). Almost everybody who speaks Chabacano pronounces this word with palatalization so it tends to sound like shelo and not siyelo. Normally, I don't like it when Chabacano singers do this because I think that it makes them sound fake but for some reason, it works for this singer.

Here is the original Chabacano version of Etu:

Here are the lyrics of the Chabacano song Etu

Llega el sol, amanece el dia, tu
Na mio pensamiento, tu
Este mi corazon para lang contigo
Etu, al cerrar mi ojos, tu
Ta esta na mi sueño, tu
Solamente tu y no hay mas otro

Etu el amor yo ya espera
Mi corazon de bien triste, pero ahora
Este momento, tu ya llega ya, etu
Etu el amor yo ya encontra
Que estaba na cielo
Para cuida el ardor de este amor
Mi vida todo lang etu

Cada vez ta senti el abrazo, tu
Bien alegre mi alma, tu
Todo na alrededor ya para como hielo
Ademas no hay mas otro que ay pedi
Este el cosa yo ta senti
Sabe el mundo que tu lang
No hay mas otro

Etu el amor yo ya espera
Mi corazon de bien triste, pero ahora
Este momento, tu ya llega ya, etu
Etu el amor yo ya encontra
Que estaba na cielo
Para cuida el ardor de este amor
Mi vida todo lang etu

Y no hay pa yo ya ama
Como ansina na mi vida
Ay man junto kita para siempre

Etu el amor yo ya espera
Mi corazon de bien triste, pero ahora
Este momento, tu ya llega ya, etu
Etu el amor yo ya encontra
Que estaba na cielo
Para cuida el ardor de este amor
Mi vida todo lang etu

Mi corazon de bien triste, pero ahora
Este momento, tu ya llega ya, etu
Etu el amor yo ya encontra
Que estaba na cielo
Para cuida el ardor de este amor
Mi vida todo lang etu


Mi vida todo lang etu

*Lyrics were copied from the video. The spelling of some words were edited to conform with the recommended Chabacano orthography but some were left unchanged in deference to the artists behind this work of art.

Chabacano definitely deserves more of this. Not just songs in Chabacano, but songs that are sung very well with good audio, good melody, and good lyrics!