00:00 [Music]
00:07 Whenever I see girls and boys
00:10 Sending lentils on the street
00:13 I remember the child
00:17 In a manger as he sleeps
00:20 Wherever there are people
00:23 Giving gifts and exchanging cards
00:26 I believe that Christmas is truly in their hearts
00:32 And so that's how Christmas in Our Hearts was born.
00:36 [Music]
00:42 Christmas in Our Hearts had a very interesting beginning.
00:45 Let's go back to 1988.
00:48 A good friend of mine, Chari Cruz Zarate,
00:51 she phoned me and asked if I would be willing to set to music
00:56 a poem that she wrote.
00:58 The poem she wrote was entitled "Ang Tubig Ay Buhay."
01:02 In two days, I was able to set that poem to music.
01:07 And that music is [sings]
01:14 Then 1990, two years later,
01:17 my record producer, Delia Tan, suggested that I came out with a Christmas album.
01:23 And of course, the first thing I did was to assemble some Christmas songs
01:28 that I grew up with as a child.
01:30 [Sings]
01:39 But of course, she needed an original Christmas song.
01:43 And so I racked my brain.
01:46 I have to compose a Christmas song.
01:49 And like a suggestion from above,
01:52 I remembered that melody, "Ang Tubig Ay Buhay."
01:55 [Sings]
02:01 "Hey," I said, "it could sound like a Christmas song."
02:04 The melody started in the minor mode.
02:07 [Music]
02:14 Very Filipino. And then it went to
02:17 [Music]
02:24 Major mode. Wow, perfect.
02:27 So I remember praying to the Holy Spirit,
02:31 asking for guidance, asking for inspiration
02:35 to write Christmas words to that melody.
02:38 And this is what happened.
02:40 It was a Sunday morning, and we were coming out of church from Sunday Mass,
02:47 when all of a sudden, after we boarded the car,
02:50 there was a young lady that ran after me and introduced herself.
02:54 She gave me her card. She introduced herself as Rina Caniza.
02:59 My mom and I, we heard Mass at Forbes Park Church.
03:02 And as I was hearing Mass, I saw Joe Marie there. He was present.
03:07 And I whispered to my mom, and I said, "I want to write with him.
03:11 He doesn't know me at all. I haven't made any name in songwriting,
03:14 but I want to write with him."
03:16 So my mom said, "Sige, after the Mass, you approach him."
03:19 And I had a little calling card ready in my bag.
03:22 She gave me a card, and she said, "Mr. Chan, it is my hope and dream
03:26 that one day, you and I could collaborate on a song.
03:32 We could write a love song together."
03:34 So I phoned her, and I invited her to come to the house,
03:37 and I sang the melody to her.
03:39 And I said, "Could you help me write Christmas lyrics to this?"
03:43 Here's the study melody for a Christmas song in English.
03:48 [humming]
03:53 And so that's how "Christmas in Our Hearts" was born.
03:57 We wrote it together, and then we were waiting for the last verse.
04:02 I remember that day, I was being driven by my driver to Pampanga,
04:07 and on the way, the lyrics came to me.
04:10 ♪ Let love light that starlight on that first Christmas morn ♪
04:16 ♪ Lead us back to the manger where Christ the Child was born ♪
04:23 ♪ So come, let us rejoice ♪
04:25 ♪ Come and sing a Christmas carol ♪
04:29 ♪ With one big joyful voice ♪
04:32 ♪ Proclaim the name of the Lord ♪
04:36 Wow! I said, "Good! This completes the song."
04:40 ♪ Let love light that starlight on that first Christmas morn ♪
04:45 ♪ Lead us back to the manger ♪
04:47 Remember, it was the Star of Bethlehem that led the three kings to the manger.
04:53 And so in 1990, the song "Christmas in Our Hearts" was born.
04:58 And that led to the record becoming a double diamond seller.
05:03 When it came to a singer who would sing the song with me,
05:07 my first choice was Lea Salonga, number one,
05:10 because at that time she was the darling of the country,
05:14 because she landed a role in "Miss Saigon" at the West End in London.
