Last week our friend Alicia won the vote to choose our song for Praktikan Pupuengi, and she chose this one from the Guam Sirenas. It is so fun, cute and high-energy, with the singer is declaring who she is choosing to be her sweetheart (and she makes it very clear that she did have options!). The quick, clipped pace of this song, combined with some challenging sound quality, meant this one took longer than usual for our group to transcribe. There was even one little phrase that gave us trouble, and we’re still not 100% certain we got it right. But we made it through, and honestly, we had such a great time along the way.

As always, this post includes Chamorro lyrics and an English translation for Suetti Hao by the Guam Sirenas. Happy listening!

Maolek hao na suetti, sen suetti hao nu guahu	It’s good you’re lucky, you’re so lucky for me
Un tungo’ na dos guinaiya-ku, lao hågu, hågu inayek-hu	You know that I have two loves, but you, you are my choice
An hu po’lu, po’lu guatu kannai-hu gi fasu-mu	When I put, put my hands there on your cheek
Eyu nai sienti sienti sienti neni hao nai nobiu-hu	That’s when [I] felt, felt, felt, that you baby were my boyfriend

(?) Ya ennao hao1 na gaigi ya malalåtdi hit	(?) And you were there and we got scolded
Ilek-hu, “Nåna, nåna, nåna put fabot fan nai2 kumprendi	I said, “Mom, mom, mom, please, please, (please) understand
Guiya esti nåna estague para lahi-mu3	He is the one, mom who will be your son
Olara mohon4 buenti nåna ya i ya-hu sempri ya-mu”	Hopefully maybe, mom, that the one I like, you will certainly like”

Chumá’gigu5 hamyu na dos mámaisen	You two asked at the same time
Lao gi dos yu’ fumaisen, hågu yu’ mås mulemlem	But of the two who asked me, you’re the one who surprised me the most
Sa’ sigún, ai sigún i kinemprende-ku	Because according, oh according to my understanding
Hu tungo’ ha’ sa’ hågu, hågu mås sinseru	I just know because you, you are the most sincere

Maolek hao na suetti, sen suetti hao nu guahu	It’s good that you are lucky, you are very lucky for me
Un tungo’ na dos guinaiya-ku lao hågu, hågu inayek-hu	You know that I have two loves, but you, you are my choice
An hu po’lu po’lu guatu i kannai-hu gi fasu-mu	If I put, put my hands there on your cheek
Eyu nai sienti, sienti, sienti, neni hao nai nobiu-hu	That’s when [I] feel feel feel, baby, you are my boyfriend

Chumá’gigu hamyu na dos mámaisen	You two asked at the same time
Lao gi dos yu’ fumaisen, hågu yu’ mås mulemlem	But of the two who asked me, you’re the one that surprised me the most
Sa’ sigún, ai sigún gi kinemprende-ku	Because according, oh according to my understanding
Hu tungo’ ha’ sa’ hågu, hågu mås sinseru	I already know because you, you are the most sincere
Hu tungo’ ha’ sa’ hågu, hågu mås sinseru	I already know because you, you are the most sincere
Hu tungo’ ha’ sa’ hågu, hågu mås sinseru	I already know because you, you are the most sincere

Language Notes

1. (?) ya ennao hao: This is the lyric our group wasn’t 100% certain of, and this was the best we could make out. I was hearing something like yennao, one of our aunties heard ya ennao hao, and Jay did not hear either of these things. ↩︎
2. put fabot fan nai: This lyric is quite fun, as different words for “please” and general pleading have been listed one after the other. The pot fabot is a Spanish loanword that means “please”, and fan is a polite article that also translates to “please.” The nai is there to add to the general sense of pleading. ↩︎
3. para lahi-mu: The words literally translate to “your son”, which we understand in the context of the song as “your son-in-law.” ↩︎
4. Olara mohon: This is a phrase that’s understood as “I hope” or “I wish”. Other forms of this phrase are ohala mohon or ola mohon. ↩︎
5. Chumá’gigu: “Was done at the same time.” It comes from achagigu, which means “at the same time.” It was transformed with the um infix, and it also appears to have been shortened or contracted for ease of singing. ↩︎