Spoliarium is a song by the Eraserheads from their fifth studio album Sticker Happy. Penned by vocalist Ely Buendia, the title of the song is a reference to Filipino painter Juan Luna's magnum opus finished in 1884.
Composition[]
Pepsi Paloma's Rape Case[]
While lyrically Spoliarium tells an abstract and nihilistic scene from a first-person perspective, the song has long been associated to the alleged rape and later suicide of Pepsi Paloma, a teenage "bold star" from the 1980s.
According to the urban legend, the lyrics of the song alludes to the Paloma's rape case filed against comedians Vic "Enteng" Sotto, Joey de Leon, and Richie D'Horsie in 1982, including the apartment in which the crime took place, and the subsequent affidavit she was forced to sign by Vic's brother, future senator Tito Sotto. Composer Ely Buendia, a film major in UP Diliman, allegedly became aware of Pepsi Paloma while studying at the university. However, Buendia has declined to acknowledge about the true meaning of the song and in 2011 even commented that he will "take this secret to the grave".[1] The band had previously been in a legal struggle against Tito Sotto over the banning of their song Alapaap three years prior.
In 2021, in a podcast episode of Wake Up With Jim & Saab, Buendia finally admitted that the song is actually just about being "piss-drunk" in Goldschläger ("gintong alak") and that the Enteng and Joey from the song were the band's roadies at the time.[2]
Music video[]
A video for the song was shot in 1997 and features a woman in black who walks around the halls of the Philippine International Convention Center. Directed by Matthew Rosen, the entire video is in black and white.
Cover versions[]
The song was covered by Imago for the tribute album Ultraelectromagneticjam!: The Music Of The Eraserheads.
Lyrics[]
Dumilim ang paligid
May tumawag sa pangalan ko
Labing isang palapag
Tinanong kung okay lang ako
Sabay abot ng baso
May naghihintay
At bakit ba 'pag nagsawa na ako
Biglang ayoko na
At ngayon
'Di pa rin alam
Kung ba't tayo nandito
Pwede bang itigil muna
Ang pag-ikot ng mundo
Lumiwanag ang buwan
San Juan
'Di ko na nasasakyan
Ang lahat ng bagay ay
Gumuguhit na lang
Sa 'king lalamunan
Ewan mo at ewan natin
Sinong may pakana
At bakit ba
Tumilapon ang
Gintong alak diyan sa paligid mo
At ngayon
Di pa rin alam
Kung ba't tayo nandito
Puwede bang itigil muna
Ang pag-ikot ng mundo
Umiyak ang umaga
Anong sinulat ni Enteng at Joey diyan
Sa pintong salamin
'Di ko na mabasa
'Pagkat merong nagbura
Ewan mo at ewan natin
Sinong nagpakana
At bakit ba tumilapon ang spoliarium
Diyan sa paligid mo
At ngayon
Di pa rin alam
Kung ba't tayo nandito
Pwede bang itigil muna
Ang pag-ikot ng mundo