Interpretation: Hymn to Labor

This composition by Rizal which was originally written in Spanish, in general speaks about how
every Filipino is willing to work hard, or labor, for his country.

Hymn to Labor was written in response to a request from Rizal’s comrades in Lipa, Batangas,
who then were in need of a hymn to sing during the ceremony in honor of Lipa being declared a
city in January 1888. More accurately, then, this song is intended to praise the hard work and
industry of the people of Lipa.

For the Motherland in war,

For the Motherland in peace,
Will the Filipino keep watch,
He will live until life will cease!

These first four lines of verses comprise the chorus. It signifies that every Filipino, in his
patriotism, will keep a watchful yet loving eye on his country with equal passion at wartime and
in times of peace. There will be no desertion especially during the more difficult times in the
country’s history, even if it means he pays for his loyalty with his life.

MEN:

Now the East is glowing with light,

Go! To the field to till the land,
For the labour of man sustains
Fam'ly, home and Motherland.
Hard the land may turn to be,
Scorching the rays of the sun above...
For the country, wife and children
All will be easy to our love.

The first stanza is sung by the men. This is the first of four societal groups identified in this
hymn, which signifies that all members of society without regard for gender or age, should
uphold and honor their country.

For the men, family and country are inspiration and motivation enough amidst exhausting labor.
Farming has long been the main occupation of men in the country especially during its early
years, and this verse gives a nod of approval to farmers who wake before the sunrise to tend their
land. They do it not for the money, but for what the income can do to benefit the greater good:
family, home, and Motherland.

(Chorus)

WIVES:

Go to work with spirits high,

For the wife keeps home faithfully,
Inculcates love in her children
For virtue, knowledge and country.
When the evening brings repose,
On returning joy awaits you,
And if fate is adverse, the wife,
Shall know the task to continue.

The role of a wife during the time of Rizal was plain and simple: she was the steward of the
home, the mother of the children. Modern thinking might dispense premature reaction to this
notion, however it only takes a few lines to see that Rizal was, in fact, also a feminist, ahead of
his time.

This verse pays tribute to mothers who dedicate their lives to the rearing and upbringing of their
children, teaching them the right values and morals to become upright citizens. Education and
formation, after all, begin and end in the home. In the last two lines, it is evident that, given the
precarious nature of life in a time when war is imminent, wives may lose their husbands and so it
is in their capable hands to carry out the business of men in the context of home and family,
should the men find themselves no longer able to do their duty.

(Chorus)

MAIDENS :

Hail! Hail! Praise to labour,

Of the country wealth and vigor!
For it brow serene's exalted,
It's her blood, life, and ardor.
If some youth would show his love
Labor his faith will sustain :
Only a man who struggles and works
Will his offspring know to maintain.

The third verse is sung by maidens, who salute to labor and encourage the young men to give
their lives to hard work and industry for the good of the nation. This is supposed to be sung with
joy and pride, signifying that no fair maiden wants a lazy young man who sits and waits for
nothing all the day long but instead cheers for that youth full of valor and expresses her
willingness to be that youth’s wife on account of his spirit, not merely his looks.

(Chorus)

CHILDREN:

Teach, us ye the laborious work

To pursue your footsteps we wish,
For tomorrow when country calls us
We may be able your task to finish.
And on seeing us the elders will say :
"Look, they're worthy 'f their sires of yore!"
Incense does not honor the dead
As does a son with glory and valor.

It is apparent in Filipino culture then and now, that children have high regard for the approval of
their elders. This verse underlines the importance of keeping the culture and tradition that is
handed down to them from the previous generation, and that they, in future, will hand down to
their own sons and daughters. It also expresses the children’s wish to pursue the footsteps of
those that have gone before them, in preparation for when the time comes for them to take
charge, however premature and unexpected that time may be.

ABOR DAY 2017

By Sir Edwin D Bael, KGOR
 
In celebration of Labor Day in the Philippines (May 1, 2017), let’s take some time to
consider:
 
HIMNO AL TRABAJO (HYMN TO LABOR)
By Jose Rizal, 1888
 
Coro:
¡Por la patria en la Guerra,
por la patria en la paz,
velará el Filipino,
vivirá y morirá.
 
Chorus:
For the homeland in war time,
For the homeland in peace time,
The Filipino shall guard and stand fast,
Shall survive and shall breathe his last!
(English translation by EDB)
 
Himno Al Trabajo was a poem written by Dr Jose Rizal in 1888 as response to a
request of his friends from Lipa, Batangas who wanted a hymn during the elevation of
the then municipality of Lipa to a city in January 1888 through the Becerra Law. The
hymn is praise to the zeal and industry of the Lipeños.
 
But as was his wont, acting local but thinking global, Dr. Rizal used general terms
applicable to the nation vis-à-vis the world. He has the chorus above introducing every
stanza of the poem.
 
Notice that in this formulation of the chorus, labor is part of the nation, willing to watch
over it until the last breath. It is not a sector seeking to defeat another sector (the
capitalists) and dominate the nation through dictatorship of the proletariat. But as
safeguard watchers, labor is part of the patriots who shall defend the country at all
times, against all enemies foreign and domestic, whatever their ideologies and class
may be.
 
