MUSICIAN TRINH CONG SON.

XXX

Trinh Cong Son, an anti-war musician in the pre-1975 Republic of (South) Vietnam died on Sunday, April 1, 2001 at the age of 62. He was dubbed the "Bob Daylan of Vietnam" by American singer Joan Baez.

He has been author of more than 600 songs which are popular with Vietnamese youth, even those in North Vietnam. Many songs are about love, but the majority of his works were written with anti-war theme, in the late half of the 1960's when the Vietnam War came to its peak.

Born in the Central Highland province of Darlac in 1939, Son spent many years in the ancient imperial capital of Hue. Graduated from a Teacher's School of South Vietnam, Son served as a teacher for a short time then quit his job to begin composing love songs in the late 1950s. His has had a great love of music since his early childhood. His first song, "Uot Mi" (Tearful Eyelashes) was composed in 1957.

He attained a reputation for a number of his songs with melody and lyrics that some critics appreciate as the most popular songs.

He was somewhat a draft dodger who would have been trained in ROTC School if he hadn't found some loopholes in the conscription procedures to stay away from the South Vietnamese military service.

After the Communists defeated South Vietnam, most of his close relatives fled Vietnam, while he chose to stay with a hope that the new rulers would accept him and would rebuild a better unified nation.

A typical song of Trinh Cong Son would describe things such as "the sound of artillery reaches the city every night," or "whenever the war ends, the old mother would climb the mountain to search for her son's remains," or anything ranging from blood to tears of the innocent peasants shed by the civil war. Many of the songs implicate the destruction of lives and houses and crops done by bombs and shells of the South Vietnamese military and American forces. Only a few of his compositions lay blame on the Communists for their internecine killing and for instilling false animosity into the innocents to promote Communism.

His love songs' melody and lyric are so attractive as musical value is concerned. Their words sound like that in the sweetest poems written for a lover. But his onesided anti-war songs earned him disdain and hatred from the anti-Communist Vietnamese, even today after 26 years the country is under the Communist regime.

Trinh Cong Son's songs were not banned in the pre-75 South Vietnam, although his anti-war musical works obviously parallel with the Communist propaganda themes were not allowed on state-controlled TV and radio broadcast. It's worth mentioning that his songs were not welcomed by the North Vietnam Communist rulers either.

His pacifist songs about the futility of war were even praised overseas. One of his most famous songs, ``Lullaby'' (Ngu Di Con), about the pain of a mother mourning her soldier son, became a hit in Japan in 1972.

The talented composer was not a true Communist party member or activist despite the allegation that he might have had some covert relations with Communist activities in the South. However much he might have appeared to be a proCommunist artist, South Vietnamese authorities had not imposed any prison sentence on him while other overt Communist supporters were court-martialed and given a term of imprisonment.

The Saigon government did not exert any harsh suppressive action on him only because it had to prove itself a democratic regime. And Trinh Cong Son's case does strongly justify that during the Vietnam War, the South Vietnamese were living under a true democracy though a certain limit was enforced due to the life or death struggle against the most brutal and wily enemy from the North.

If Trinh Cong Son peace advocating attitude were endorsed by a large portion of South Vietnam population before 1975, he has damaged his reputation a lot afterward.

On April 30, 1975, right after the Communist army overran Saigon, Trinh Cong Son's voice was heard on Saigon Radio, calling the youth to welcome the Communist soldiers with his song "Noi Vong Tay Lon" (Join Hands in a Greater Ring) praising unification of Vietnam (under Hanoi control). His quick and complete devotion to the conquerors hurt the feeling of many people who had appreciated him as an attractive heart's songs writer.

After just a few months in favor of Communist authorities after April 1975, Trinh Cong Son was given unfriendly treatment by the new regime. He was sent to serve as a common laborer in some "new economic areas" along with others who had been serving the former RVN regime at low ranks. His pre-1975 songs were not permitted. He was under security surveillance for many years.

He was composing many new songs but only a few were passed by Communist censors although he did nothing wrong against the Communist regime. Meanwhile, his songs even the anti-war, are still widely performed and recorded in commercial CD's in the overseas Vietnamese communities.

