This past Saturday, our Praktikan Pupuengi group began exploring a new list of songs. We’re focusing on music from Chamorro women, and the first song we chose is Hånao På’gu Tåta, sung by Bobbie Camacho—a heartfelt tribute to a father who has passed away. Coincidentally, last Saturday was also the anniversary of one of our members’ father’s passing, making the song an especially meaningful way to honor and remember.

As always, this post includes Chamorro lyrics and an English translation for this song, Hånao På’gu Tåta by Bobbie Camacho. Happy listening!

Ai na manniná’ma’si ham på’gu	Oh how pitiful we are now
Sa’ ha dingngu ham lokkue’ si tatan-måmi	Because our father has also left us
Dos meses ha’ na tiempu trabiha nai maloffan	Only two months’ time has passed
Desdi ki in despidi si nanan-måmi	Since we said goodbye to our mother

Un setbi ham durånten i lina’lå’-mu	You served us during your life
Ya hunggan gof maolek hao na tåta	And yes, you were a great father
Ti bai in fan maleffa nu todu i respetu	We will not forget all of the respect
I respetu nu i fina’nå’gue-mu	The respect which was your teaching

Hånao på’gu tåta, yon1 diskånsa	Go now, father, and rest
Mangngonfotmi2 ham esta nu i hinanao-mu3	We already accept your departure
In tingo’ ha’ na mahålang hao mampos nai gi as nåna	We do know that you are greatly yearning for mother
Hånao tåta ya en danña gi langet	Go, pop4, and be together with her in heaven

Si yu’us ma’åse, tatan-måmi	Thank you, our father
In agradesi todu i ayudu-mu	We appreciate all of your help
Bumuchåchu yan gos geftao kada hu hasso’ i tiempu	Hard-working and very generous, whenever I think of the time
I tiempu annai eståba hao guini	The time when you were here

Bai in dispidi hao nai på’gu, tatan-måmi	We will bid you farewell now, our father
Ni ngai’an na bein maleffåyi hao	It will never be that we forget you
In guaiya hao magåhet, hami nu i famagu’on-mu	We love you truly, we who are your children
Yan kuntodu nai i familian-måmi	And including all of our family

Hånao på’gu tåta yon diskånsa	Go now, father, and rest
Mangngonfotmi ham esta nu i hinanao-mu	We’ve already accepted your departure
In tingo’ ha’ na mahålang hao mampos nai gi as nåna	We do know that you’re yearning for mother
Hånao tåta ya en danña gi langet	Go, pop, and you (two) will be together in heaven
Hånao tåta ya en danña gi langet	Go, pop, and you (two) will be together in heaven
Hånao tåta ya en danña gi langet	Go, pop, and you (two) will be together in heaven

Language Notes

1. yon: This is a contraction of ya un, which means “and you [will]”, often used in future tense constructions. ↩︎
2. mangngonfotmi: This comes from the word konfotmi, which means “accept” or “agree.” The Plural Man- Prefix has been added to make it refer to 3+ people. ↩︎
3. hinanao-mu: This comes from hånao which means “to go.” The word hinanao-mu is often interpreted as “your journey”, which still works in this context. But we can also understand it to mean “your departure”, which also makes sense in the song. ↩︎
4. hånao tåta: While this literally can be translated as “go father”, a speaker in our group was saying that the feeling is more like “go, pop”, which is more close. ↩︎