the dead star

DEAD STARS

Paz Marquez Benitez

AFTER EDSA

Through the open window the air-steeped outdoors passed into his room, quietly enveloping him, stealing him into his very thought. Esperanza, Julia, the sorry mess he had made of life, the years to come even now beginning to weigh down, to crush-they lost concreteness, diffused into formless melancholy. The tranquil murmur of conversation issued from the brick-tiled azotea where Don Julian and Carmen were busy pottering away among the rose pots. "Papa, and when will the 'long table' be set?" "I don't know yet. Alfredo is not very specific, but I understand Esperanza wants it to be next month." Carmen sighed impatiently. "Why is he not a bit more decided, I wonder. He is over thirty, is he not? And still a bachelor! Esperanza must be tired waiting." "She does not seem to be in much of a hurry either," Don Julian nasally commented, while his rose scissors busily snipped away. "How can a woman be in a hurry when the man does not hurry her?" Carmen returned, pinching off a worn with a careful somewhat absent air. "Papa, do you remember how much in love he was?" "In love? With whom?" "With Esperanza of course. He has not have another love affair that I know of," she said with a good-natured contempt of an attractive woman for a brother who is apathetic of feminine charms. "What I mean is that at the beginning he was enthusiastic-flowers, serenades, notes, and things like that-" Alfredo remembered that period with a wonder not unmixed with shame. That was less than four years ago. He could not understand those months of great hunger that was not of the body or yet of the mind, a craving that had seized him one quiet night when the moon was abroad; and under the dappled shadow of the trees in the plaza, man wooed maid. Was he being cheated by life? Lo0ve-he seemed to have missed it. Or was the love that others told about a mere fabrication of perfervid imagination, an exaggeration of the common place, a glorification of insipid monotonies such as made up his love life? Was love a combination of circumstances, or sheer native capacity of soul? In those days love was, for him, still the eternal puzzle; for love, as he knew it, was a stranger to love as he divined it to be. Sitting quietly in his room now, he could almost revive the restlessness of those days, the feeling of tumultuous haste, such as he knew so well in his boyhood when something beautiful was going somewhere and was trying to get there in time to see, "Hurry, hurry, or you will miss it," someone had seemed to urge in his ears. So he had avidly seized on the shadow of Love and deluded himself for a long while in the way of humanity from time immemorial. In the meantime, he became very much engaged to Esperanza. Why would men so mismanage their lives? Greed, he thought was what ruined so many. Greed-the desire to crowd into moment all the enjoyment it will hold, to squeeze from the hour all the emotion it will yield. Men commit themselves when but half-meaning to do so, sacrificing possible future fullness of ecstasy to the craving for immediate excitement. Greed-mortgaging the future for the sake of a present interesting reaction. Greed-forcing the hand of Time, or of Fate. "What do you think happened?" asked Carmen pursuing her thought. "I suppose long-engaged people are like that: warm now, cool tomorrow. I think they are oftener cool than warm. The very fact that an engagement has been allowed to prolong itself argues a certain placidity of temperament-or of affection-on the part of either, or both." Don Julian loves to philosophize. He was talking now with an evident relish for words, his resonant, very nasal voice toned down to monologue pitch. "That phase you were speaking of is natural enough for a beginning. Besides, that, as I see it, was Alfredo's last race with escaping youth-" Carmen laughed aloud at the thought of her brother's perfect physical repose-almost indolence-disturbed in the role suggested by her father's figurative language. "A last spurt of hot blood," finished the old man. Few certainly would credit Alfredo Salazar with hot blood. Even his friends had amusedly diagnosed his blood as cool and thin, citing incontrovertible evidence. Tall and slender, he moved with an indolent ease that verged on grace. Under straight recalcitrant hair, a thin face a satisfying breadth of forehead, slow dreamers eyes, and astonishing freshness of lips-indeed Alfredo Salazar's appearance betokened little of exuberant masculinity; rather a poet with wayward humor, a fastidious artist with keen, clear brain. He rose and quietly went out the house. He lingered a moment on the stone steps; then went down the path shaded with immature acacias, through the little tarred gate which he left swinging back and forth, now opening, now closing the gravel road bordered along the farther side by madre de cacao hedge in tardy lavender bloom. The gravel road narrowed as it slanted up to the house on the hill, whose wide, open porches he could glimpse through the heat-shrivelled tamarinds in the Martinez yard. Six weeks ago that house meant nothing to him save that it was the Martinez house rented and occupied by Judge del Valle and his family. Six weeks ago Julia Salas meant nothing to him; he did not even know his name; but now- One evening he had gone "neighboring" with Don Julian; a rare enough occurrence, since it made him a point to avoid all appearance of currying favor with the Judge. This particular evening, however, he had allowed himself to be persuaded." A little mental relaxation now and is beneficial," the old man had said." Besides a judge's good will, you know;" the rest of the thought-"is worth a rising young lawyer's trouble"-Don Julian conveyed through a shrug and a smile that derided his own worldly wisdom. A young woman had met them at the door. It was evident from the excitement of the Judge's children that she was a recent and very welcome arrival. In the characteristic Filipino way formal introduction had been omitted-the Judge limiting himself to a casual "Ah, ya se conocen?"-with the consequence that Alfredo called her Miss del Valle throughout the evening. He was puzzled that she should smile with evident delight every time he addressed her thus. Later Don Julian informed him that she was not the Judge's sister, as he had supposed, but his sister-in-law and that her name was Julia Salas. A very dignified, rather austere name, he thought. Still, the young lady should have corrected him. As it was he was greatly embarrassed, and felt that he should explain. To his apology, she replied, "That is nothing. Each time I was about to correct you, but I remembered a similar experience I had once before." "Oh," he drawled out vastly relieved. "A man named Manalang-I kept calling him Manalo. After the tenth time or so, the young man rose from his seat and said suddenly, 'Pardon me, but my name is Manalang, Manalang.' You know, I never forgave him!" He laughed with her. "The best thing to do under the circumstances, I have found out," she pursued, "is to pretend not to hear, and to let the other person find out his mistake without help." "As you did this time. Still, you looked amused everytime I-" "I was thinking of Mr. Manalang." Don Julian and his uncommunicative friend, the Judge, were absorbed in a game of chess. The young man had tired of playing