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Beyond those travelled hills of the north...
The Sagada Hymn is the official municipal song of Sagada and is performed during official town gatherings and community events, including jamming sessions around bonfires. It employs a bilingual structure, alternating between English and Kankana-ey verses and its musical arrangement carries melancholic tonal qualities that complement the lyrical content’s themes of place attachment and spiritual connection to the landscape, and this little mountain town.
The hymn is both ceremonial music and performed as part of community bonding, reinforcing local identity and shared cultural values among residents and visitors.
Below are the lyrics to the Sagada Hymn composed by Dr. Dennis Faustino and Mrs. Rhoda Bondad.
The Kankana-ey Igorot translation embedded in the song is attributed to Mrs. Evangeline Capuyan Singson.
Beyond those traveled hills of the north
Lies my home all laden with pine
Amidst the soft and silken touch
Of morning mist I lay my prayer before thy shrine
My prayers to Thee my love dressed in green,
My paradise unforeseen
My thanks to Thee who spawned my love
Sagada, Sagada will always be mine
With you, I believe
In a life I can live
With you, I can share
what I have, without care
(Kankana-ey section)
Isnan adaddawi ay bilbilig
Isdi nan iitaw tet-ewa
Kaneg issan kankanaenda
Ay Shangrila men luwalo ak ken sik-a
Madaydayaw ay ili natalna
Umeyak ay m’id egyat na
Salamat ‘snan Dios ay nanapo
Sagada, Sagada kowak engana
Ken sik-a, mamati-ak
Isnan biag, matago-ak
Ken sik-a, makibingay ak
M’id bali na isnan kowak
Beyond those troubled hills of the North
lies my hope all laden with pine
Amidst the soft and silken touch
of morning mist I lay my pray’r before thy shrine
My thanks to Thee who spawned my love
Sagada, Sagada will always be mine