Going to the Past by Jose Mari Chan
Thought I’d drop my work for a day and get away from the city,
Getting bored and weary trapped in this existence destined for me;
Knowing there is little time before I lose my sanity,
From the pressures of the clockwork gilded society.
So I flew into the old town where I was born,
Situated twenty-eight years south of everything I’ve ever known;
Though I know it’s been so long but I can still remember,
Somehow statures of those mem’ries have managed to keep me warm.
People say you never lose what you had before,
They just move on but we never close the door;
Going to the past is an easy task to do;
Going through tiny nooks and corners down the avenues,
Whistling to an unfamiliar tune or two;
Going to the past doesn’t really last,
As time is so incredibly fast, soon you’ll have to go right back.
Strange are the changes of time I feel almost a stranger,
They’ve got high-rise condominiums standing where the old, wood houses were;
Peaceful little town is now a hectic miniature city,
Living in a smoggy clockwork gilded society.
Gone are all those children playing in the early morning,
And their voices now have been replaced by snarls of traffic of minds and mayhem;
Faces that you meet on the street are unfamiliar as the land,
No one smiles at you and few will lend a helping hand.
And it suddenly occurs to me without a doubt,
There is no escaping, there is no way out;
Time moves in only one direction to the future,
We just have to make the most of the here and now;
You are where your yesterday has brought you now,
Going to the past doesn’t really last…
‘Cause time is so incredibly fast,
Soon you’ll have to go right back;
Yes, time is so incredibly fast,
Soon you’ll have to go right back.
Composed and sung by: Jose Mari Chan, a Filipino singer, songwriter and famous for his Christmas songs in the Philippines is also one of the pillars and icons of Original Pilipino Music (OPM.)
Jose Mari Chan is one of the Philippines well-known singer and composer and this is just one of my most favorite songs second only to his melancholic song, “Refrain.” I just thought I’d sing along with him in alto as a cover? Maybe not! 🫣