appreciative spectator and desultory conversationalist, so he and Julia Salas had gone off to chat in the vine-covered porch. The lone piano in the neighborhood alternately tinkled and banged away as the player's moods altered. He listened, and wondered irrelevantly if Miss Salas could sing' she had such a charming speaking voice. He was mildly surprised to note now that from her appearance she was unmistakably a sister of the Judge's wife, although Dona Adela was of a different type altogether. She was small and plump, with wide brown eyes, clearly defined eyebrows and lips, but she was much darker, of a smooth rich brown with underlying tones of crimson which heightened the impression she gave of abounding vitality. On Sunday morning after mass, father and son would go crunching up the gravel road to the house on the hill. The Judge's wife invariably offered them beer, which Don Julian enjoyed and Alfredo did not. After a half hour or so, the chessboard would be brought out; then Alfredo and Julia Salas would go out to the porch to chat. She say in the low hammock and he in a rocking chair, and the hours-warm, quiet March hours-sped by. He enjoyed talking with her and it was evident that she liked his company; yet what feeling there was between them was so undisturbed that it seemed a matter of course. Only when Esperanza chanced to ask him indirectly about those visits did some uneasiness creep into his thoughts of the girl next door. Esperanza had wanted to know if he went straight home after mass. Alfredo suddenly realized that for several Sundays now he had not waited for Esperanza to come out of the church as he had been wont to do. He had been eager to go "neighboring:" He answered that he went home to work. And, because he was not habitually untruthful, added, "Sometimes I go with Papa to Judge del Valle's." She dropped the topic. Esperanza was not prone to indulge in unprovoked jealousies. She was a believer in the regenerative virtue of institutions, in their power to regulate feeling as well as conduct. If a man were married, why of course he loved his wife; if he were engaged, he could not possibly love another woman. That half-lie told him what he had not admitted openly to himself; that he was giving Julia Salas something which he was not free to give. He realized that; yet something that would not be denied beckoned imperiously, and he followed on. It was so easy to forget up there, away from the prying eyes of the world, so easy and so poignantly sweet. The beloved woman, he standing close to her, the shadows around, enfolding, "Up here I find-something-" He and Julia Salas stood looking out into the quiet night. Sensing unwonted intensity, she laughed, woman-like, asking "Amusement?" "No; youth-its spirit-" "Are you so old?" "And heart's desire." Was he becoming a poet, or is there a poet lurking in the heart of every man? "Down there" he had continued, his voice somewhat indistinct, "the road is too broad, too barren of mystery." "Down there" beyond the ancient tamarinds lay the road upturned to the stars. In the darkness the fireflies glimmered, while an errant breeze strayed in from the somewhere, bringing elusive, far away sounds as of voices in a dream. "Mystery-" she answered lightly, "that is so brief-" "Not in some," quickly. "Not in you." "You have known me a few weeks; so the mystery." "I could study you all my life and still find it." "So long?" "I should like to." Those six weeks were now so swift-seeming in the memory, yet had they been so deep in the living, so charged with compelling power and sweetness. Because neither the past nor the future had relevance or meaning, he lived only the present, day by day, lived it intensely, with such a willful shutting out of fact as astounded him in his calmer moments. Just before Holy Week, Don Julian invited the Judge and his family to spend Sunday afternoon at Tanda where he had a coconut plantation and a house on the beach. Carmen also came with her four energetic children. She and Dona Adela spent most of the time indoors directing the preparation of the merienda and discussing the likable absurdities of their husbands-how Carmen's Vicente was so absorbed in his farms that he would not even take time off to accompany her on this visit to her father; how Dona Adela's Dionisio was the most absent-minded of men, sometimes going out without his collar, or with unmatched socks. After the merienda, Don Julian sauntered off with the Judge to show him what a thriving young coconut looked like-"plenty of leaves, close set, rich green"-while the children, convoyed by Julia Salas, found unending entertainment in the rippling sand left by the ebbing tide. They were far down, walking at the edge of the water, indistinctly outlined against the gray of out-curving beach. Alfredo left his perch on the bamboo ladder of the house and followed. Here were her footsteps, narrow, arched. He laughed at himself for his black canvas footwear which he removed forthwith and tossed high up in dry sand. When he came up, she flushed, then smiled with frank pleasure. "I hope you are enjoying this," he said with a questioning inflection. "Very much. It looks like home to me, except that we do not have such a lovely beach." There was a breeze from the water. It blew the hair away from her forehead, and whipped the tucked-upskirt around her straight, slender figure. In the picture was something of eager freedom as of wings poised in flight. The girl had grace, distinction. Her face was not notably pretty; yet she had a tantalizing charm, all the more compelling because it was an inner quality, an achievement of the spirit. The lure was there, of naturalness, of an alert vitality of mind and body, of a thoughtful, sunny temper, and piquant perverseness which is sauce to charm. "The afternoon has seemed very short, hasn't it?" Then, "This, I think, is the last time- we can visit." "The last? Why?" "Oh, you will be too busy perhaps." He noted an evasive quality in the answer. "Do I seem especially industrious to you?" "If you are, you never look it." "How do I look?" "Not perspiring or breathless, as a busy man ought to be." "But-" "Always unhurried, too unhurried, and calm." She smiled to herself. " I wish that were true," he said after a meditative pause. She waited. "A man is happier if he is, as you say, calm and placid." "Like a carabao in a mud pool," she retorted perversely. "Who? I?" "Oh no!" "You said am calm and placid." "That is what I think." "I used to think so too. Shows how little we know ourselves." It was strange to him that he could be wooing thus: with one look and covert phrase. "I should like to see your home town." "There is nothing to see-little crooked streets, yunut roofs with ferns growing on them, and sometimes squashes." That was the background. It made her seem less detached , less unrelated, yet withal more distant, as if that background claimed ger and excluded him. "Nothing? There is you." "Oh me? But I am here." "I will not go, of course, until you are there." "Will you come? You will find it dull. There isn't even one American there!" "Well-Americans are rather essential to my entertainment." She laughed. "We live on Calle Luz, a little street with trees." "Could I find that?" "If you don't ask for Miss del Valle," she smiled teasingly. I'll inquire about-" What?" The house of the prettiest girl in the town."