Only since early 1990's have his songs been performed in musical events and entertainment's in Vietnam as the Communist regime accepted market economy reform. He had told AFP recently that Communist government surveillance had stopped a long time ago. However, he was never given any decent position as a popular songs writer. He also told AFP last year that he had written "nothing beautiful" in the decade after 1975 and had not published a single song.

On Sunday, April 1, Trinh Cong Son passed out at Cho Ray hospital. He had suffered a long time from diabetes that might be aggravated by his way of life. He was a heavy drinker and smoker - 5 packs a day. Medical authorities said that he died of liver and lung complications from diabetes.

His funeral drew a large gathering of many ten of thousands of his fans and other common people. But the news was not immediately reported in major partycontrolled newspapers until 3 days later, probably the media had to wait for decision from the top party leaders.

Then the party-controlled media published a series of articles praising the late songs writer of his patriotism and musical talent. Local authorities sent representatives and flowers to his funeral. Two of Ho Chi Minh City's top officials, Saigon Communist Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Minh Triet and Deputy Chairman of Saigon People's Committee Le Thanh Hai, visited the mortuary Tuesday where the singer's body had lain in state. Only two among the party top leaders, former prime minister Vo Van Kiet and his successor Phan Van Khai sent wreaths to his funeral, on behalf or their own families. The two are known as reformers.

Though Communist government allowed a large funeral service with tens of thousands of attendants, Trinh Cong Son was not interred at the Saigon's Communist martyr cemetery where composers and singers faithful to the Communist Party are laid to rest. He was buried at a common graveyard in Binh Duong province, about 20 km northwest of Saigon.

The honor granted to Trinh Cong Son by the Communist leaders, higher than to some other more faithful Communist Party members who had contributed better achievements to the party in the cultural front is unexpected and unprecedented. The honor, while burial in martyr cemetery was denied, could be an act of "psychological warfare."

After 26 years under Communism, people in South Vietnam (south of the 17th Parallel) are still acting and thinking as if they were living in a separate country. Prevailing in business management, in science and technology, South Vietnam are attracting more foreign investment than the North. Production and growth in Saigon reach higher rate.

Trinh Cong Son, whether he was a Communist or not, is still a symbol of the advanced South Vietnam, a musical talent having had no relations or services with

the nationalist regimes. His funeral might have been taken as the lawful occasion to vent South Vietnamese dissatisfaction on the incapable but arrogant Northern leaders.

The Communist top leaders' decision to honor Trinh Cong Son might aim at taking advantages of his popularity of the people to calm down the disaffection that is burning in people's hearts especially when religious protests have been going on in the Central Highlands and other places, Hue and An Giang.

Trinh Cong Son was born in Daklak, Vietnam on February 28, 1939. He was a musician, song writer, poet and painter. He grew up in Hue (central Vietnam) and attended school there. In 1965 he moved to Saigon (now known as Ho Chi Minh City). In his life time, Son had witnessed constant war and deaths in his homeland which led him to become a peace activist. He was and still is famous for writing antiwar songs during the Vietnam War era.

To understand why he wrote anti war song we must understand a little bit of history of Vietnam.

When he was young, he witnessed brutal French occupation of his homeland: Vietnam. Vietnam was once a valuable French colony that specialized in rice cultivation, rubber and other natural resources. However, the people of Vietnam received no benefit from this wealth because everything was exported to France. In 1954, Vietnamese nationalists lead by Ho Chi Minh defeated the French at the battle of Dien Bien Phu and freed Vietnam from French colonial power. After the French's defeat, America entered the war and split the country: North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The North was backed by China and Russia. Meanwhile the South was supported by the United States and her allies. This marked the beginning of what Americans know as the "Vietnam War".