05:18 So she was the idol. She was like the Hyde-Lyd of that time.
05:22 I remember calling her and asking if she could sing that song with me.
05:27 And she agreed. Unfortunately, her recording label would not allow her to cross-label.
05:34 And so, "Hi. Sayang."
05:37 So my next choice was Monique Wilson,
05:40 because Monique Wilson was the understudy of Lea in "Miss Saigon."
05:45 And when I spoke to her and I sent her the melody, she liked it.
05:48 She said, "Sure. When do we record?"
05:50 So I said, "Let's record Monday, Tuesday, next week."
05:53 "Great. Okay. I'll be ready."
05:55 That weekend, Monique went to Tagaytay with some friends.
05:59 She lost her voice.
06:01 Sunday night, she called me apologetically, saying that,
06:05 "I'm sorry, Tito Joe. I lost my voice. I'm sorry. I cannot sing."
06:12 "Oh, no."
06:13 In the meantime, my record producer, Beliatan, was already rushing,
06:17 "Joe, it's already September. We have to release that album."
06:21 I don't know what opened up my mind and said, "Why don't you ask your daughter?"
06:25 She has a beautiful voice.
06:27 And what a perfect combination.
06:29 Father and daughter singing a Christmas song.
06:32 So I remember going to her bedroom, and she was studying for her exams the next day.
06:38 And I said, "Liz, could you learn this song?
06:41 It's a Christmas song that I wrote, and I want it to be a duet.
06:45 Maybe you and I could sing it together."
06:47 And she said, "Sure, Dad. When is the recording?"
06:49 "Tomorrow."
06:52 "I'm sorry, you have to learn this song overnight."
06:54 "Sure, sure."
06:55 "Okay, Dad."
06:56 So she learned the song, and the next day, we walked into the studio,
07:00 and we recorded "Christmas in Our Hearts."
07:02 And as they say, the rest is history.
07:04 Let's sing Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday.
07:11 What a perfect combination.
07:13 A Christmas song sung by a father and daughter.
07:16 Remember, Christmas is family.
07:19 Christmas is more meaningful when you share it with your children.
07:23 And so that's the history of "Christmas in Our Hearts."
07:27 I'm very happy that the song has touched the lives of people young and old.
07:35 I'll tell you a very interesting story about an experience singing that song.
07:40 I was invited by Governor DiMapporo to perform in Mindanao in a concert at their huge gym.
07:47 And looking out at the audience, it was a combination of Muslims and Christians.
07:53 And they were asking for more, more, more.
07:56 What they requested for?
07:58 "Christmas in Our Hearts."
08:00 This was around May or June, middle of the year,
08:04 and they requested for "Christmas in Our Hearts."
08:07 And this was a group composed of Muslims and Christians.
08:12 Butinalang, I had the minus one.
08:14 My technician had the minus one.
08:17 And so I sang "Christmas in Our Hearts."
08:20 And when it came to Lisa's part of the song, the whole gym sang with me.
08:26 That was an unforgettable experience.
08:29 That even to the Muslims, they were singing words like,
08:32 "This season may we never forget the love we have for Jesus."
08:36 [Music]
08:50 That was an unforgettable experience for me.
08:53 And it may never happen again.
08:55 When I do concerts abroad, whether in Canada or in the U.S.
08:59 or in Zurich, Switzerland, or in Vienna, Austria.
09:03 And the Filipinos, of course, they're mostly Filipinos in the audience.
09:07 Many times, they would request me to sing "Christmas in Our Hearts."
09:11 And, you know, it's not Christmas season, but I sing it because, anyway,
09:15 it brings back memories for them.
09:17 It brings back memories of their Christmases with their families back home.
09:22 So, wow.
09:23 That's the long story about "Christmas in Our Hearts."
09:28 [Music]
09:34 Hello, this is Hossein Marie Chan.
09:37 Like and subscribe to OG.
09:40 (upbeat music)
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