Results in songs lyrics:
Whateva U Do by DJ Quik

k it out, well meet me half way there now ...I already know your n...'Cause I seen you in the front of Pla... it ain't gon' kill you if you give me yo number ...or something? Thankyou ...I like the way that you don't say much ...hen the homies give you phone numbersyou don't stay in touch ...Now I'm diggin' in my game so I can see where you at ...AndI'm pushin' all the buttons that make you come exact ...I know you recognize I'm young and I'm gifted and black ...d be enough to have you sprung and fidgety ...But yet youplay it off swell ...To see if I'ma give up on the p...But even if you knew that ain't all Iwanted was just to ...I'm still detectin' ego trippin', baby you own it ...But you don't understand I know parts of you that you do not ...And I can penetrate right...BecauseI'm talented and young and I got a lot wealth ...And I'm the bomb baby, now what youtell me 'bout my self? ...Whateva you do ...You make me want to touch myself...Whenever I'm with you 'cause you got it (Who go it?)...And I'm gonna make you give it to me (Yeah sing it to me...Whateva you do ...You make me want to touch myself...Whenever I'm with you 'cause you got it (Say what?) ...And I'm gonna make you give it to me ...While I massage your feet, and you massage my neck ...And I won't make a move on you long as you got self-respect ...Now check it, I want to see what you look like in spa ...You actin' different on the liquor baby girl is that you ... eyes sparkled when Ibit yo tattoo ...You're rugged but soft baby you're sowed up with fe...And you gotta like pleasure...But I appreciate you lady 'cause you're makin' me wait ...Even though that little game you playin' is much out...I'ma save it for next time and I hope you will too ...'Cause I like the way you do what you do, baby girl ...Whateva I do ...I make you want to touch yourself ...Whenever I'm with you 'cause I got it (Girl do you know how bad Iam?) ...You make me want to give it to you (Now give it to me)...Whateva I do ...I makeyou want to touch yourself ...When ever I'm with you 'cause I got it ...You make mewant to give it to you ...You know you want it, I can see it ya face ...That you would rather be somewhere with me takin' off your lac...I'm a diamond, he's c...You gave him yo love an...Move, let me do it ... like fire and ice, I'm like bitter sweet...Me and my peaches, and you and yo pretty feet ...Knowin' that if I lick it, tell me then I get closa ...While I'm urgin' you to drink this Mamos...Because you know that I got the skills that make you get them crazy leg ...By helping you to reach multiple o...ar me? Now feel me,you know what's happeni...So hit me on my hip when you want to get it ...And I'll be over there tw...Just as long as you stay cool and you stay true ...eep on doin'whateva you do, baby girl! ...Whateva you do ...You make me want to touch myself ...Whenever I'm withyou 'cause you got it (Who got it?...And I'm gonna make you give it to me (Sing it to me) ...Whateva you do ...You make me want to touch myself ...Whenever I'm with you'cause you got it ...(I know what I can do) ...And I'm gonna make you give it to me...records about it if I didn't) ...Whateva you do (Damn come here)...You make me want to touch myself ...Whenever I'm with you cus you got it ...(Come here let me feel you, give me a hug) ...And I'm gonna make you give it to me ...Whateva you Do (You know like) ...You make me want to touch myself (Just play in the w...Whenever I'm with you'cause you got it ...And I'm gonna make you give it to me ...Whateva I do, whateva I do ...I'm gonna make you, o...Oh whateva I do ...Whateva I do, ooh yeah ...Oh yeah, I'm gonna make you girl 

