Day 48 of 135

Day 48: The Chorus Stays as Written

In a meeting room at a TV network in Quezon City, Jose (A), the music director, tells April (B), a young songwriter, that the network wants her song as the theme of a new teleserye.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Tagalog. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio for this lesson is coming soon. For now, read the dialogue and its translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day

  1. A

    April, gusto ng network ang kanta mo sa bagong teleserye. Isang kondisyon: pasimplehin ang chorus.

    April, the network wants your song for the new teleserye. One condition: the chorus has to be simpler.

  2. B

    Pasimplehin po? "Ang puso ko'y bangkang walang sagwan, sa laot ng iyong kawalan." Ano po ang mahirap doon?

    Simpler? "My heart is a boat without an oar, out on the open sea of your absence." What's hard about that?

  3. A

    Sino'ng nagsasabi ng "laot" at "kawalan" sa jeep? Ang gusto namin, 'yung kinakanta ng nanay habang naghuhugas ng pinggan.

    Who says "laot" and "kawalan" on a jeepney? We want something a mom sings while she washes the dishes.

  4. B

    Alam po ng taga-baybayin ang laot. Dalawa po ang kahulugan ng "kawalan": wala na siya, at wala nang matanaw.

    People by the sea know the laot, the open sea. And "kawalan" has two meanings: someone is gone, and there's nothing left in sight.

  5. A

    Ang lalim nga. Kung gagawin mong "Ikaw lang ang mahal ko," singkuwenta mil, pirma agad.

    Deep, all right. If you make it "You're the only one I love," fifty thousand, and we sign right now.

  6. B

    Sir, may tatlong daan na pong kantang ganyan, at wala pong nakakaalala kahit isa.

    Sir, there are already three hundred songs like that, and nobody remembers a single one.

  7. A

    Sige, tanggap ko na ang bangka. Pero ang "kawalan," palitan mo, parang thesis.

    Fine, I'll take the boat. But "kawalan," change it. It sounds like a thesis.

  8. B

    Kapag tinanggal ko po ang "kawalan," mawawalan ng katugma ang "sagwan," at lulubog po ang buong chorus.

    If I take out "kawalan," "sagwan" loses its rhyme, and the whole chorus sinks.

  9. A

    Magaling kang mangatwiran. Walang babaguhin, pero trenta mil na lang, sugal ito sa amin.

    You argue well. Nothing changes, but it's thirty thousand instead. This is a gamble for us.

  10. B

    Kung sugal po, maghati tayo sa taya: trenta mil, pero akin pa rin ang kanta, may bonus kapag pumatok.

    If it's a gamble, let's share the stakes: thirty thousand, but the song stays mine, with a bonus if it's a hit.

  11. A

    Deal. Pero kapag lumubog ang ratings, isasakay kita sa bangkang walang sagwan.

    Deal. But if the ratings sink, I'm putting you in that boat without an oar.

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