“But as Filipinos, we are naturally torpe. You know we always have second thoughts on doing things lalo na with love,” said vocalist Medwin Marfil.
Have you been in a situation where you hesitantly approached or spoke to someone you like for fear of being rejected? Most likely, you’ve been. And that scenario, two of the members of True Faith believe, is the reason why Huwag Na Lang Kaya became such a big hit back in the day.
“The reason why that song resonates to listeners is because we’ve been through those kinds of situations,” said True Faith vocalist Medwin Marfil. “Like if you are infatuated with somebody and you want to make that connection. But as Filipinos, we are naturally torpe. You know we always have second thoughts on doing things lalo na with love.”
“People actually can relate to that,” he added.
For guitarist Eugene Marfil, Medwin’s brother, the fear of rejection for most Filipinos is similar to getting hurt physically. “I guess it’s not literally na simampal ka. The feeling of rejection is like getting the feeling of getting slapped in the face,” said Eugene.
The song traces its beginnings sometime late 1993 and early 1994 where they were in the process of completing their second album. At the back of the minds of the band, however, was the so-called ‘sophomore slump’ after True Faith was officially formed in 1992.
Then, the song took shape by a series of events starting with the Marfil brothers seeing how a member of their church choir plays the guitar.
“Meron kaming kasamahan sa choir. His name is Gilbert. He plays the guitar just like Eugene. He has this take on this church song. Parang the way he played the guitar, parang madaling sakyan, masarap sa tenga. That style of plucking the guitar and all that. Sabi namin ni Eugene, i-pattern din natin sa song that we are making,” said Medwin.
“Med was like, ‘Let’s do the song,’” said Eugene. “Let’s do a song with this progression. I actually did the Bossa Nova type and we were like ‘Yes, that’s what we are going to do.’
“Pinarinig niya sa akin. Medyo na-pattern sa guitar style ng kasamahan namin sa choir,” Medwin said.
Medwin said the song was based on previous experiences, not by a specific incident or person. “I’ve been through situation like that in my life. I felt like writing. Nothing in particular. No one in particular. I just replicated feelings from the past,” said Medwin.
Aside from the lyrics, another iconic part of the song is the whistle, which happened only by sheer chance, which was done by a certain Noel Aguilar.
“So we were recording it. And then sabi ko, parang maganda na may whistle dito. At least, with the band members present during that time, Noel was able to really whistle eloquently. Parang Noel was like used to be one of the staff members of the Dawn. With serendipity that he was there and he knew how to whistle, and can whistle very well, sabi namin, ‘Why don’t you do that?’ He was there and he was up for it. And it became iconic,” said Medwin.
Years later, Huwag Na Lang Kaya—from the lyrics, the plucking of the guitar, to the whistle—remains loved by fans.
“It is one of our enduring songs. When we play it, it’s like one of the favorites, along with Perfect and Dahil Ikaw. This is like, top-tier na inaabangan ng mga fans,” said Medwin.
Watch the entire Summit OG exclusive here to know more about how Huwag Na Lang Kaya came about.
Check out other Behind the Song stories here.
What’s your favorite True Faith song? Share it in the comment section!