Me & You by Lumidee

pt reality in which I was presented ... worse 'cause times I feel my life's a cu...But who's to blame you're in for taste so ...When I'm with you I feel no pain ...Now tell me do youfeel the same ...Can I hold you down ...Not it all so brown ...'Cause there's not much Iwould do ...To keep you by my side it's tru...My love for you is all that can keep mestrong ...But I won't laugh at you ...Until you tell me what we have is tru...Sometimes when I think of all the things I've been through ...I want to take myself over there and Ithink of you ... in this world that I'd rather do ... if it's to be with you ...And even thoughI show you love ...You're still a lonely t...And even when we share our d... ain't enough is it me ...Do I not reach your thoughts...And when you get around your fel...Do you eventalk (about me) ...Because you know all I do is think of you ...Do I love you ...In a way 'cause you can't even see me do ...'Cause I live for you ...Cry for you ...Lie for you...Kill for you ...And on the real I'd die for you ...Every night before I lay I pray ...Thatyou get home safe ...And I can't think straigh...If I don't know you OK ...I want to loveyou ...want to hold you ...want to kiss you ...want to touch you ...Can't you see you are my issues ...You oughta chase my bet...'Cause I can see much bigger things with you...Imagine me and you. [2x] ...Imagine me and you against the world 

Mind on Our Money by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

People ask me how do you maintain ...You got to keep your mind on money (T-H-you-G) ...e snakes ever short you for ya change ...t 'em know how much you want it ...that said song, see you at the crossroad ...I guess they thought ...Somehow I'm feeling like what Ideserve I didn't get ...But I'ma stick it out, believe I'ma keep my head up ...loyalty for Eazy E, even though I'm fed up ...Not to mention when we ...ith this mastermind I'm juggling ...nd by the year 2000 I'll be thugging, but...I gotta get some money, blast if I get hungry ...So if you read that I done flipped, then you know the story, about me ...(Ed. note-I'm not too sure about any ...loody bloody, mess, I'm serving you none the less ...t's absolutely what I'm gon' do ...o thought they knew me ...Now I'm that motherfucker...I'm coming in smooth, rocking this hip-hop music just the way you like ...t go fry fool, when Imake my move all y'...h my, now look what you made me do, this nigga dead...It ain't my fault, you niggas too soft, ai...s know who the fuck you are ...the paper, folding, I saw these hoes ...But I had my ?, nah nigga that's my nuts ? don't touch that ...You can't dust on these... for those who love me ...In the meanwhile I main to keepin my m...Especially when you hungry, nigga ...In '91 I'm running from the ...er, niggas know how I'm living ...'Cause I was having children... mine aside, so why you telling your same ?...as ain't have shit, tell me who's the one that ...' ride ride though, you can call me Mr. Murda-mo ...e store down all by myself ...And what you want my people to hear, that I'm a fucking sell-ou... shit, and who want me the hell out? ...I'll bail out with a ?, that pussy makes mechange ...ngs), it don't make you a villain ...Bitch, I keeps it real! ...I keep my mind on my ...ned a gold crime as I'm racin through thi...Oh, and did I mention, had a tape beforeI crept on a come up,...'s like this nigga, I don't even fuck around ...t no money for Lay,I'll come around ... in trinkets, ain't even ran a mile ... Souls, just to let you know ...And when you ask me how I maintain ...I watch my niggas rul

