While lyrically Spoliarium tells an abstract and nihilistic scene from a first-person perspective, the song has long been associated to the alleged rape and later suicide of Pepsi Paloma, a teenage "bold star" from the 1980s.
According to the urban legend, the lyrics of the song alludes to the Paloma's rape case filed against comedians Vic "Enteng" Sotto, Joey de Leon, and Richie D'Horsie in 1982, including the apartment in which the crime took place, and the subsequent affidavit she was forced to sign by Vic's brother, future senator Tito Sotto. Composer Ely Buendia, a film major in UP Diliman, allegedly became aware of Pepsi Paloma while studying at the university. However, Buendia has declined to acknowledge about the true meaning of the song and even commented that he will "take this secret to the grave". The band had previously been in a legal struggle against Tito Sotto over the banning of their song Alapaap three years prior.
Spoliarium
Eraserheads Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
May tumawag sa pangalan ko
Labing isang palapag
Tinanong kung okey lang ako
Sabay abot ng baso
May naghihintay
At bakit ba 'pag nagsawa na ako
Biglang ayoko na
At ngayon
Di pa rin alam
Kung ba't tayo nandito
Puwede bang itigil muna
Ang pag-ikot ng mundo
Lumiwanag ang buwan
San Juan
Di ko na nasasakyan
Ang lahat ng bagay ay
Gumuguhit na lang
Sa 'king lalamunan
Ewan mo at ewan natin
Sinong may pakana
At bakit ba
Tumilapon ang
Gintong alak diyan sa paligid mo
At ngayon
Di pa rin alam
Kung ba't tayo nandito
Puwede bang itigil muna
Ang pag-ikot ng mundo oh
Umiyak ang umaga
Anong sinulat ni Enteng at Joey diyan
Sa pintong salamin
Di ko na mabasa
Pagkat merong nagbura ah
Ah ah ah
Ewan mo at ewan natin
Sinong nagpakana
At bakit ba tumilapon ang spoliarium
Diyan sa paligid mo oh
At ngayon
Di pa rin alam
Kung ba't tayo nandito
Puwede bang itigil muna
Ang pag-ikot ng mundo
Puwede bang itigil muna
Ang pag-ikot ng mundo
Puwede bang itigil muna
Ang pag-ikot ng mundo
Ang pag-ikot ng mundo
The song Spoliarium by Eraserheads starts with a description of the surroundings becoming dark and gloomy, but suddenly interrupted with someone calling the singer's name. They're in a building with eleven floors and the person asks if the singer is okay while offering them a glass of alcohol. The singer questions their own sudden change of heart when they no longer want to drink. Then, the moon shining brightly above San Juan captures their attention, and the environment becomes numb to the point where everything just feels like scratching at their throat. The lines "Ewan mo at ewan natin, sinong nagpakana, at bakit ba tumilapon ang spoliarium diyan sa paligid mo oh" imply that the singer is puzzled by the occurrences happening. At the end of the verse, the singer begs for the world to stop spinning temporarily.
In the chorus, the singer keeps asking why they're here in the first place, and if it's possible for everything to stop rotating, emphasizing their confusion and need to figure out what's happening. The bridge of the song starts with the words "Umiyak ang umaga," meaning that the morning is crying, or perhaps the singer is crying in the morning. Then, they mention the door with a looking glass that they can't read because someone erased the writing. Finally, they ask who is responsible for the wretched, beautiful disaster encompassing them, and why did the "spoliarium" (a Latin word for a room of the Colosseum where fallen gladiators were stripped of their armor and where animals were kept before the fights began) spill around them.
Line by Line Meaning
Dumilim ang paligid
The surroundings became dark
May tumawag sa pangalan ko
Someone called out my name
Labing isang palapag
Eleven floors
Tinanong kung okey lang ako
Asked if I'm okay
Sabay abot ng baso
Then handed me a glass
May naghihintay
Someone's waiting
At bakit ba 'pag nagsawa na ako Biglang ayoko na
And when I get tired, suddenly I don't want it anymore
At ngayon Di pa rin alam Kung ba't tayo nandito Puwede bang itigil muna Ang pag-ikot ng mundo
And now, I still don't know why we're here. Can we stop the world from spinning for a while?
Lumiwanag ang buwan San Juan Di ko na nasasakyan
The moon brightened in San Juan, I don't ride anymore
Ang lahat ng bagay ay Gumuguhit na lang Sa 'king lalamunan
All things are just engraving in my throat
Ewan mo at ewan natin Sinong may pakana At bakit ba Tumilapon ang Gintong alak diyan sa paligid mo
I don't know, neither do you, who was behind it and why did the golden wine spill around you
Umiyak ang umaga Anong sinulat ni Enteng at Joey diyan Sa pintong salamin Di ko na mabasa Pagkat merong nagbura ah Ah ah ah
The morning cried, what did Enteng and Joey write there on the mirror door? I can't read it anymore because someone erased it.
Ewan mo at ewan natin Sinong nagpakana At bakit ba tumilapon ang spoliarium Diyan sa paligid mo oh
I don't know, neither do you, who was behind it and why did the Spoliarium spill around you
Puwede bang itigil muna Ang pag-ikot ng mundo
Can we stop the world from spinning for a while?
Puwede bang itigil muna Ang pag-ikot ng mundo
Can we stop the world from spinning for a while?
Ang pag-ikot ng mundo
The spinning of the world
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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