He first appeared on the local scene as the Host & Singer of a Television show called "9 Teeners" of ABS-CBN in 1966. His first single Afterglow was released in 1967 and became popular in the Philippines even though foreign songs dominated the airlanes. His first long playing album "Deep in My Heart" was issued in 1969. In 1973 he represented the Philippines in the World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo with his song "Can We Just Stop and Talk A While". From 1970 to 1975, he composed more than 20 theme songs for movies, some of which earned for him several nominations at the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Award. He also wrote several well-loved commercial jingles among which is the Philippine Air Lines "Love at Thirty Thousand Feet" and the ALASKA Milk jingle. Between 1974 and 1975 he was the Star of a series of Television Network Specials spotlighting his words and music. In 1975 he moved to the United States for his sugar business and remained there for 11 years. Coming back in 1986, UNIVERSAL Records released a compilation of his hits along with a brand new composition "Tell Me Your Name" which re-introduced him to a younger audience. In 1989, his album "Constant Change" not only was named Album of the Year by the Awit Awards,the local equivalent of the American Grammy Awards, but it also achieved unprecedented status for having reached the Diamond Record in terms of sales, or 10 TIMES Platinum. It also sold in other Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Its carrier single "Beautiful Girl" was a regional hit and covered by Asian stars like Aaron Kwok. Other artists in the region that recorded his songs were Paula Tsui (Hong Kong) Sally Yee (Hong Kong) Tomomi Akimoto (Japan) Sandy Lam(Hong Kong) Kamahl (Australia) and Yasuo T. (Japan). In 1990 his Christmas album "Christmas In Our Hearts" was released. It reached triple platinum status that same year, eventually becoming the unprecedented holder of the Double Diamond Record Award equivalent to 20 TIMES Platinum. His 2003 album "A Heart's Journey" won ALBUM OF THE YEAR in the AWIT AWARDS. In 2005 he was commissioned to write "We're All Just One", the theme song of the 2005 Southeast Asian Games. As a concert performer he has performed at the New York's Carnegie Hall, the Bellagio in Las Vegas, The Show Boat Casino in Atlantic City, The Silver Legacy in Reno, Nevada, Washington D.C., Rhode Island, Cherry Hill New Jersey, Chicago, Virginia, Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, Los Angeles, Guam, Vancouver, Toronto, London, Zurich, Vienna, Paris, Oslo, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bandung, Hong Kong, and Jakarta.
He is currently Chairman and CEO of BISCOM Inc. and A.Chan Sugar Corp. and is one of the leaders in the Philippine sugar industry.
A Love To Last A Lifetime
Jose Mari Chan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Doing what we can do in a lifetime
We have more than one adventure to take
More than one dream to make in our lifetime
As for me there's only one dream
And that's to love you my love
With a love to last a lifetime
And our hearts would take wins like a sparrow
But that's life
We'll take each day as it comes
Never leaving the crumbs for the morrow
As for me, all of my days I will spend them all with you
Loving you with love to last a lifetime
If we all could leave something to be rememberd by
Just a song for me and then at least I would have tried
I agree it's not so much that we have
As how we use what we have in our lifetime
Thirty years is worth a hundred and two
It's really waht we can do in our lifetime
All my love i would give for as long as may live
With a love, true love, to last a lifetime
In this song, Jose Mari Chan highlights the transitory nature of life and the importance of making the most of the time we have. He acknowledges that everyone is just passing through, with each person having their own unique set of adventures and dreams to pursue. However, for the singer, there is only one dream that matters - to love his partner with a love that will last a lifetime.
Chan goes on to express how, as humans, we can sometimes make foolish decisions, but that's just part of life's journey. He advocates for living in the present moment and cherishing each day together, without worrying about what the future may hold. The singer believes that his love for his partner will endure all life's challenges and he is willing to give all of himself for as long as he lives.
The song concludes with Chan's reflection on the importance of leaving a legacy behind, even if it's just a song that is remembered by others. He emphasizes that it's not about the quantity of things we accumulate during our lifetime but rather how we use what we have. Chan reminds us that the value of our lives is measured not in the years we live but in what we do with the time we're given.
Line by Line Meaning
We're all just merely passing through
We are all just temporary beings on this earth
Doing what we can do in a lifetime
During our time here, we strive to accomplish what we can
We have more than one adventure to take
There are many paths and experiences to be had in life
More than one dream to make in our lifetime
We have many aspirations that we hope to fulfill
As for me there's only one dream
For me, there is only one thing I wish to achieve
And that's to love you my love
That is to love my significant other
With a love to last a lifetime
With a love that will endure through time
We're fools we sometimes do crazy things
Occasionally, we can act foolishly or impulsively
And our hearts would take wins like a sparrow
Our hearts can be easily won over or broken like a delicate bird
But that's life
That's just a part of the human experience
We'll take each day as it comes
We'll live in the moment and deal with what comes our way
Never leaving the crumbs for the morrow
We won't put things off for tomorrow when we can do them today
As for me, all of my days, I will spend them all with you
I will devote all of my time to being with my loved one
Loving you with love to last a lifetime
I will love with a love that will last as long as I live
If we all could leave something to be remembered by
If we could all make some sort of lasting impact before we die
Just a song for me and then at least I would have tried
Writing a song may be a small accomplishment, but it's something to leave behind
I agree it's not so much that we have
What's important isn't the amount of possessions we accumulate
As how we use what we have in our lifetime
But how we make use of what we do have
Thirty years is worth a hundred and two
The quality of a relatively short life can be worth more than a longer, unfulfilled one
It's really what we can do in our lifetime
What matters are the experiences and impact we make during our time here
All my love I would give for as long as may live
I will love with all my heart for as long as I'm alive
With a love, true love, to last a lifetime
With a genuine love that will endure through the ages
Contributed by Leah H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.