The Vietnam War was brutal. Millions of lives were lost, and property and natural resources were being destroyed. There were protests around the world to end the war and in Vietnam there was Son protesting to end the war and bring about peace through his music. "Trinh Cong Son,[was] an antiwar singer and song writer whose

melancholy music stirred Vietnamese on both sides of the war " (SETH, 2001) His anti war songs were so powerful they made soldiers from both sides lose the will to fight. His songs were banned by the government from both sides: "Both the South and North Vietnamese governments banned the sale or broadcast of his music, but black market tapes of his songs flourished. To avoid being arrested, Son often had to hide."(PBS, 2008)

His songs are full of sadness and sorrow and they exposed the ugliness of war. When soldiers listened to his music they no longer wanted to fight. "For Vietnam, the songs of TRINH CONG SON provided the audio track for the war. Hauntingly sentimental and filled with the sadness of separation and death, they always seemed to be drifting from some battered tape player in a cafe or at an army checkpoint on the road to nowhere." (Hillenbrand 2001) Some soldiers just abandoned their weapons and gear, left the battle fields and returned home to their families. The government did not like that. Both sides labeled him as a traitor for advocating peace.

He wrote thousands of songs, but most of them are not translated into English. Only some of them did, which include "The Great Circle of Vietnam". The subject matter of this song is life, love, and peace. This song was meant for peaceful unification of all Vietnamese people, regardless of political differences. It talks about people from mountains, land, sea, and all regions to join hands and reunify the country through peace and not war. The content is, of course, peaceful reunification. For centuries Vietnam was a battle field. Throughout history, War is what people knew Vietnam for. Generation after generation of bloodshed...I'm confident that the content of this song was meant to advocate peaceful reunification of the Vietnamese people. The country was split in halves by two world supper powers (Russia and the United States) and people were dying fighting for ideologies. The artistic form of this song is strong imagery, and beautiful melody. The song stirs emotions of sadness, sorrow, and was meant to wipe away one's hatred. For example in this verse: "Of one blood our hearts ablaze, Reconciled, a new day." He is saying that we should forget the past and focus a new day. We must forgive each other and move on with our lives. Hatred causes division and war, which lead to deaths among millions of people.

Even though the people love his songs, the government from both sides did not like him: they both labeled him as a traitor. "After the end of the war, he spent four years in a "re-education camp" after his family fled to the US." (BBC News, 2001). However later the government released him and showered him with gifts and honors, however, he was forced not to make any more anti-war songs. After the war, he spent

his entire life making romantic songs. On April 1, 2001, Trinh Cong Son died at the age of 62 in a Vietnam hospital. Out of respect,"Tens of thousands of fans lined the street of Ho Chi Minh City to pay respects to his funeral cortege."(Hillenbrand, 2001)

Even after his death, people till this day still play his music in Vietnam. "He, along with Pham Duy and Van Cao, is widely considered one of the three most salient figures of modern Vietnamese music."(Wikipedia, 2008). Till this day, his songs are still being sung by modern Vietnamese artists. Even though he might no longer be with us but as long as the people keep singing his song, in a way, he has never left us. The world needs more peace-loving anti-war artists in this age we live in. War always exists and so should anti-war artists, because they remind us of our humanity and the ugliness of wars.

s is often the way with the poets and artists of this world, true appreciation for the anti-war singer, songwriter and poet Trinh Cong Son was only acknowledged after his death on 1 April 2001 in Cho Ray Hopital, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) at the age of 62. Tens of thousands of Vietnamese people lined the streets to pay tribute to the man known as the "Bob Dylan" of Vietnam.

Trinh Cong Son was born in Dac lac on 28 February 1939 and during his lifetime composed more than 600 songs. During the sixties, he became known as an outspoken critic of the war. His openly anti-war songs angered both governments but touched a chord in the heart of the ordinary Vietnamese person (both North and South) during a long and tragic war which left no Vietnamese person unaffected.

Criticism followed Trinh Cong Son throughout his life. During the war he was persecuted for his outspokenness. Trinh Cong Son's immense popularity exceeded that of any South Vietnamese military or political figure. Students attended his concerts at universities, soldiers on both sides carried tapes of his songs and both North and South governments were unable to silence his anthems to peace. In the South, the government banned Trinh Cong Son's public performances, distribution of his recordings as well as radio and television broadcasts of his music. He was even prohibited from entering Saigon. Notwithstanding this, black market tapes of his songs flourished. He was harassed by secret police as his songs which called for peace and one Vietnam were perceived as advocating reunification with the communist North.

