Dalawidaw: An Ilonggo Love Song

"Dalawidaw", according to my friend, Edgar Siscar of ILOILO UPDATE, is a popular Ilonggo love song, a haunting metaphor of the Japanese Occupation of the Negros Provinces & Panay Island. Written by former Mayor and Congressman Augurio Abeto on November 13, 1943 on the anniversary of the Philippine Commonwealth. Its music was written by Rodolfo "Oping" Villa, his secretary.

Dalawidaw

His Summary of DALAWIDAW relates the following:

According to Negros history writer Modesto Palacios Sa-onoy's account that I've modified, Mayor and later on Congressman Augurio Abeto wrote "Dalawidaw" as they were retreating to an evacuation site in Birubina Hills in Brgy. Bi-ao in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental on the day of the Philippine Commonwealth anniversary on November 14, 1943.

As a love song, it tells of a love affair from the point of view of a Dalawidaw.... a small bird common in Binalbagan.

According to this Dalawidaw, a butterfly (alibangbang) woos a wild flower (bulak nga ilahas) but the bird at the same time, cautions the flower not to fall into the butterfly's treacherous charm because she had already given her heart to someone else.

In the context of war, Dalawidaw was a song of rejection of the Japanese forces and was part of the underground propaganda movement to lift up the spirits of Filipinos in fighting the occupying Japanese while not supporting the 'Puppet Republic' that these invaders had established in 1943.

The treacherous butterfly was a metaphor for Japan that invaded the Philippines (flower), but the bird (who's the propagandist here) reminds the flower that she had already given her love to her country and that her country has made a promise to someone who represented by America.

While Japan had its arsenal of psychological warfare, our natives also had their own propaganda materials and among them were songs to keep Filipinos loyal to the Philippines and the USA.

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The song lyrics:

Dalawidaw

Dalawidaw ikaw kon mag-ambahanon,

Yuhum mong balanihon may binalaybay 
Duhang larawan mo sa dalamgohanon 
Diwata sa bukid kag kataw sa baybay.

Tumandok sa bukid, nagabun-ag sa payag
Nayon sa tuburan nga daw handurawan
Tubig nagatigay sang imo kaanyag
Kag nangin salaming hublas mong larawan

Diwata sa talon, bulak nga ilahas 
kapalaran nga daw gapasimpalad, 
Alibangbang lamang labing makahas, 
Makigsuyop sang kayuyom sinang sipad.

Yadtong kagab-ihon nga punong himaya 
Sa isang payag kita nagsumpa-anay 
ta pinang-gas ang dili malaya, 
Putling handumanan sang gugmang panganay. 

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Following is Eduard Percival Labadia's own version of Dalawidaw: