Pinoy Translations of
8 English Songs

Aside from Pinoys’ love of music, this can be seen as one proof that Tagalog and other Filipino languages are super capable of conveying many different kinds of emotions and nuances and powerful enough to stand the test of the intricacies of translation work. Go Filipino languages! #pinoypride right there! Why yes, we even have a bunch of Tagalog words that don’t have English translations.

But did you all know that in ancient times, okay, just kidding, in the 70s and 80s, Tagalog versions of popular American songs were very much in vogue?

Here’s a sampling.

8 Irog Ko (Loving You)

Lyrics by Rolando Tinio, vocals by Celeste Legaspi

The original English version

7 Panakip-butas (The Worst That Could Happen)

Lyrics and vocals by Hajji Alejandro

The original English version

6 Sa’n Pa Ba Ibig Mapunta (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)

Lyrics by Rolando Tinio, vocals by Celeste Legaspi

The original English version

5 Tag-Araw Tag-Ulan (Charade)

Lyrics and Vocals by Hajji Alejandro

The original English version

4 Di Na Hahainan/Walang Nagpapalit (One Less Bell to Answer)

Lyrics by Rolando Tinio, vocals by Celeste Legaspi

The original English version

3 Ikaw Pa Rin (There Will Never Be Another You)

Lyrics by Ted Ito

The original English version

2 Ako’y Bakyang Bakya (Lady is a Tramp)

Lyrics by Rolando Tinio, vocals by Celeste Legaspi

The original English version

1 Alaala sa Luneta (The Way We Were)

Vocals by Rico J. Puno

The original English version

What do you think of the Pinoy ability to translate foreign songs using our rich language(s)? How do you feel about these translated songs? Did we miss any of your favorites? Share in the Comments Section.

P.S. Here are 8 foreigners who will wow you with their Tagalog and 8 instances of Filipino English versus American English.