The antiwar themes questioned the rightness of the war on both sides. Much as the song "Lorena" was banned during the American Civil War as it made soldiers on both sides so homesick that it made them unwilling to fight, Trinh Cong Son's songs were regarded as weakening the people's fighting spirit by the Southern regime and "defeatist" by the Northern regime. As his lyrics frequently suggested that "the American War" was a civil war between the North and the South, this clashed with the official Communist line which maintained that the war had been a fight of the Vietnamese people against American imperialism.

Trinh Cong Son's dream of "peace" was finally realised in 1975. Although most of his family and friends fled Saigon in the final days of the war, Tring Cong Son chose to stay: "If I leave my land, I am nothing," he said. The consequence? Trinh Cong Son spent four years in a "re-education camp".

In 1979, Trinh Cong Son was permitted to return to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and began writing songs again which did not contain any political content but were purely love songs. These songs have introduced Trinh Cong Son to a new generation of Vietnamese.

Yet again, he was the subject of criticism from many Vietnamese who had fled Vietnam and settled abroad. He was condemned for not denouncing the the current Vietnamese government. Some called him "a communist stooge" and "a traitor."

For me, such denunciation is outrageous. If you read the lyrics to his songs, you will see that he never wanted to be a political spokesman. All he wanted was peace and a unified Vietnam where he could walk from North to South without fear. One has to respect him for he could have fled, but being a true patriot he chose to stay.

Although Trinh Cong Son said: "The young people now don't understand what was happening in the war .... It has no meaning for them", my favourite songs are his "Ca khuc da vang" - a common name for his war songs which are like a historical commentary on feelings of Vietnamese during the war years. The beauty of these songs is that it is impossible to tell whether they are sung by Northerner or Southerner - their relevance is blind to political affiliation and that in itself explains their universal appeal.

His Songs

Rose: Real folk singers write their own stuff - say what's on their mind. They're the ones who can make things happen. Eddie: How's that? Rose: Their music can change the world Eddie: Well if you want to change the world Rose, why don't you join the marines and start shooting? Shooting changes things real quick. Rose: I can't believe you just said that Eddie: Well I just did. Rose: that's ridiculous. Shooting doesn't solve anything. You shoot at people what? You got people shooting back at you. When you sing to people, your message goes straight to the soul. You open up a whole new point of view - you disarm them.

.......................- Dogfight

Why do I like Trinh Cong Son's music? My Vietnamese is poor, I was only two at the time we left Vietnam ..... yet I grew up listening to the songs of Trinh Cong Son. One of my earliest memories is singing along to "Nguoi con gi Viet Nam da vng" even though at the time I had absolutely no understanding of the meaning of the lyrics.

I always thought it was just a song that said that Vietnamese girls have yellow skin. How would a five year old have any comprehension of this song - regardless of the language:

You've never known our land in peace. You've never known Olden Viet Nam. You've never sung our village songs. All you have is an angry heart.

For me, Trinh Cong Son's songs are a time capsule of a war in which more than a million Vietnamese soldiers and 2 million Vietnamese civilians died in the hostilities - a senseless war in which more than 2 million Vietnamese were disabled and which has scarred the country forever. Trinh Cong Son's lyrics spoke of a yearning for peace and healing in a divided country and called for an end to bloodshed and tragedy.

You'll be able to tell from my quote from "Dogfight" that I do believe about the important role that music can play. I mentioned the American song "Lorena" above. This song which was one of the most beloved songs of Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War was actually written by a Northerner and first published in Chicago in 1857. It was reprinted in at least nine different pirated editions in the South, and virtually every pocket songbook carried by Southern soldiers included Lorena. Even Northern soldiers sang Lorena.

The song so affected soldiers of both armies so much that commanding officers ordered that it no longer be played as the it made the soldiers so homesick that they didn't want to fight. Naturally most soldiers sang it anyway.