Strike a Nerve by Naughty by Nature

Talking bout you had to get up early... motherfuckers said you couldn't even wax that dirty bitc...I get my daily dose o...athed everyday then I must go ...That fast you flash with a match,...And even though you didn't know me before the flow sol...ow way to go, bolos I throw or sold ...I see you through your crew, now what you want to do? ...s always sag 'cause I rap my ass off (oh)...You want to talk about ...I'm bad as they come,...in Rock and KayGee, I'm the baby ..., craving ya maybe, I have the right to b...I'm too trucked to be...I need so many lumps, I'll use your head as...You tried to swing this way, you little swifty ...I do the dumping, hum...Yo, I'm sick of dis shit,...r the worst, 'cause I ain't living loss ...I wouldn't just give ... The Source, 'cause I know no way ...Ibeen there before, ...Sometimes I put my hands on my head when I'm done, from ...And wondered to myself where did that def ...And then I think about the Nau...n the figures while I'm flowing with it ...So I won't give up, stop...You can't touch this, fuck what the...Igot tracks, better ...And the warm do, I know, I know how to make ya...I'll take a head,I'll make ya spread a...I tell you once, I tell you twice, Vinnie don't...I hate cigarettes but...Who you bashing? I go blast in broad d...You stand hard, you look hard, yeah, yo...Igot 'nough props fr...Ya say you can't go to the taking me out close ...Huh, in that case,you should g named your...I wouldn't rely on the try if I was you, yo ...'cause I'm turning tries int...I wouldn't be caught dead with you up in trying it ...And if I was going, I get my stiff ass up...I can't go out like a...I'll leave tacks tiny...I write a day, to me,... so much shit, huh, I write my rhymes on ... By Nature, ya know I'm saying? ... at Caesar's, still Ibet I get mine ...I heard your girl's h...ere ain't a part of me with 'sorry' writte...Youcouldn't rock a crooked cradle, you fucking prick ...The way I rock could shit, you just often like it ...My style's so fat I had to throw it on ...Bullshit ya not, I ain't the type to b...ecking with, and if I mic attest it, I'll be necking it ...aught at an encore, you stinking rat ...You're so dumb you tried to buy a fuck...mber this and don't you ever 'fess ...That's a shame, I get two minutes jus...ck who follows you, you and them could help...I treatyou both like any other...(Why?) 'cause you don't mean shit to me ...I'ma take you ? where good shit's...I rock a rhyme that'l...A studio to me is just a chance to...I rock and rock, god damn, call me VinRocky (ha ha) ... just what the fuck I'm talking bout ...I say one thing and y...If I were you, I'd take and throw em...I run more tracks tha...I could write your fucking album and you'll soon be the last...I start to heat up an...You couldn't get it har...So don't you ever never tell me I'm not good enough ...I got more stuff than...This is a solid you could never outlast...t was worth a dime, you'd have a job in a c

(Relay) Thugline [Featuring Relay] by Relay and Krayzie Bone

(If you feel this scream mo...And if you niggas want to get ...(If you feel this scream mo...Count me down for your thing...ng on me, hatin' on me no no ...Gotta grin but I pin swollen eyes so...Keep business to myself cause it's best if ...I trust no hos and tr...Try to take my weed I got more power than...Dirty south diva, I rise like Mya ... starts coming down I smoke some more and I get higher ...Ganja makes me loose cause I'm live like a wire ...I never share attire, keep passing me them things ...raight out Decatur, you got drama you know my name ...You got five, I got five, let's go ...A-T-L! I got to do something...I put my pen down and...Don't call me no joker, don't call me no nerd (nerd) ...Cause I be going deeper that the others you heard (heard) ...I keep the brothers jockin'(jockin') even though they guns be knocki... all that nonsense, not being heard byme at all (at all) ...ga in your drawers, I rise but my name's not Mya (Mya) ...And I's a tight female, don't need to smoke to get you higher ... (attention), while I beg to differ (diff...They nervous when I'm lurking and your ...I plot by myself (self), my thoughts...You gotta be lyrically tight if you want to hang with u... sit on my ass when Iknow I must be heard (hear...So you can go bring anything you want to (want to, w...s however, whenever you want to (you know w...fool if that's what you wan' do ...You can bring anything you want to (cause if you want it, we got it)...s however, whenever youwant to (you know w...fool if that's what you wan' do ...I know how to react ...And I'm attacking -tacking, yes and I'm relaxin' when I'm HIGH ...er run for cover or you're gonna be a goner...I raise and peace, it...Tell me something about any rapper and in a heartbeatI would ...at the baddest when I rhyme and Relay up ...Unless you headed to downtown,...eryway and everyday you hear these girls bu...w, or just whatever you may call, we gon' s...Now you know we can get hig...name, thuggish when I claim ...ity can't be faded; I play it so fucking ...I got my mind just like chess and I concentrate on ever... break 'em, believe me ...So when I roll I'm mostly solo ...And I know that .44 stay ...Justtouch on my door ho and you'll be greeted by he...And I got my troopers sui...And if youthink we playin' ...they male or female I don't roll with no 

