A song by a 20-year-old woman, intended as a tribute to the free press and assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, won the PN’s annual Independence Day Song Festival last night.

Sarah Bonnici composed her song ‘Il-Pinna’ along with lyricist Emil Calleja Bayliss and Xarabank presenter Mark Laurence Zammit and performed it at the Floriana Granaries last night.

The translated chorus goes something like this:

“No, you won’t silence my pen

No, libels won’t scare me

I will carry on working honestly to expose the truth

No, you won’t shut me up

No, your threats won’t break me

I work for the community so we can all live in freedom”

“Oh my, oh my! I’m still in shock!” the young singer said after winning the competition. “Can’t believe it… I co-wrote the music of this song together with my cousin Mark Laurence Zammit after reading the lyrics penned by Emil Calleja Bayliss and when everything came together at Aldo Spiteri Recording Studio, it felt right!”

“‘Il-Pinna’ is dedicated to all those journalists out there who are constantly seeking to publish the truth…”

Although Bonnici doesn’t mention Caruana Galizia by name, she strongly alludes to her when she refers to a popular blog and warns that blowing people up is never a solution.

Victoria Sciberas finished second in last night’s competition with her song ‘Siluwett’, while Sebastian Calleja finished third with his song ‘Dak li Taf’.

What do you make of this song?

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]