The songs of Trinh Cong Son appeared to have had a similar effect. His lyrics are a strange mixture of tragic and joyful, morbid and light.

My father, who I constantly harass to translate the songs for me, tells me that they are very metaphorical and hard to understand. Trinh Cong Son liked to adopt extremely obscure and poetic terms which he regards as being almost "impossible to translate". According to my father:

"One would need to be a poet, on his wavelength and armed with 2 thesauruses, one English and another Vietnamese to do the job".

It's true that there are lots of little things that you need to know to be able to appreciaet the songs. I once asked my father why "hai muoi nam" (twenty years) was such a significant period of time in so many of Trinh Cong Son's songs. His resopnse was that Trinh Cong Son wrote the songs in the sixties and seventies; the Vietnam war started from either the later 40s (French war) or the fifties (American war).

Sad songs

In "Ngu Di Con" ("Lullaby"), a mother mourns her soldier son, contrasting the sleep of a baby with the sleep of death.

"Rest well my child, my child of the yellow race. Rock gently my child, I have done it twice. This body, which used to be so small, that I carried in my womb, that I held in my arms. Why do you rest at the age of 20 years?"

In "Ngu Ngon muo deng", we hear about a man who "dies two times", referring to the fact that the cart which carries the coffin containing the corpse.

I remember feeling a bit appalled and disbelieving when my father first told me about the lyrics to "Ht trn nhung xc nguoi" (Ballad to the Dead (Hue 1968)) which is basically a song about corpses. Did anyone really write songs with such stark and tragic lyrics?

The bodies of the dead lie floating in the river

They lie in the field, On the rooftops of the city And in the winding streets

The bodies of the dead lie lost Under the eaves of the pagodas In the churches of the city At the doorsteps of the deserted houses

Oh Spring - the bodies of the dead bring a scent to the rice paddies Oh Vietnam - the bodies of the dead add breath to tomorrow's soil The way there, though full of obstacles (literally - spikes) Because around here - here were humans

The bodies of the dead lied all around here In this cold rain Near the bodies of the old and weak Lie the bodies of the young and innocent

Which body is the body of my brother In this cave In those burnt out areas Next to the maize and sweet potato field

Which body is the body of my brother In this cave In those burnt out areas Next to the maize and sweet potato field

Themn the are the haunting lyrics of "Tnh ca nguoi mat tr" (Love Song of a Madman):

I had a lover who died at the Battle of Pleime I had a lover in the Tactical Zone D died at the Battle of Dongxoai died out there in Hanoi died in haste along the border

I had a lover who died at the Battle of Chu Bruang I had a lover whose body was floating in the river died in the paddy field died in the thick jungle died cold and lonely, his body charred

I want to love you, love Vietnam On a windy day, I would go calling quietly Calling your name, the name of Vietnam

Feeling closer in the voice of the yellow skin

I want to love you, love Vietnam The day I have just grown, my ears are used to bullets and mines My hands between my lips As of today I have forgotten the languages of humans...

I had a lover who died at the Battle of Ashau I had a lover who died curled in the foetal position died in a ravine died near the bridge pylon died in an anguish with not a rag on his body

I had a lover who died at the battle of Baza I had a lover who died last night died all of a sudden died without any warning / any appointment no hatred, died peacefully as if in a dream

I really love the chorus in this song:

I want to love you, love Vietnam In a windy day, I go, calling quietly

Calling your name, the name of Vietnam feeling closer in the voice of yellow skin

There's something chillingly poignant about the refrain "without any warning - no hatred, died as in a dream" which then fades away into an uneasy silence. For me the song evokes an imagery of a sad and lonely ghost walking across a deserted, transformed where each location is simply another monument to death.

Defiant songs

Then there are the songs with a touch of anger and defiance in them. Gia ti cua me (Mother's legacy)

A thousand years of Chinese reign. A hundred years of French domain/oppression. Twenty years of brother fighting brother each day, A mother's fate - left by her child, A mother's fate - a land defiled.

