The World of Hastang

This is part 6 of an 11-part series. Guile takes a whimsical journey down memory lane, retracing the bumpy pseudo-pathways that led to the final version of Hastang’s current tracks.

• This song went through two rejected incarnations before its final version. First rejected incarnation: an up-tempo rendition that was too new wave for its own good, written by yours truly (I suck at songwriting so sue me). Second rejected incarnation: still up-tempo but not enough minor chords (meaning: too sunny, not enough dark side to complement Yan’s lyrics). The third version turned out just right: pleading, aching, emotional. Polishing the arrangement proved to be no bed of roses. Luckily, the song survived. Murray’s guitar fill-ins would be the basis for Gaw’s wailing guitar lead parts.
• There’s a reason why Tessa sounds so angst-y in one of the choruses. While she was doing the vocal takes, Galen and I kept on telling her that she wasn’t “stressing” the lyrics enough (she thought we meant more “pleading” style of singing, we meant more “angst”). Because of this, we deservedly got a scolding (she said we should have told her to sing with more “emotion” instead of more “stress”). Visibly irked, she did the take once and nailed it perfectly.
• Useless snippet from Yan: This song was originally entitled “Lamentations.” She later changed it to its current title to convey the desire to take off from her perch on mediocrity and soar to greatness. Big words, huh? Read the poignant lyrics for the full scoop.

Mid-Flight

Lyrics by Julie Ann Yan Redoble
Music & Arrangement by Hastang

My life is two parallel lines,
converging in deluded minds
It is a ladder ever ascending,
a zenith always hidden from sight

Like a golden ray of sun,
a deflected and shattered light
A subtle blossom without petals
a bird incapable of flight

Is there no hope for this weary soul,
stuck forever in this mundane role?
Is there no end to mediocrity?
From this dark pit, I need to flee.
Is there no escape for the flaw that is me?

From these old strings, I need to break free.
For once, I just want to be free.

My life is the cold moon at morn
a flimsy floating obsolete
It is a stray yellow balloon
that fled from one child’s puny grip
Average rose in a vibrant bed
a gray streak in a rainbow sheet
Gnawed nails on a shapely hand
a red flake in a furious sleet

I had been adrift for so long.
I painted these gray skies on my own.
Now, I have nothing.
I am no one.
I am simply an abstraction of form.
Someday, you’ll see.
My back will grow wings.
My embers will blaze.
And I shall be free.

Hastang is a Cebu-based, female-fronted indie band composed of members Ria (vocals), Guile (bass), Gaw (guitars), and Makoy (drums).
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