RAINSONG

I really must have some strong sort of cosmic connection.

Today was a fookin' HOT day;
not a cloud in the sky,
the sun bearing down,
traffic critical.

And it just so happened that I had meetings in
Manila - QC - Makati - Pasig - QC.... yikes!!!

And in the process,
got stuck for an hour in gridlock near the ULTRA
because of this guy from sunny L.A....




It was a l-o-n-g sizzling day,
and so I decided to chill by watching
some retro music and new OPM on MYX.

A few minutes ago,
I saw a horribly cheesy Milli Vanilli video,
which, of course, got me to thinking about my favorite song
from the disgraced dreadlocked duo,

Blame it on the Rain.


I tend to think in series rather that in parallel,
so I started humming all my favorite RainSongs....


And sure enough,
a couple of minutes ago,
it started to ...


RAIN.



The rains have not always been good to me:

In 2005, I spent P45,000+ on car repairs after
a foolhardy attempt to cross the Laong Laan lake
resulted in a mud-blocked Mitsubishi engine block;

and exactly a year ago,
I walked 4.50 kilometers in knee-deep to waist deep
floodwaters from the Welcome Rotonda to Oroquieta.



But despite all these Jacques Cousteau-like adventures,
when I'm not caught trapped inside my rapidly sinking car
or swimming along the rivers around UST,
stressing out about my Manila morphing into the city of Venice,


I love the rain.


I love drinking beer on a beach under the rain,
I love walking in the rain,
I love falling asleep to the sound of rain,
I love reading during a soft rain,
I love drinking scotch in a bar watching the rain,

and

I love these songs about the rain:

PURPLE RAIN : Prince
I SAW YOU WALKING IN THE RAIN : Oran "Juice" Jones
COME RAIN COME SHINE : Tata Young
I LOVE A RAINY NIGHT : Eddie Rabbitt
SMOKY MOUNTAIN RAIN : Ronnie Milsap
I'M ONLY HAPPY WHEN IT RAINS : Garbage
KISS THE RAIN : Billie Myers


HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN : Eurythmics
MANDOLIN RAIN : Bruce Hornsby and the Range
SAVE IT FOR A RAINY DAY : Stephen Bishop
NOVEMBER RAIN : Guns & Roses
NO RAIN : Blind Melon
RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING ON MY HEAD : Burt Bacharach
RAIN : Madonna


But my ultimate RainSong,
no surprise here,
is an OPM song,

TUWING UMUULAN AT KAPILING KA,

music & lyrics by the incomparable Ryan Cayabyab,


and magnificently sung by Basil Valdez.

This song is Pure Pinoy Poetry.


I've never heard the word ""SUMASAMO"
in any song other than this,
and I don't even know what "SAKBIBI" means,
but I love the sound of those words.


And when you have lyrics like:

"Kasabay ng ulan, bumubuhos ang 'yong ganda
kasabay rin ng hanging kumakanta."

That's totally Neruda.



"Buhos na ulan aking mundo'y lunuring tuluyan.
Tulad ng pag-agos mo 'di mapipigil
ang puso kong nagliliyab."

That, my friends, is one gorgeous mixed metaphor.



"Minsan pa ulan bumuhos ka't h'wag nang tumigil pa.
Hatid mo ma'y bagyo dalangin ito ng puso kong sumasamo.
Pag-ibig ko'y umaapaw damdamin ko'y humihiyaw sa tuwa
tuwing umuulan at kapiling ka."

That just makes me want to,
to quote my own Friendster profile:

"haharanahin kita ng mga awit ni Basil!!!"




Pagmasdan ang Ulan, unti-unting pumapatak
sa mga halama't mga bulaklak.
Pagmasdan ang dilim unti-unting bumabalot
sa buong paligid tuwing umuulan.

Kasabay ng ulan, bumubuhos ang 'yong ganda
kasabay rin ng hanging kumakanta.
Ma'ri bang huwag ka nang sa piling ko'y lumisan pa
hanggang ang hangi't ula'y tumila na.

Buhos na ulan aking mundo'y lunuring tuluyan.
Tulad ng pag-agos mo 'di mapipigil
ang puso kong nagliliyab.
Pag-ibig ko'y umaapaw,
damdamin ko'y humihiyaw sa tuwa
tuwing umuulan at kapiling ka.

Pagmasdan ang ulan, unti-unting tumitila,
ikaw ri'y magpapaalam na.
Maari bang minsan pa, mahagkan ka't maiduyan pa.
Sakbibi ka't ulan lamang ang saksi.

Minsan pa ulan bumuhos ka't h'wag nang tumigil pa.
Hatid mo ma'y bagyo dalangin ito ng puso kong sumasamo.
Pag-ibig ko'y umaapaw damdamin ko'y humihiyaw sa tuwa
tuwing umuulan at kapiling ka.