A thousand years of Chinese reign. A hundred years of French domain/oppression. Twenty years of brother fighting brother each day, A mother's fate - bones left to dry, And graves that fill a mountain high.

Refrain: Teach your children to speak their minds. Don't let them forget their kind-Never forget their kind, from old Viet land. Mother wait for your children to come home, Childern who now so far away roam. Children of one father, be reconciled.

A thousand years of Chinese reign. A hundred years of French domain/oppression. Twenty years of brother fighting brother each day, A mother's fate, our fields so dead, And rows of homes in flames so red.

A thousand years of Chinese reign. A hundred years of French domain/oppression. Twenty years of brother fighting brother each day, A mother's fate - her children half-breeds, Her children filled with disloyalty.

Joyful songs

The songs like most though are the joyful ones, filled with hope and aspirations for the future. Sadly though, even joyful songs like "Cho nhn qu huong sng chi" (Wait to see the brilliant father land) contain an element of wistful sadness.

Here I wait, there you wait, In a small house, mother sits and waits too, The soldier waits on the deserted hilltop; The prisoner waits in total darkness How many years have we been waiting? How many years have we been waiting? How many years have we been waiting?

Waiting for ever when we all awaken with a large shout of joy Waiting for the heart of hatred to sink deep Waiting for the peace to come, waiting for the sound of the three regions Waiting for the steps to be made on roads with no mines and spikes Waiting for the roads to be reconnected and vehicles to travel through all three regions Waiting for the good news that the whole nation has been waiting for Waiting for mother's forehead to lighten with the dawn Waiting for the tears to dry, waiting for the stones to sing Waiting for foods and clothes for the children without homes Waiting for the day Vietnam reunites for the love without borders

Waiting for the bugle to sound to bring home all the boys Waiting for hearts to no longer hold any hatred and grudges Waiting for nights without curfews and mornings with comfort Waiting for the aromatic rice to grow under the hands of our own people Waiting for the hearts that love the country and are determined to build the peace Waiting for the hearts that are happy throughout the villages Waiting for the land to resound of songs of freedom Waiting for trees to change leaves; waiting for flowers to blossom Waiting for us to go around streets that are not strange Waiting for a bright country and the mothers' eyes are no longer blurred with tears

Waiting for the bugle to sound to bring home all the boys Waiting for hearts to no longer hold any hatred and grudges Waiting for nights without curfews and mornings with comfort Waiting for the aromatic rice to grow under the hands of our own people Waiting for the hearts that love the country and are determined to build the peace Waiting for the hearts that are happy throughout the villages Waiting for the land to resound of songs of freedom Waiting for trees to change leaves; waiting for flowers to blossom Waiting for us to go around streets that are not strange Waiting for a bright country and the mothers' eyes are no longer blurred with tears

Then there is also "Ti se di tham" (I shall go visiting) which was my initial rediscovery of Trinh Cong Son and Khanh Ly.

When my country is at peace, I shall go visiting I shall go visiting, a district full of caves Visiting a road with many holes When my country is no longer at war A few of my friends will have their graves covered with grass

When my country is at peace, I shall go visiting I shall go visiting, bridges broken by mines Go visiting traps with barbed pickets and machetes When my country has no more killing (each other) Children will go out and sing nursery rhymes in the streets

When my country is in peace, I shall go non-stop From Sai Gon to the Centre and from Ha Noi to the South I shall go amid the collective joy And hope will forget My country's story/saga

When my country is in peace, I shall go visiting I shall visit many sad graveyards To see tombstones as numerous as mushrooms When my country is no longer at war

Old mothers will climb up to the mountain, to look for her son's remains

When my country is in peace, I shall go visiting I shall visit, villages and hamlets that are now plains To see bamboo-forests that are now charred When my country has no more killing (each other) Everyone will go out cheering each other with broad smiles

"Hue Si Gn, H Noi" (Hue Saigon Hanoi) was my original inspiration for wanting to visit Vietnam again, although I did it in slightly different order - going from Saigon, Hue to Hanoi.