Fly Away by Looptroop

Even when we not on tour I'm sleeping on the f..., or with some girl I don't know ...Hearmyself say - I gotta go, I gotta leave, we got... restless soul, mom I love you, promiseI'll give you a call ...Yeah, I know you want that same kind...off course I'll get it, get my b...Tell grandma I'll help her with that garden stuff as soon as I'm home ... down and talk when I'm in Västerås ...I don't know when, but once I'll get, I'll send you my schedule for sho...I'll call the booking right away, I'm going down to Jay... say, home is where you're heart at, don't ...I mean I love to travel, hate to fly, I want to go, but hat...At times you'd like to press pau...but I'll be back in bit, now I'm out, business cal...I gotta fly away. Got...but I really can't compla... ride the wave. See you in a couple of days...I'm sorry for all I'm sorrys that came ...I'm sorry for the times that I went away ...but yo, I'm still here cus my...Remember that even though the weather is grey...I know we had some situations and I hate to say ...that I don't know the answ...All I ever wanted was to hearyou say my name ...I take the blame for ...I'm gone right now but you won't wait in vain ...I'll be back before you know it to put the ...Don't be afraid I know we'll remain o...till I'll be back keep in touch through the radio w...Sometimes I fly away, but don't cry babe, cusyou know I love you girl and ...you know that you're my world. It's just you and me, that's the ...You flew away like you were scared that I would clip your win...You a true queen baby o...Maybe I couldn't see in the...in my chain of life you're the missin' link...andI still feel the taste from when I kissed your skin ...I'm looking at your p...next time Imake sure to get ou...next time I be your man through...I promise no more com...I buyyou a house with a pick...get you everything you could give me twins ...Not the type to chain you between bed and kit...I merely praise the p...Your hips begin - I know you're quick to think: ...It's pathetic, but I'd be the richest pr...if you once more unzip and let mesip your drink ...s too much pain for me to dig within ...so I'm a let the music m...sometimes I lie awake and cry t...why you had to fly away? ...Now you miles away ...You took my smile away ...why couldn't you have stayed? 

The Shadow by Timothy B. Schmit

I've been so brokenhe...You've been so far away...I don't know how it s...I want to tellyou something ...I want to play with f...It's not too late ...I will never tire ...And I won't give in ...I'm just tryin' to be...And I can't stop thinking of you ...Sometimes I dream in colors ...I find myself with others ...I see you in the ocean ...I hear you on the phone ...Ifeel your touch and wonder ...Why I'm alone ...People say that I should ...I don't know if Icould ...Even though I see ...I'm just tryin' to be...And I can't stop thinking of you ...Icould tell you ...I'm alright ...I need you tonight ...In the morning I rise ...I greet a brand new d...I rub the sleep from ...And then I say ...I will never tire ...And I won't give in to ...I'm just tryin' to be...And I can't stop thinking of you 

Soon You'll Understand by Jay-Z

Mmm, you don't understand now be..cause you're cryin, and you hurt ...You'll understand soon ...m hold you, let him touch you ...Soon you'll un-der-stand ...You're my best friend's...But you see how I am around girls; I ruin 'em all ...Plus your mom call me son, around you since I was small ...Shit I watched you matur, nah, this ai...you, life's a bitchyou cried ...r my right shoulder I told you to wipe your eyes ...Take your time when youlikin a guy ...I bought you earrings on your bi...Drove you to college your fir...It must be sad, though it hurts to say ...er be a item, don't even like him ...You deserve better - this is ugly; Gina, please don't love me ...ut there other than me ... somebody like that youknow} ...If they found that you was huggin me ...ence is fuckin with me ...m hold you, let him touch you ...Soon you'll un-der-stand ...Man, I look in the eyes of...that stole life andme together, ...I'm young, and I ain't ready, and I told you ...m hold you, let him touchyou ...Soon you'll un-der-stand ...It ain't like, I ain't tell you from day one, I ain't shit ...s to relationships, I don't have the pati...And in my mind I really want you to be my wife forev... physical it's like I'ma be trife forever...night forever; told you to leave ...Butyou're stubborn and you love him and, ...You still won't leave him, now you're grievin ...And I feel bad, believe me ...But I'm young and I ain't ready, and th...Wasn't fair to tellyou to wait, so I told you to skate ...You chose not to, now look at the...t, throw in a fuss,you the mother of my ba...I don't want you to hate me, this is...Rather me; I ain't ready to be what you want me to be ...Because I love you, I want you to leave, please ...m hold you, let him touch you ...Soon you'll un-der-stand ...I mean, I seen you workin two or three...Daddy left, I I thought I was makin things be...I made it worse ...m hold you, let him touch you ...Soon you'll un-der-stand ...Dear ma, I'm in the cell, lone...e, thinkin bout how you must feel inside ...You tried to teach me better, but I refused to grow ...God damn I ain't the young man that you used to know ...You said the street claim lives, but Iwanted things like ...Bling bling ice I was wrong in hindsi...I know it hurt like hell the dayyou kicked me out ...ouse is your house, I ain't respect the r...I brought crack past ...Co-workers saw me on the corner sling...Meanwhile, you workin hard like, t...Tryin to feedme and my siblings, ma...Who am I kiddin I, call myself easin the load ...I made the load heavy, I need money for comm...m hold you, let him touch you ...Soon you'll un-der-stand ...m hold you, let him touch you ...Soon you'll un-der-stand ...m hold you, let himtouch you ...Soon you'll un-der-stand ...m hold you, let him touch you ...Soon you'll un-der-stand 