The poem is composed of lyrical conversations of men, wives, maidens and children –
conversations that show patriotism, where Rizal posed the educative challenge: to give
priority to “la patria, familia, y hogar” (country, family, home - in that order) contrary to
the contemporary focus on me, myself and mine.
 
There is the educational focus of “inculcando el amor por la patria, virtud y saber”
(inculcating love for country, virtue and wisdom) which is far from the present
educational focus on what makes for employment and money.
 
There is the honoring of labor as basis of the country’s wealth and vigor, as the nation’s
blood, life, and ardor, by which we can hold high the serene forehead. This is contrary
to the present way of the elite looking at labor as a cost that must be minimized as
much as possible to increase personal and corporate profits; and treat them as
commodities or chattel for export and then give them lip service of being called “mga
bagong bayani”.
 
There is the concept of new generations being worthy of their forbears through glory
and honor very much contrary to the present predisposition to forget, disregard, and
disrespect heritage (as the Supreme Court has done in throwing to the garbage the
concept of cultural heritage of the blood of so many heroes in the Luneta in addition to
Rizal, in favor of the unfettered private corporate profits of DMCI in Torre de Manila).
 
In this poem, the men uphold labor as sustainer of country, family, and home; they
encourage others to work the land for progress no matter how hard the labor or
implacable the sun. The wives, inspiring their husbands before and after work, take care
of the home and inculcate love in their children for country, virtue, and wisdom; even
more, they know how to finish the work of their men should circumstances be adverse.
Note, of course, we can calibrate and contemporize this in accord with constitutional
guarantees of gender equality. But remember, it was written in 1888.
 
The young women (doncellas) praise labor as fount of the nation’s wealth and vigor;
they hold it as proof of life and passion, and evidence of any young man’s protestations
of love, for only by labor may they sustain progeny. Alas, young men are not given a
stanza here for presumably they are to nobly respond to the expectations of the young
women. But then there is no stanza for girls; the last stanza is for boys, who yearn for
the adults to teach them the intricacies and difficulties of work, so that when fatherland
calls, they’ll know how to conclude their forbears’ enterprises and revere them with glory
and honor.
 
Here’s the original Spanish text of Dr. Rizal and my English translation:
 
Himno Al Trabajo
(Original) In Spanish by Jose Rizal, 1888
 
[Coro]
 
¡Por la patria en la Guerra,
por la patria en la paz,
velará el Filipino,
vivirá y morirá
 
HOMBRES:
Ya el Oriente de luz se colora,
¡Sus! Al campo, la tierra á labrar,
que el trabajo del hombre sostiene
á la patria, familia y hogar.
Dura puede mostrarse la tierra;
implacables, los rayos del sol. . .
¡Por la patria, la esposa y los hijos
todo fácil será á nuestro amor!
 
[Coro]
 
ESPOSAS:
Animosos partid al trabajo
que la esposa el hogar vela fiel,
inculcando el amor á los hijos
por la patria, virtud y saber.
Cuando traiga la noche el descanso,
la ventura os aguarda al entrar;
y si el hado es adverso, la esposa
la tarea sabrá continuar.
 
[Coro]
 
DONCELLAS:
¡Salve! ¡Salve! ¡Loor la Trabajo,
de la patria riqueza y vigor!
Por él yergue la frente serena,
es su sangre, su vida y su ardor.
Si algún joven pregona su afecto,
el trabajo su fé probará;
¡solo el hombre que lucha y se fana,
sostener á su prole sabrá!
 
[Coro]
 
NIÑOS:
Enseñadnos las dunas;
vuestra huellas queremos seguir,
que mañana, al llamarnos la patria,
vuestra empresa podamos concluir.
Y dirá los ancianos al vernos:
--¡De sus padres, mirad, dignos son!
Á los muertos no honra incienso
como un hijo de Gloria y honor....
 
Hymn to Labor
English translation by Edwin D. Bael 1 May 2017
 
CHORUS:
For the homeland in war time,
For the homeland in peace time,
The Filipino shall guard and stand fast,
Shall survive and shall breathe his last!
 
MEN:
Already, colors paint the eastern sky,
Set off! To the fields and work the land,
For man’s work does sustain and supply
Family, descendants, home and homeland.
Hard labor though the earth brings,
Implacable may rays of the sun be...
For the country, wife and offsprings
To and with our love, all will be easy.
 
(Chorus)
 
WIVES:
Part for work with lively inspiration,
For wife staunchly safeguards dwelling,
Inculcating in the children devotion
For the nation, virtue, understanding.
When night brings about relaxation,
Fortune welcomes you upon entry;
And if fate and destiny be contrary,
The wife will know the task to carry on.
 
(Chorus)
 
MAIDENS:
Hail! Hail! Praise to labor,
Of the country’s wealth and vigor!
Through it the serene forehead rises
It’s the nation’s blood, life, and ardor.
If some young man proffers his affection
His faith by labor will prove and champion:
For only a man who fights and is fervent
Will know how to give offsprings provision.
 
(Chorus)
 
BOYS:
Teach us the dunes and wilderness;
Your tracks we wish and want to follow,
For when the country calls tomorrow,
We can conclude your enterprises.
And seeing us, the ancients will say:
"Look, of their forbears, they are worthy!
For incense honors not the dead
Like a son with honor and glory.