Oh, Hue Saigon Hanoi, my country, why are you so far away still? Hue Saigon Hanoi, so many years have gone by, why are you still so indifferent? Oh Vietnam, for how much longer Must people still sit missing one another? Millions my feet, millions your feet, All those people who rise for the call of revolution

It's time for linking our hearts together, All us youths, let's be the pioneers All over Central South and North, waiting eagerly,

all those bundles of rice are symbols of freedom The roads now lead to the prisons tomorrow let us build schools and market places Our people shall return to cultivate and ensure all are well clothed and fed. All hands will work for the nation, All hands will build, let the memory of hatred and pain fade away

We will keep building our houses, our gardens will prosper, Let me go up the hill to sing with joy North, South and Centre, let us unite and be one region again All three frontiers open, roads built and peace returns to the country

Hue Saigon Hanoi, for 20 years, the cries of misfortune, Hue Saigon Hanoi, in our hands, the heart of Vietnam Bullets and bombs, human greed, what war machines destroy our kind Oh Vietnam, stop dreaming, look forward and get rid of hatred Let's wipe off all past sadness,

Tomorrow, all roads linking South and North covered with flowers Loving hands and hearts with no frontiers Brothers let's listen to all the love The big joy shall pass hundred of bridges The mother will enjoy the betel nuts

Watching the two regions sharing the peace with hearts filled with warmth Day in the South, night in the North, Eyes taking in all the changes, seeing the sweet dawn breaking

Horses flying past with the wind, hearts beating with the galloping noises Let us stand up in freedom North South and Centre in deep love; Stepping out together jointly building our shared thatched house. Do wipe off all signs of past sadness,

Tomorrow all South North roads will be covered with flowers Hands of love, hearts of no frontiers, brothers lets listen to the love, The big joy shall pass hundred of bridges Mother will enjoy the betel nuts Watching the two regions sharing the peace with hearts filled with warmth Day in the South, night in the North, Eyes taking in all the changes, seeing the sweet dawn breaking

Horses flying past with the wind, Hearts beating with the galloping noises Lets us upraise in freedom North South and Centre in deep love; Stepping out together jointly building our shared thatched house

My favourite line in that song is "cho em ra dau ni ca tnh vui" (let me go up the hill to sing with joy). My favourite song is probably ong dao ha bnh (Nursery Rhyme of Peace):

Twenty years of hardship is now over Today I see the sun shining brightly In everyones heart - our heart, your heart In the heart of the paddy field

Twenty years of hardship is now over Today sees the radiant smiles On everyones lips, on our lips On the lips of little children and the old mothers

The way we go is expansive/abundant - full of houses and shops of acquaintances Our feet walking comfortably, our hands clasped in happiness Returning to all mountains and forests, returning to all villages and hamlets Singing together for the new land, let the sky join in to share our hearts happiness

Twenty years of hardship is now over Today sees the renewed faces of people We love the sky (heaven), we love us, we love you (or children) We love the warmth of the newly arrived peace

Twenty years of hardship is now over Today sees each drop of tears flowing softly in the heart of the fathers and the heart of the children In the heart of the nice beautiful babies

Twenty years of hardship is now over Today sees the strange warmth of the sunlight On the yellow skin, on the fragrant skin On your skin, on the skin of all Vietnamese who have been waiting

Twenty years of imprisonment shall be forgotten Today bowls of happy wine will be drunk for the joy of the mothers and the fathers For the joy of the children and the wives and husbands The roads in Vietnam today will be the free paths We Vietnamese today will live a genuine life From every corner, there will be the sound of roaring (?) footsteps The flags stand tall in the wind; the flags are high at the houses doors

Twenty years waiting every minute and second Today we see the sound of peace On everyones lips on our lips On the childrens lips on the lips of the poverty-stricken Vietnamese

Twenty years of waiting, now the vital force has rushed back through the veins

Nourishing the hearts of the mothers and the heart of the fathers Nourishing each others heart and the country now well-enriched.

Favourite line? "trong tim b hien ha" (in the heart of the nice beautiful babies)