Last Saturday, Jay led the Praktikan Pupuengi group through listening to and transcribing the love song Mungnga Masångan by Toni Quitugua. This song has long been in rotation on Jay’s Chamorro music playlist, so it felt like a full-circle moment to hear the practice group working through the lyrics together. It’s a great song for beginners—the pacing is slow and the lyrics use simple but emotional language. As always, this post includes Chamorro lyrics, an English translation and language notes. Happy listening!

Kiridu, hunggan hu guaiya hao	Darling, yes I love you
Sin hågu gi lina’lå-hu, ti bai hu magof ta’lu	Without you in my life I will not be happy again
hågu ha’ gi hinasso’-ku	you’re the only one in my thoughts

Mungnga masångan	Don’t say it
Un tungo’ na hu guaiya hao	You know that I love you
Yanggen un dagi yu’	If you lie to me
Siempri (hu) ripåra	I will certainly know1
Neni kao ti un hassu’	Baby do you not remember
I bidå-ta siha gi tiempu	The things we did back in the days
Yanggen para un dingu’ yu’	And if you’re going to leave me
Put fabot na’klåru	Please, make it clear

Hågu guinaiya-ku, hågu i lina’lå-hu	You are my love, you are my life
Gi fondun kurason-hu na gaige hao kiridu	In the bottom of my heart is where you are, sweetheart
Annai taigue hao ya guåguao ha’2	When you are gone and it’s only me
Neni månu hit na lachi	Baby where did we go wrong
Kao ti un hasso’ tåtti mames bidå-ta	Don’t you remember the sweet things we did back then?

Munga masångan	Don’t say it
Un tungo’ ha’ na hu guaiya hao	You do know that I love you
Yanggen un dagi yu’	If you lie to me
Sempri hu ripåra	I certainly will know

Neni kao ti un hasso’	Baby do you not remember
I bidå-ta siha gi tiempu	The things we did back in the days
Yanggen para un dingu’ yu’	If you’re going to leave me
Put fabot na’klåru	Please, make it clear
Yanggen para un dingu yu’	If you’re going to leave me
put fabot na’klåru	Please, make it clear
Yanggen para un dingu yu’	If you’re going to leave me
put fabot na’klåru	Please, make it clear

Notes

1. Siempri (hu) ripåra: This is literally translated as “I will certainly/surely notice (it)”, but in English it can be understood as “I will certainly know” or “I will always know it”. The siempri indicates a certain future, guaranteeing that if their significant other lies, they absolutely will know. ↩︎
2. guåguao ha’: This is the phrase Guaguahu ha’, which translates to “It’s only me”. The word guahu has been reduplicated, with ha’ added to the end. In the context of the lyric and song, it can also be interpreted as “I am alone”, although for that phrase we may also hear Guaguahu ha’ na maisa. We chose to spell the phrase closer to how it is being pronounced in the song, which is also how we might hear it in native Chamorro speech. ↩︎