PLANT a tree. Sire a son. Write a book. Jose Mari Chan has added an after-thought to this old, wise-man saying that sought to give advice to young people on how to leave behind a legacy, or, in a manner of speaking, achieve immortality. Joemari's addendum: Write a song.

The durable singer-composer has gone even a step farther by publishing not just one, but two songbooks.

Chan launched Vol.2 of his Songbook series recently, containing 24 of his own compositions, the likes of Beautiful Girl, Christmas in our Hearts, I Remember the Boy, Please Be Careful With My Heart. Compared to Vol. 1, which had 21 songs only, there are more hits in this new edition, which also carries a new section called Birth of A Song.

This special feature encapsulizes the history of a song and the composer's reflections behind it. For instance, Chan writes of that 1989 national blockbuster Beautiful Girl, the song that propelled the album, Constant Change to 16 platinum awards: "It's a ballad about seeing an attractive lady from a distance and never getting around to meeting her. It's about losing a girl like a song in the night," says Chan.
In his foreword, Chan writes that the natural journey of a song stats from one's heart and soul down to paper, and on to a record, then to the listener, after which, it runs its own life course.
"The song then becomes part of our memories and may either be kept away in the corner of our minds until someone decides to revive it or it fades into oblivion," he continues.

By compiling some of his compositions into book form, Chan, a recording artist for the past 36 years, is instrumental in the songs' being born again. He says, "As you go through this book, with your fingers on the piano keys and your voice soaring with the notes, you are giving life to these songs and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart, from where these words and music came in the first place."

The Jose Mari Chan Song Book, now selling at PHILBOOKS.COM, is one best way to prolong the life of these songs. Intended as a piano guide for music students and lovers of pop music in general, the volumes reverberate with themes of our lives from the 1960s to the present. Leafing through the two books is like coming to a high school reunion that never ends. Every page simply puts a smile on your lips, a song in your heart that makes you happy, simply remembering.