It was only when two of its four members were about to retire from the field of amateur music, however, that the APO, then known as the Apolinario Mabini Hiking Society, finally had a city-wide audience. One of them was scheduled to leave for Turkey as an exchange student. The other had a position waiting for him in his father's advertising firm.
Why a talented young man of 21 would want to go to Turkey, every young man in the early seventies would probably understand. But what the APO could not understand was their fourth member's decision to leave the irresponsibility of being unemployed to join the ranks of the corporate world.
The trip to Turkey did not materialize and the APO, now a tentative trio, pushed on steadily towards fame and fortune.
Looking back, the APO members Danny Javier, Boboy Garrovillo, and Jim Paredes do not regret never having been regular wage earners. Their farewell concert, which had SRO audiences for two stormy nights, not unexpectedly became a hit record the following year.
In the three decades since that "farewell" concert, the APO has made 22 record albums; hosted several television shows including their own noontime Sunday show "Sa Linggo nAPO Sila"; and launched hugely successful major solo concerts and countless provincial, dinner, and corporate shows. They have performed in over 50 cities in the United States, in Canada, Singapore, Indonesia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Japan to bring Original Pilipino Music to Filipinos the world over.
In October of 1987, during their annual US tour, the APO became the first Filipino pop artists to perform at the Main Hall of New York's prestigious Carnegie Hall. They also performed at the equally prestigious Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada's music capital. Both concerts, as well as the other shows held during that particular concert tour, were sold out. The APO were also the first Filipino artists to perform in a public concert in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 1987, they were one of the first Filipino artists to be recorded on compact disc. And in 1994, they were awarded the first Dangal ng Musikang Pilipino by Awit Awards - the Filipino equivalent of the Grammy. They have also been conferred the Tanglaw Ng Lahi Award, the highest accolade given by Jesuits in the field of culture and arts.
The APO also earned international recognition for Jim Paredes' anthem on the bloodless Philippine revolution in 1986. "Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo" was recorded by 15 Filipino artists in April 1986. A few months later, the English version "A New and Better Way" was launched in Australia. In February 1987, the first anniversary of the Philippines' People Power revolution, the song was released in London, England. The lyrics of the song are embedded on a wall of Our Lady of Edsa Shrine, the center of the revolution.
Pula Puti Ginto Itim
Apo Hiking Society Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Na bumubulong sa 'king puso
Ng matatamis na mga pangarap
Na hindi naman natutupad
Na hindi naman natutupad
Puti ang kulay ng pagmamahal ko
Na tuluyang umaasa
Sa mga salitang hindi tapat
Salitang lumilipad
Ginto ang kulay ng liwanag
Asul ang kulay ng langit
Kulang ang bahaghari
Sa kulay ng pag-ibig
Itim ang kulay ng kalungkutan
Na nasa kalul'wa ko
Pusong mangmang sa takbo ng mundo
At hindi na siya natuto
At hindi na siya natuto
Pula ang kulay ng kanyang labi
Na bumubulong sa 'king puso
Ng matatamis na mga pangarap
Na hindi naman natutupad
Na hindi naman natutupad
Na hindi naman natutupad
The song "Pula Puti Ginto Itim" by Apo Hiking Society is a poignant narrative of unrequited love, disappointment, hope, and enduring sorrow. The lyrics depict a person's struggles of confronting their feelings and coming to terms with the fact that their love is not returned. The song's title comes from the different colors of emotions that the singer is experiencing; red (pula) for the color of the lips of the person they love, white (puti) for their own love that is pure and genuine, gold (ginto) for the color of light, blue (asul) for the sky that is still less vibrant than the color of love, and black (itim) for the intense sadness that they feel.
The first stanza talks about the beauty of the person that the singer loves, represented by the color red. They silently whisper their sweet dreams of a future together, but these dreams remain unfulfilled. In contrast, the second stanza talks about the singer's love, represented by the color white, and how they hold on to their belief in the person and their promises despite being deceived. The third stanza describes the beauty of everything else, but all of it seems dim in comparison to the color of love. The fourth and final stanza depicts the magnitude of the pain the singer feels, represented by the color black, as they struggle to move on and keep up with the world that keeps on moving without them.
Overall, the song "Pula Puti Ginto Itim" exquisitely captures the emotions of unrequited love and the hopelessness that can come with it. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a person's inner turmoil and journey towards acceptance.
Line by Line Meaning
Pula ang kulay ng kanyang labi
The redness of her lips symbolizes her desire for love and passion
Na bumubulong sa 'king puso
Her lips whisper to my heart, echoing her longing for love
Ng matatamis na mga pangarap
She dreams of sweet memories and a bright future full of possibilities
Na hindi naman natutupad
Sadly, her dreams often go unfulfilled
Na hindi naman natutupad
Her dreams continue to linger, unfulfilled and unattainable
Puti ang kulay ng pagmamahal ko
My love is pure and innocent, as pure as the color white
Na tuluyang umaasa
Yet, I still hold on to the hope that love will conquer all
At naniniwala
I still believe in love, despite its imperfections
Sa mga salitang hindi tapat
Even when words prove to be unfaithful and untrue
Salitang lumilipad
Words that seem to fly away, leaving behind broken promises and shattered dreams
Ginto ang kulay ng liwanag
The color gold represents the radiance and brightness of light
Asul ang kulay ng langit
The color blue represents the vastness and depth of the sky
Kulang ang bahaghari
Even the rainbow falls short in comparison to the beauty of love
Sa kulay ng pag-ibig
For love is the true color of beauty and radiance
Itim ang kulay ng kalungkutan
The color black is a symbol of sadness and despair
Na nasa kalul'wa ko
It resides deep within my soul and heart
Pusong mangmang sa takbo ng mundo
A naive heart that struggles to keep up with the pace of the world
At hindi na siya natuto
A heart that has not yet learned the hard lessons of life
At hindi na siya natuto
A heart that continues to make the same mistakes, without learning from them
Pula ang kulay ng kanyang labi
The redness of her lips symbolizes her desire for love and passion
Na bumubulong sa 'king puso
Her lips whisper to my heart, echoing her longing for love
Ng matatamis na mga pangarap
She dreams of sweet memories and a bright future full of possibilities
Na hindi naman natutupad
Sadly, her dreams often go unfulfilled
Na hindi naman natutupad
Her dreams continue to linger, unfulfilled and unattainable
Writer(s): Jim Paredes
Contributed by Christopher A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Bernadette Arcena-Jacinto
on Blue Jeans
a sa on sa ondai.