We sang until 5 in the morning. This time, at least we made sure we went to bed before the sun rises. Karaoke gathers like-minded people, brings out the hidden artist, as well as cultivates the knowledge of a country’s history and culture. Our basic “band” consists of H, C, and T. With co Hien being our only audience. Last night, we also had anh Hà and chị Hòang. They introduced us to 2 new songs: Một Mình, and Điên.

C sings mostly nhac Trinh, and nhac tien-chien or pre-war songs. This genre of songs is so designated because they were written prior to 1954, when the country was split into two different regimes, the communist Socialist Republic of Vietnam or North Vietnam, and the Republic of Vietnam or South Vietnam. If you ask the younger generation in VietNam, nhac tien-chien means the songs written prior to VietNam reunification in 1975.

T is the foreigner in the band. Foreigner in the sense that he’s not family, and also because he likes singing French music. We’re slowly showing him a detour towards the right path! :)

The composer Văn-Cao was born in 1923 in Nam-Định, and passed away in 1995 in Hà-Nội. He composed the national anthem of the Northern VN, but the rest of his work was prohibited in 1956 till 1980s. My favorite song is his Buồn Tàn Thu (1939) written at the age of 16. Ai lướt đi ngòai sương gió, không dừng chân đến em bẻ bàng …. and Thiên Thai, written in 1941. His view of life:

Con thuyền đi qua để lại sóng
Con tàu đi qua để lại tiếng
Đoàn người đi qua để lại bóng
Tôi không đi qua
Tôi chẳng để lại gì.

Trịnh Công Sơn was born in 1939 at Lac-Giao, and passed away in 2001 in Saigon. He grew up in Hue, and had his bac degree in Philosophy. His first album was Ướt Mi, in 1958; and has since published about 600 pieces of work. He views himself as :
Tôi chỉ là 1 tên hát rong đi qua miền đất này để hát lên những linh cảm của mình về những giấc mơ đời hư ảo...

Pham Duy – I guess i have to remember that artist or not, we’re all human, and therefore not perfect. Also, life and art don’t necessarily imitate. He’s still alive. Whatever … next artist.

Đoàn Chuẩn-Từ Linh (ĐC-TL) – tuy hai mà một, tuy một mà hai. No one knows whether the songs were written by both artists, or one assumed both names. ĐC was born in Hải-Phòng in 1924 and passed away in 2001 in Hà-Nội. ĐC-TL published about a dozen songs between 1949 and 1956, Tình Nghệ-Sĩ being the first album. Autumn is featured in their songs not as one of the 4 seasons, but as the season on earth (thu trần gian) and the wiltering of a relationship. Thôi thế từ nay như lá vàng bay… (Lá Đổ Muôn Chiều). Hàng cây đứng hững hờ, lá vàng từng cánh rơi từng cánh… (Gửi Gió Cho Mây Ngàn Bay). Thu nay vì đâu tiếc nhiều, thu nay vì đâu nhớ nhiều… (Thu Quyến Rũ). And regrets of broken relationships. Khi nào em đến với anh, xin đừng quên chiếc áo xanh… Em đi trong xác pháo, anh đi không ngước mắt… Thôi đành… em (Tà Áo Xanh). Thuyền đã sang bờ (she’s gone), đường về không lối (he’s lost), … đập gương xưa tìm bóng (Gửi Gió Cho Mây Ngàn Bay).

Đăng Thế Phong in next blog.