My Life by Wet Boys

I want you to look eye-to-eye ...(check it know what I mean) ...amin she don't want meto die ...But I just wonder why ...'cause if I gots to die I gots to go, I ain't scared ...cause my son is all I got ...I tell her (?) to put clot...And I don't give a fuck b...here's a reason why I give my neighbor so... screamin "Real boy you needs to chill" ...he don't understandI gots to play my bil...d more a dollars so I started slangin pow...I used to see my homi...rt (?) and shit and I was lookin bummy ...But hey I ain't no dumby nigga I knew somethin was w...nigga to sit there, you couldn't pay (?) ...He taught me to run this game an...He gave me what I need shiiit four an...I started drinkin gin...er was the gun that Ipacked ...I used to hit the sch...Think I'm livin the life.. ...You see I can be (?). ...But notby man. ... (what you think of dis game?)...I'm takin the bitches myself. ...You can look and tell I'z if dey d'ere. (ai...I'm true to da game ...So I'm still pushin 'cai...I just bought a house...'cause even out da hood, I got the crazy conte... when them hoes see me they be straight ho...When I don't get ahigh-five I just throw up that ...Fool you take it back and qu...And see you wit your Dallas so they figure that you're on ...But not a thang to me Istay strapped with ...That's what I want to give ...That's the life I want to live ...I mean I'm just strought.. ...You know what I'm sayin ...You know what I'm sayin ...I want to change ...I want to do my thang...If I change my life toni...Hell naw, I got ta strike ...If I want to live tight ...And if you happen to bump into me or my crew nigga bo...They ask me whyI'm so heartless ...Or even start this ...I say these streets ...Damn I (?) off the heel go...Iclose shop ...in bout closin dump me and Caine ...And when I'm clutchin my gun ...If I ain't the one ...come touch my momz ...I'm bout them AK guns...You see these streets a...Allthough ...I know it's hard to k...I want to ball ten fr...You give em ten (?) sel...But youdon't trust me and I know you don't like my kind ...You out there stealin ...If I only rob and only r...?) she havin a baby I want to why tha (?)...You ridin Lex ...Doin your best andyou play me soft ...Foo, we let em hem you up, yeah your life ...I'm lookin good off i...fe, look at the way I go is hell 

Caught Up by Ja Rule

illing it know what I mean big boy! ...Know what I'm sayin' hey yo! ...Hey you can tellsomebody to go down...ack of the back for me baby I needa get right before I do dis hea! ...Why me and you ...I'm feelin' you ...And I'm feeling we should...hat life be without me...Mami, I put my best foot forward though it's kinda awkward ...But you ain't too proud to ... time we got alone, you gave me some head. ...And been callin' me ever since ...When we met you was a seventy strai...And I am ya lucky quarter...You know when the weath...Got me snifflin', sneezing...And I'm startin' to think I'm fallen in love wi...I'm having dreams abo...So you know she's fuckin' me. ...I'm a G like that but for you I fell backwards ...The only question I ask myself is. ...You and I? ...Why I always pick the ones not in they right minds...s a dangerous broad I'm fuckin ...That got me playin' hardball ...I don't mean to be ru...I's like we more than...And my niggas can't tell us ...You call your friends ...I'll call my friends....Have you even been touched like I touchya? ...Been held like I hold ya? ...Been loved like I love ya? ...Have you ever been seen like I see ya? ...Been heard how I hear ya? ...Been felt how I feel ya? ...I'd be great ...Butyou can't be late ...But when I see ya still my que

How the Angels Built Lake Lanao

Long ago there was no lake in Lanao.  On the place where it is now situated, there flourished a mighty sultanate called Mantapoli.  During the reign of Sultan Abdara Radawi, the greater grandfather of Radia Indarapatra (mythological hero of the Lanao Muslims), this realm expanded by military conquests and by dynastic marriages so that in time its fame spread far and wide.

