Memoirs of Inday and the Bodyguard

It was the nineties. Some would say that it is the best decade for music, movie, recreation, fun, and entertainment. For those who were born and who grew up in that era, it wil be remembered for its good old memories of nostalgia and fun (but of course, those who were born on a different era will beg to differ).

Nineties. It was the year when kasamabahay(s) are stereotyped by popular TV shows and movies with the name Inday and having an affair with asikyu (security guard). And it was also the year when a song for every Inday - and every romantics - came out.

It was I Will Always Love You. Or for every pun-loving Filipino in that decade, it was Inday will always love you.


[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QaI-M9sxW4]


The song was so popular in the country that it became an anthem of almost every music-loving Filipino (long before Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On, but that’s another story). Though not a Whitney Houston original (it was Dolly Parton who sang the original), the song gained popularity after the former recorded it for the soundtrack of her debut movie, The Bodyguard.



Ah, that movie. It is considered one of the classic romantic-thriller movie of that age. I remember watching it in my grandparents’ house on their trusty VHS player. I did not care about the movie being a romantic flick then. What I care about is it being an action-thriller movie. And its theme song I will Always Love You.

This may sound not-so-manly but Whitney Houston’s  I Will Always Love you is one of the first songs that I learned to sing (aside from the jingle of cough syrup Tuseran Forte which I used to sing as ‘Sa Tusenan Boteee..’). In fact, I even held a mini-concert during my fourth birthday party, singing and screaming the songs at the top of my lungs in front of our house. (I still have a picture of it but I think it’s still in our old house. I’m gonna post it soon when I find the opportunity to get it.)

And just like any other kid, or a typical Pinoy, who sing that song, I used to sing it as “Indaaa-hiyaay! Will always love you! Huuwaaa..”.

What made me sing a Whitney Houston song for cryin’ out loud? Perhaps it’s because of the song’s popularity during that time that it became the anthem of almost everyone. It became the song that everyone knew to sing and to love (unlike Frank Sinatra’s My Way that became infamous for it’s, uhm, fatal effects). Just like a young child singing whatever is overplayed on television and the radio, perhaps I just joined the Whitney Houston bandwagon then?

I woke up last Sunday morning, February 12 here in the Philippines, learning about Whitney Houston’s death via Tumblr and Twitter. And I told myself that’s it, another musical legend passed away, leaving her fans, listeners, and people whom she inspired in grief. The news about her drug addiction during the last years of her life may always be included in her story but that would not suffice to overshadow her fame, success, and legacy.

You may call yourself a die-hard fan who would weep because of her sudden demise. You maybe just an ordinary music fan who appreciate her music. and you may be just someone who recently listen to her music and joined the We-love-you-Whitney-Houston bandwagon.

But I will always remember her as someone who introduced me to Inday andThe Bodyguard. Someone who helped me discover my love for singing and music.

Goodbye Whitney. Thanks you for the music. Millie grazie!