Yesterday, when I read @wiseagent's post regarding his Favorite Spooky Song Contest, three songs came to mind. However, we're only allowed to choose one song, so here's what I decided to share.

_{I made this artwork this morning, but I'll be sharing the art process on my alt account later.}

The song is titled MANA and is by my favorite P-pop group, SB19. Before I talk about it in detail, let me share this video of them performing the said song on WishBus.

MANA is a wordplay for a Filipino mythical creature called Manananggal. As seen in my artwork above, a manananggal is a vampire-like creature that can detach its upper body. Her upper body can grow wings that allow her to fly at night to prey on victims, especially pregnant women.

Now, let me share the lyrics of the song, as well as its English translation for reference. I got these from GENIUS, but I made an image version of them.

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Let me talk about some of the lyrics' spooky, eerie parts... as well as the emotional metaphors and depth presented in them!

👻Nah, I'd rather half my body go missing...👻

This line of the song directly references the manananggal... It's spooky in a way because they'd rather become monsters or be cut in half to survive.

As I've mentioned, manananggal cuts its body in half. The upper part flies above, while the lower part stays on the ground. The actual message is to soar high and achieve your goals in life, but always keep your feet on the ground.

🦇'Wag mong katutulugan, kung hindi (Rah!)🦇

🦇Don't sleep on me... Or else (Rah!)🦇

In manananggal stories or movies, they tend to attack at night, especially when the pregnant woman is asleep. They'd go on the roof and let down their very long tongue. They're said to insert their tongue into the navel of the pregnant woman to suck out the fetus.

However, in this song... "Wag mong katutulugan" or Don't sleep on me is like a plea or an expression of frustration. They're tired of being overlooked, of being ignored. They want all their hard work and effort to be acknowledged. In addition, the Rah! at the end isn't really the roar of a monster, but a battle cry... It's like a metaphor of their suppressed emotions and ambition erupting, so people could see.

🕷️The Bridge Part!🕷️

The whole bridge part is quite spooky and interesting, though just like the other parts of the song, they mean something else when we go deeper into it.

• “Aswang ba kaya kinakatakutan?”
  (“Is it because I’m an aswang that you’re afraid of me?”)

Aswang is another mythical creature in the Philippines. It's a shapeshifter... meaning, they are different and powerful. And mostly, people fear the unknown and often misjudge it.

It's the same as asking, "Do you fear me because you don't understand me?". When SB19 just started (and even until now), they had (and still have) a lot of haters because they're different. Their music is different from the usual Filipino stuff, so it's difficult for some to accept them.

• “Bibig mo ay itikom mo na lang... Pasensiya ko’y ’wag mong subukan”
  “You better shut your mouth... Don’t test my patience”

Ohh~it's a curse and a warning before they unleash their wrath! hahaha

As a fan, I really like how they address their haters and bashers through music. They use all the criticisms they get and transform them into music. They're all fed up with the negative things, and they demand respect... they're still trying to hold back!

And the last part of the bridge is Sige lang, sige, sige lang (Oh) meaning "Go ahead, go, go ahead (Oh)... let's just see what happens when you all continue what you're doing. haha

Mana is among my favorite songs from them. It's emotional, and I love how they transformed their rage into resilience.

Always remember to be a manananggal. Soar high, but stay grounded!

Before I end this post, I'd like to share another MANA live performance video below. :)

Thanks for checking this post, and may you all have a SPOOK-tacular Halloween!!! <3