A song inspired by the children who live in dire poverty in the waste dump sites of Manila. The lyrics speak of a dark and dreary environment where scavengers are free to make what they get from the garbage pile. But that does not make them any less
mixed chamber choir composed of amateur singers at the Ateneo de Manila University performing professional quality music.
Asia's oldest college choir.
Story behind the song
http://www.ancopusa.org/wowgk/paraiso_thesong.htm
Lyrics
"PARAISO" – The Song
Paraiso
Return to a land called Paraiso,
a place where a dying river ends.
No birds there fly over Paraiso,
no space allows them to endure.
The smoke that screens the air,
the grass that's never there.
And if I could see a single bird, what a joy.
I try to write some words and create
a simple song to be heard
by the rest of the world.
I live in this land called Paraiso,
in a house made of cardboard floors and walls.
I learned to be free in Paraiso,
free to claim anything I see.
Matching rags for my clothes,
plastic bags for the cold.
And if empty cans were all I have, what a joy.
I never fight to take someone
else's coins and live with fear
like the rest of the boys.
Paraiso, help me make a stand.
Paraiso, take me by the hand
Paraiso, make the world understand
that if I could see a single bird, what a joy.
This tired and hungry land could expect
some truth and hope and respect
from the rest of the world.
