My Best Song So Far (as Many Say)

To choose which of your works or creations or projects is the best is a hard thing to do. It’s because you definitely gave much effort for each of your work to make it good. It’s not that easy to just name one as your best. We usually name three or five as our ‘bests’. So we leave it to others to make the choice. A book is judged by its readers and an outstanding painting or piece of artwork is rated by art lovers and art experts. No one can just declare that his work is fine unless he is a master of such field; but even so, his work remains to be tried and tested.
It goes to say also, that a song is good, excellent or beautiful if it has achieved its main purpose; and that is to be able to communicate its story or message and set an effect to the listeners. And the only proof to that is that people like the song; they want to hear it; they want to sing it; they understand what the song is trying to say and most of the time they can relate with it. A song can receive recognition from music awards entities, but it’s not a guarantee that the song is really good.
This song didn’t get any award or recognition, but so far it’s a song many consider as my best song. Of all the songs I have written, this song has received the most encouraging comments and responses; “The Lord talk to me through this song.” “I’m so blessed with the message.” “I was enlightened at the time when I was harboring a difficult problem.” “I was about to end my life when I heard this song on the radio, and I stopped and I prayed to God.” These comments make this song a special one. It gives fulfillment to my songwriting. Writing Gospel songs in the Philippines will not make one rich, but no amount of money can pay the blessings that a simple Gospel song can bring to many people.
I wrote this song in 1992 and requested Edward Granadosin to record it for an album I was producing for Praise Incorporated. It was Robert More who did the musical arrangement of the song. Then, in 1997, I recorded my own version with Arnel De Pano doing the accompaniment tracks. And in 2005, I produced another version this time with Dulce (one of the Philippine’s outstanding female Diva) giving a new life to the song with her powerful singing.
Here’s that song in a video taken from the concert in Singapore last year. My best song so far, “Huwag Mo Sanang Isipin” (Don’t You Ever Think).