This charming song, Trongkon Niyok, is written and sung by Daniel De Leon Guerrero. Set to the lovely tune of a båtsu (the Chamorro waltz), he sings to us the Chamorro legend of the coconut tree. If you aren’t familiar with the båtsu, it essentially follows the same tempo and step pattern of the Viennese waltz. But what makes it slightly different is that it includes the up and down motion that we find in the “regular” waltz. Our Saturday evening practice group listened to this song a few weeks ago – I’m definitely behind on posting our songs, and I blame the changing weather and migraines! As always, Chamorro lyrics and an English translation are included in this post. Happy listening (and dancing)!

Estagui ai nai un liyon1 para hamyu ya-hu na en hingok	Here is, oh, a legend for all of you that I would like for you to hear
Put taimainu na gaige esti na trongku gi islå-ta, i trongkun niyok	About how this tree came to be in our island, the coconut tree
Esti un påtgon ha faisen si tatå-ña para u espiha esti na fruta	This child asked her father to look for this fruit
Ya annai duru ha ilao2 Pasifiku, måtai må’o påpa’3 i hagå-ña	And when he was really searching in the Pacific, his daughter dropped down dead of thirst

Ai na sinen bunitu4 esti na estoria an mahungok5	This story is oh so very beautiful when it’s heard
Put un påtgon yan i mina’o-ña, gumimen, ai kaddon niyok	About a child and her thirst to drink, oh, the coconut liquid

Ai makonne’ hagan-ñiha ya matåtmi6 gi papa’ i sabåna	Oh their daughter was taken and was buried under the mountain
Dies años maloffan esta na tiempu dokko’ niyok ai gi naftan-ña	Ten years of time already passed, the coconut sprouted, oh on her grave
Manlinemlem natibu ai nu esti sa’ tåya’ na ma li’e lao annok	The natives were so shocked by this because they had never seen it, but it was revealed
Lao annai ma tife’ despues ma gimeni, ai ma fana’an ai trongkun niyok	But when they picked it, afterward they drank it, oh they called it, oh, coconut tree

Ai na sinen bunitu esti na estoria humungok	This story is oh so very beautiful to hear
Put un påtgon ni mina’o-ña gumimen kaddon niyok	About a child with her thirst to drink the coconut liquid

Ya maseha månu hit ai guatu7 guini gi islas Pasifiku	And wherever we go here in the Pacific islands
Un li’e ha’ siempri ai na gaige esti siha i trongkun niyok	You will definitely see, oh, that these coconut trees are here
Ya ginen esti na trongku i natibu, na manlå’la’ ai på’go	And it’s from this tree that the natives live, oh, now
Ai sa’ ta u’usa i kaddon niyok, puet an duru hit manna’lagu	Oh because we are using the coconut liquid, especially when we are really cooking

Ai sen bunitu esti na estoria, ya gof ya-hu ai na en hingok8	Oh this story is so beautiful, and I really would like for you all to hear it
Put estorian un påtgon yan minalago’-na gumimen ai kaddon niyok	About the story of a child and her desire to drink, oh, the coconut liquid
Ai gumimen ai kaddon niyok	Oh to drink oh the coconut liquid
Ai gumimen ai kaddon niyok	Oh to drink oh the coconut liquid

Notes

¹ liyon: This is a variation on the word “legend.” But we can’t find the word liyon in any of our dictionaries, so this may be how the singer is choosing to the pronounce the word in this song.

( back to lyrics )

² ilao: to look for; search

( back to lyrics )

³ måtai må’o påpa’ i hagå-ña: The måtai må’o indicates that the daughter died of thirst. The addition of the påpa’ here adds a bit of dramatic flair, akin to saying in English, “His daughter dropped down dead of thirst.”

( back to lyrics )

⁴ Ai na sinen bunitu: There is an -in- infix added to the intensifier sen, which has the effect of adding more emphasis. Instead of just saying sen bunitu for ‘very beautiful’ the phrase now becomes ‘Oh so very beautiful’.

( back to lyrics )

⁵ an mahungok: There’s a passive ma- in front of the hungok in mahungok.

( back to lyrics )

⁶ matåtmi: The root word here is tåtmi / tåtme also spelled tånmi / tånme. We may be most familiar with this word in the context of planting seeds, but it also means “to cover with soil, to bury.” I was able to find that meaning in the Revised and Updated Chamorro-English dictionary out of the CNMI.

( back to lyrics )

⁷ maseha månu hit ai guatu: This is a good phrase for learners to use and remember, maseha månu hit guatu (where we go).

( back to lyrics )

⁸ gof ya-hu ai na en hingok: We weren’t entirely clear on the tense in this sentence. Since it’s at the end of the song, it could be in the past tense: “I really like that you all heard it”. Or it could be framed more like a wish, such as “I would really like for you all to hear it.”

( back to lyrics )