Our Saturday evening practice group is continuing through our list of Daniel De Leon Guerrero songs, and we picked this fun song, where he sings a story about his two friend groups and each of his buddies in the two groups. As always, we are sharing full lyrics and more below: Chamorro lyrics, an English translation, and translation notes for I Gurupon Mangga’chong by Daniel De Leon Guerrero. Happy listening!

Song Lyrics

Estague esti na estoria, estorian mangga’chong-hu	Here is this story, the story of my buddies/friends
Ai put hami ni mangga’chong, Gurupun Dos yan Unu	Oh about us who are friends, Group Two and One
Gof yan-måmi ai manggimen, ai puet an oran ritåda1	We really like drinking, especially when work’s over
Puet an listu kåddun binådu ya gof manengheng i sitbesa	Especially when the deer stew is ready and the beers are really cold

Nombre-ñiha Gurupun Unu, maila bai sångan ai på’gu	Their names in Group One, come and I’ll tell you now
Ai si Pedro ni makinista, si Dexter guatdian, hagas presu	Oh, Pedro, the mechanic, Dexter the guard (of) the old prison
Si Thomas ni taotao public health, Si Uncle Don, un lancheru	Thomas, who is a person of Public Health, Uncle Don, a rancher
Si Mike Amerikånu, tentago’2 ai i gurupu	Mike the American, oh the gopher2 of the group

På’gu i Gurupun Dos, ayu nai gaige na gurupu	Now, Group Two, that’s the group where there is
Si Antonio, ma’gas-måmi, guiya pairen mannunu	Antonio our boss, he’s the best at barbecue
Si Fransisku ni dangkulo’-ña guiya guatdian-måmi på’gu	Francisco with his size, he’s our enforcer now (here in Group 2)
I lahi-ña Yuña ma’gas i kusina puet an guaha binadu	His son Junior is the boss of the kitchen, especially if there’s deer

Guaha unu gi mangga’chong, ai ga’chong-måmi Tagålu	There’s one among our friends, our friend who is Filipino
Bula ai nai famagu’on-ña, lao maolek na pintót na tiempu	He has oh so many children, but he’s a good painter at this time
Ai sesso’ ai di in kassi esti ga’chong-hu as Willy	Oh how often we tease this friend of mine, Willy
Lao an måttu para pintót guiya etmås i gof paire	But when it comes to painters, he’s the one that’s the best
Ai sesso’ di in kassi esti ga’chong-måmi Willy	Oh we often tease this our friend Willy
Lao an måttu oran mamenta kareta guiya mås paire	But when the time comes for a car to be painted, he’s the best

Guahu tengnga gi un bånda yan i gitalå-hu an puengi	I’m usually on one side with my guitar when it’s night-time
Puet an esta mannahong i gurupu3, guahu kumantåtayi	Especially when the group is drunk3 , I’m the one singing to them
Sesso’ yu’ di ma kassi put i kantå-ku sen mames	I’m often teased for my really sweet songs
Lao i Gurupun Unu sesso’ ma kassi Si Danet Duendes4	But group always teases Daniel Duendes4
Lao guaha unu gi mangga’chong, Si Lurenso i na’ån-ña	But there’s one among the friends, Lorenzo is his name
Ti ya-ña ha’ gimen låta, ayu malago’-ña i buteya	He doesn’t like canned drinks, he wants the bottle
Ai ti ya-ña gumimen låta, ayu ya-ña na i buteya	He doesn’t like drinking from the can, the bottle his what he likes

Notes

¹ oran ritåda: Also oran ritiråda. This refers to the time that’s at the end of the workday, when the day’s work is over. It also means “liberty to depart” or “permission to go.” (back to lyrics)

² tentago’: This literally translates to “servant, attendant, messenger.” It comes from the word tågo’ which means “to command, to send on an errand.” So in this friend group, Mike is the group’s “errand boy” which in English people might call a “gopher” or “go-fer”. (back to lyrics)

³ mannahong i gurupu: We interpreted this to mean it refers to the point in their gatherings when they’ve all had enough to drink. (back to lyrics)

⁴ Duendes: This is literally like an elf, goblin, or “the little mushroom guys” as was said during our practice group. These are generally considered small creatures. In the context of the song, they call him Daniel “Duendes” because his friend group is teasing him about being short. And the alliteration with his first name makes it extra catchy. (back to lyrics)