The population of Mantapoli was numerous and fast increasing.  At that time the world was divided into two regions: Sebangan (East) and Sedpan (West).   The mighty sultanate of Mantapoli belonged to Sebangan.  Because this sultanate rapidly increased in power and population as well, the equilibrium between Sebangan and Sedpan was broken.

This dis-equilibrium soon came to the attention of Archangel Diabarail (Gabriel to the Christians).  Like a flash of sunlight, Diabarail flew to the Eighth heaven and told Allah, "My Lord, why have you permitted the unbalance of the earth?   Because of the power of Mantapoli, Sebangan is now larger than Sedpan."

"Why, Diabarail," replied the Sohara (Voice of Allah), "what is wrong with that?"

"My Lord, Mantapoli has a vast population countless as the particles of dust.  If we will allow this sultanate to remain in Sebangan, I fear that the world would turn upside down, since Sebangan is heavier than Sedpan."

"Your words show great wisdom, Diabarail," commented the Sohara.

"What must we do, my Lord, to avert the impending catastrophe?"

To this query, the Sohara replied, "Go right away to the Seven-Regions-Beneath-the-Earth and to the Seven-Regions-in-the-Sky and gather all the angels.  I will cause abarahana (solar eclipse) and in the darkness let the angels remove Mantapoli and transfer it to the center of the earth."

Upon receiving the mandate of Allah, Archangel Diabarail, traveling faster than lightning, rallied the millions of angels from the Seven-Regions-Beneath-the-Earth and the Seven-Regions-in-the-Sky.  With this formidable army, he presented himself to Allah, saying, "My Lord, we are ready to obey Your command."

The Sohara spoke, "Go to Sebangan, and lift the land of Mantapoli."

Diabarail, leading his army of angels, flew to the east.  In the twinkle of an eye, the sun vanished and a terrible darkness as black as the blackest velvet shrouded the universe.  The angels sped faster than arrows.  They swooped on Mantapoli, lifting it with great care and carried it (including its people, houses, crops and animals) through the air as if it were a carpet.  They brought it down at the center of the earth, in accordance with the command of Allah.  The very spot vacated by the sultanate of Mantapoli became a huge basin of deep, blue water-the present Lanao Lake.

The waters coming from the deep bowels of the earth rose higher and higher.  Archangel Diabarail, seeing the rising tides immediately returned to the Eighth Heaven and reported to Allah, "My Lord, the earth is now balanced.  But the place where we removed Mantapoli is becoming an ocean.  The waters are rising fast, and unless an outlet for them can be found, I fear that they might inundate Sebangan and drown all Your people."

In response, the Sohara said, "You are right, Diabarail.  Go out, then, and summon the Four Winds of the World: Angin Taupan, Angin Besar, Angin Darat, and Angin Sarsar.  Tell them to blow and make an outlet for the overflowing waters."

Obeying the Master's command, the faithful messenger summoned the Four Winds.  "By the Will of Allah," he told them, "blow your best, and make an outlet for the rising waters of the new lake."

The four winds of the world blew, and a turbulence swept the whole eastern half of the earth.  The surging waters rolled swiftly towards the shores of Tilok Bay to the southeastern direction.  But the towering ranges impeded their onrush.   The Four Winds blew, hurling the waves against the rocky slopes but in vain; no outlet could be cut through the mountain barrier.

Changing direction, this time eastward, the Four Winds blew harder driving the raging waters towards the shores of Sugud Bay (situated east of Dansalan, now Marawi City).  Once again, the attempt to create an outlet failed because the bay was too far from the sea.

For the third time, the Four Winds changed direction and blew their hardest.  The waves, plunging with ferocity, rolled towards Marawi.  Day and night, the Winds blew as the waters lashed against the shoreline of Marawi.  This time the attempt succeeded.  An outlet now called Agus River was made, and through the outlet, that water of Lake Lanao poured out to the sea, thereby saving Sebangan from a deluge.

It came to past that there was a high cliff at the outlet, and over the cliff the waters cascaded in majestic volume.  Thus, arose the beautiful falls which, aeons later, was named Maria Cristina, after a famous queen of Spain.

folk song

Bahay Kubo

Nipa Hut

Children's Song

(Tagalog)

Bahay kubo, kahit munti
Ang halaman doon, ay sari sari
Sinkamas at talong, sigarilyas at mani
Sitaw, bataw, patani.

Kundol, patola, upo't kalabasa
At saka mayroon pang labanos, mustasa,
Sibuyas, kamatis, bawang at luya
Sa paligid-ligid ay puno ng linga.

Children's Song

(English)

Nipa hut*, even though it is small
The plants it houses are varied
Turnip and eggplant, winged bean and peanut
String bean, hyacinth bean, lima bean.

Wax gourd, luffa**, white squash and pumpkin,
And there is also radish, mustard,
Onion, tomato, garlic, and ginger
And all around are sesame seeds.