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The Silverest Tongue in the Phillipines Lyrics by Chris Santiago

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I can hear my uncle muttering in the stillness of his cell.
Badmouthing Aguinaldo. Reciting Marx & Mao.
He has the sharpest tongue in the Philippines.
It’s why His Excellency the President hates him
& why his doomed brother
worships him.
I can hear him all the way
from Bloomington
wheedling inside cowry shells
ice buildup in our gutters.
I won’t be born for years
but my ears are preternaturally sharp.
The brother drops out of school & joins
the partisans in Antique.
Picks up where he left off—agrarian
politics & explosives.
Or maybe it’s his cellmate
who has the deadliest tongue in the Philippines.
But my uncle is alone—
it’s the silence I call
his cellmate because he has to give it space,
be wary of its moods.
It’s big & oppressive; solitary.
He balls up inside minutes, fissures,
the spoon-dug tunnel of his throat.
Even the shrikes
who’re supposed to angle in & give succor
shy away.
He meets me at the terminal
in aviators & a black BMW.
Even I can tell, though I hardly speak
the language—he has the silverest
tongue in the Philippines.
Bus boys, shop girls, investors, bureaucrats, even
the cop he u-turns illegally in front of—
they blush, chuckle, kowtow, make promises
to look out, for example, for his nephew
who has the most leaden tongue in the Philippines.
We meet his friends in the lounge of the Shangri-La:
oysters, live music. He doesn’t drink
but talks & grows younger
as he does so.
He’s younger even
than I am: he’s got the most gifted
tongue in the Philippines. He wins an award & the Palace
invites him to fly out & speak. But he gets up, lashes out
at the President seated behind him:
speaks storm surge, speaks outrage, speaks velocity
& eruption.
Now his words are getting muffled:
the blizzards that give birth to me are whiting out his cell.
He’s spellbound. Horrified. Something’s finally
gotten his tongue. He can hear
three hundred miles away: the jeep muttering up
to the checkpoint, soldiers placing the faces,
his brother making a break for it
but dropping what he’s tucked in his shirt; the explosion
doesn’t kill him
but is followed by a sudden report—
a firearm
making more silence
in a dazed & speechless country.
Credits
Chris Santiago

Chris Santiago

About “The Silverest Tongue in the Phillipines” by Chris Santiago

Read the complete lyrics to "The Silverest Tongue in the Phillipines" by Chris Santiago. On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Non-Music, Literature.

"The Silverest Tongue in the Phillipines" is performed by Chris Santiago. This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "The Silverest Tongue in the Phillipines", explore more songs by Chris Santiago using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"The Silverest Tongue in the Phillipines" is credited to Chris Santiago. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

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