Anak (song)
Encyclopedia
"Anak" is a Tagalog
song
written by Filipino
folk-singer Freddie Aguilar
. It was a finalist for the inaugural 1977 Metropop Song Festival held in Manila
. It became an international hit, and was translated into 26 languages. The lyrics speak of Filipino family values.
, a form that many Filipinos can identify with.
reported that the song was the number two world hit of the 1980s. it was unsurpassed as the all-time highest-selling record of Philippine music.
A successful movie of the same name was released in 2000, with a plot inspired by the lyrics of the song.
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
written by Filipino
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
folk-singer Freddie Aguilar
Freddie Aguilar
Ferdinand Pascual Aguilar , better known as Freddie Aguilar, is a folk musician from the Philippines. He is best known for his rendition of "Bayan Ko", which became the anthem for the opposition to the Marcos regime during the 1986 People Power Revolution, and for his song "Anak", the best-selling...
. It was a finalist for the inaugural 1977 Metropop Song Festival held in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
. It became an international hit, and was translated into 26 languages. The lyrics speak of Filipino family values.
Inspiration and composition
Freddie Aguilar left family and school unfinished at the age of 18. His father, who had wanted him to be a lawyer, was disappointed. Freddie travelled to far-away places carrying with him, solely, his guitar. With no one to guide and discipline him, he got into gambling. Realizing and regretting his mistakes five years later, Freddie composed Anak, a remorse song expressing apology to his parents. He went back home and asked for forgiveness from his parents who welcomed him with open arms. After his father read the lyrics of Anak, the two became closer to each other. The homecoming proved timely as soon after, his father would pass away. According to Felipe de Leon, Jr., an authority in Philippine Music, the song was composed in a Western style but has aspects of pasyonPasyon
The Pasyon is a narrative of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ woven with the standard elements of epic poetry and a colorful dramatic theme, with stanzas of five lines. Each line has eight syllables...
, a form that many Filipinos can identify with.
Impact
"Anak" became a finalist in the first MetroPop Song Festival. It went on to become very popular in the Philippines and eventually abroad. The song generated a hundred cover versions, was released in 56 countries and in 26 different foreign languages, and it has sold 30 million copies. BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
reported that the song was the number two world hit of the 1980s. it was unsurpassed as the all-time highest-selling record of Philippine music.
A successful movie of the same name was released in 2000, with a plot inspired by the lyrics of the song.
Other recordings or versions
- ASINAsínAsín is a municipality located in the Cinco Villas comarca of the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, located a few kilometers west of Orés. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 106 inhabitants....
(from the 1978 album Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran) - Larry Matias (from the 1978 self-titled album)
- Regine VelasquezRegine VelasquezRegina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez , better known as Asia's Songbird, Regine Velasquez, is a Filipino singer, actress, record producer and TV host...
(from the 1991 album Tagala TalagaRegine Velasquez DiscographyThis is a list of the albums and singles in the discography of Regine Velasquez.Velasquez received the PARI Best Selling Female Artist Of All Time in the Philippines. She sold more than 7,000,000+ albums in the Philippines and almost 1,500,000+ units in Asia....
) - Gary ValencianoGary ValencianoEdgardo Jose Martin Santiago Valenciano , better known as Gary Valenciano or Gary V., is a Filipino musician. He is also dubbed as Mr. Pure Energy. He has released 26 albums, and won the Awit Awards for "Best Male Performer" 11 times. In 1998, he became UNICEF Philippines first national Ambassador...
(from the 2000 movie soundtrack Anak) (only appears on the movie soundtrack) - Sharon CunetaSharon CunetaSharon Cuneta-Pangilinan, better known as Sharon Cuneta, is a popular and multi-awarded Filipino singer, actress and TV host dubbed as Megastar of Philippine Entertainment, fondly called Mega by fans and people from the entertainment industry....
(from the 2000 movie Anak) (used in movie credits) - Kuh LedesmaKuh LedesmaKuh Ledesma is a popular Filipino pop and jazz singer. She is known in the Philippines as the "Pop Diva". Kuh Ledesma has been performing for 25 years in the music industry which encompasses more than 300 concerts, numerous awards in the Philippines, and 18 albums in the Philippine recording...
(from the 2000 album Duet With Me) - Side ASide A (band)Side A is a Filipino pop show band formed in 1985 who gained recognition in the Filipino music scene in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, best known for their hit single "Forevermore".-Origins and early years:...
(from the 2001 album The Platinum Collection)
External links
- Anak Epilog, youtube.com