Kåntan Chamoru: Madåndan i Kampåna

This is the first JD Crutch song I’ve put on the blog. Little by little, I’m trying to listen to more Chamorro music, and luckily Jay has a vast Chamorro music library that ensures I always have something new to listen to. This song came up right when we were parking the car to get some food from Chochu’ Local this past weekend. It was my first time hearing it, and I really enjoyed the folky vibes. So here are Chamorro lyrics and an English translation for Mandåndan i Kampåna sung by JD Crutch. Happy listening!

Kåntan Chamoru: Hågu Ya-hu

Here’s another song (of the very few) I listened to toward the end of 2020, when I was in my first 8 months of learning Chamorro. It has always been one of my favorites, and so it was good practice to listen more carefully to the lyrics. Here are Chamorro lyrics and an English translation for the song Hågu Ya-hu by Lief Pangelinan. Happy listening!

Kåntan Chamoru: Hu Faisen Hao

Here is another Pacific Cool song that came up on Jay’s playlist this weekend when we were getting ready to go to Port Orchard to visit his family. I always sing along to the chorus whenever it plays, and decided it was time to put this on the blog! It’s another song with a nice tune about something sad (getting clear signals from someone that they don’t want to be with you anymore, but they won’t be honest with you and end things). Here are Chamorro lyrics and an English translation for the song Hu Faisen Hao by Pacific Cool. Happy listening!

Kåntan Chamoru: Islas Mariånas

For the longest time I just called this the “håfa adai song” because I didn’t know the title. I love hearing this song at the beginning of parties or gatherings, as it gives a nice warm, welcoming vibe. From a learning perspective, this song is also great for beginners because it’s sung at an easy tempo and the lyrics repeat often. So here are Chamorro lyrics and an English translation for the song “Islas Mariånas” by Island Breeze. Happy listening!

Kåntan Chamoru: Kirida

A few weeks ago someone on the Chamoru language subreddit asked for lyrics and a translation of this song, and I wanted to also post it here. This is a great song beginners, and by a newer singer and songwriter! It’s really nice to get new, original music written and sung entirely in our language, especially since it doesn’t happen too often these days. So here are Chamorro lyrics and an English translation for the song Kirida by Joe Garrido. Happy listening!

Kåntan Chamoru: Koronan Flores

We transcribed and translated this song a couple of Saturdays back in our practice group, on an evening when we decided to take it easy. It was also freakishly sunny and warm in the PNW on that Saturday, so we were also a bit tired from being out in the sun. This is one of the more popular Chamorro songs, with nice music and a catchy tune even though it’s kind of sad. This one is also a song I listened to in the first few months of my learning back in 2020, and at that time I could barely catch any of the words. Now I can easily sing along, which is really cool and proof that progress does happen if we keep at it 🙂 So here are Chamorro lyrics and an English translation for the song Koronan Flores, with this version by Ti Nåpu. Happy listening!