Je recrutais les ouvriers, prenais les acteurs de théâtre, engageais les chanteuses... Croyez-vous, reprit mon interlocuteur avec un bon sourire, qu'on vienne à l'Exposition pour admirer la belle voix de vos acteurs ou les beaux yeux de vos cantatrices? Chez nous on aime ce qui est étranger, ce qui est exotique. Vos acteurs et chanteuses ont fait l'Exposition de Lyon. Ils nous sont connus. Nous allons, cette fois, régaler nos visiteurs de la musique annamite qu'on n'a jamais entendue jusqu'ici en France. Et vous verrez que vos musiciens, dont vous avez tort de sous-estimer le talent, feront là-bas figure de virtuoses et seront applaudis a l'égal des plus grands artistes du monde...
Mais revenons à l'Exposition de Bordeaux. Au cours de sa visite au village, Mme Sarah Bernhard s'intéressa vivement, comme beaucoup d'autres visiteurs, à nos exposants avec leurs objets incrustés de nacre, leurs broderies at aussi... leur musique...
A l'issue de sa visite, elle remit à M. Gravier 500 francs pour "être distribués aux Annamites"! Cinq cents francs étaient, pour nos pauvres ouvriers une fortune et ceux-ci parlèrent longtemps après, entre eux, du geste généreux de leur grâcieuse visiteuse.
Ng. Ch., "Choses vues," L'Effort 17 septembre 1937
I recruited laborers, hired actors, and engaged singers... Can you believe, my interlocutor continued with a warm smile, that people will come to the Exposition to admire the beautiful voices of your actors or the lovely eyes of your opera singers? In our land we love the foreign, the exotic. Your actors and singers performed at the Lyon Exposition. We know them. This time we will delight our visitors with Annamite music that hasn't been heard before in France. And you'll see that your musicians, whose talent you wrongly underestimate, will be considered virtuosos there and will be applauded alongside the world's greatest artists...
But let's return to the Bordeaux Exposition. During her visit to the village, Madame Sarah Bernhardt took a lively interest, like many other visitors, in our exhibitors with their mother-of-pearl inlaid objects, their embroidery, and also... their music...
At the end of her visit, she gave Mr. Gravier 500 francs "to be distributed among the Annamites"! Five hundred francs was a fortune for our poor workers, and they spoke among themselves for a long time afterward of the generous gesture of their gracious visitor.
Tôi đã tuyển công nhân, thuê diễn viên, mời ca sĩ… Người đối thoại của tôi tiếp tục với một nụ cười ấm áp: “Ông thực sự nghĩ rằng mọi người sẽ đến Triển lãm để chiêm ngưỡng giọng hát tuyệt vời của các diễn viên của ông hay đôi mắt đẹp của các ca sĩ opera của ông sao? Chúng tôi yêu thích những gì ngoại lai, những gì kỳ lạ. Các diễn viên và ca sĩ của ông đã từng biểu diễn tại Triển lãm Lyon. Chúng tôi biết họ. Lần này, chúng tôi sẽ chiêu đãi khách tham quan bằng âm nhạc An Nam, thứ âm nhạc chưa từng được nghe thấy ở Pháp trước đây.
Và ông sẽ thấy rằng các nhạc sĩ của ông, những người mà ông đã sai khi đánh giá thấp tài năng của họ, sẽ được coi là những nghệ sĩ bậc thầy ở đó và sẽ được tán thưởng cùng với những nghệ sĩ vĩ đại nhất trên thế giới…”
Nhưng hãy quay lại với Triển lãm Bordeaux. Trong chuyến thăm làng, bà Sarah Bernhardt, như nhiều khách khác, rất quan tâm đến các nhà triển lãm chúng tôi, chiêm ngưỡng những vật phẩm khảm xà cừ, những sản phẩm thêu, và cả… âm nhạc của họ…
Cuối chuyến thăm, bà đã tặng ông Gravier 500 franc “để phân phát cho người dân An Nam”! Năm trăm franc là một khoản tiền lớn đối với những người công nhân nghèo của chúng tôi, và sau đó, họ còn bàn tán rất lâu về cử chỉ hào phóng của vị khách tốt bụng.
This passage refers to colonial expositions held in Lyon (1894) and Bordeaux (1895). Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) was a legendary actress, of the most famous of all time.
Ngô Thổng thống mang nhiều điệu nhảy
Của Hoa-kỳ về dạy cho dân:
"Hồng-kông," điệu nhảy giật gân,
"Thoát y" điệu nhảy truồng trần tô hô!
"Hu-la-húp," lắc khu, ưỡn bụng,
"Rốc-canh-rơn," hí hửng, gật gù,
Ngài đang thay mốt, đổi gu,
Nhập thêm "tả bủ, ta bu," quái kỳ!
Các điệu nhảy "mê ly" của Mỹ.
Ngài tổng đều chú ý nhập ngay.
Trong làng nhảy nhót xưa nay
Ngài từng nổi tiếng là tay nhảy cừ!
Chờ xem điệu nhảy từ tầng gác
Pho-rết-tan (1) khai thác nao
Từ dinh Độc lập tầng cao
Đích thân ngài sẽ đâm đầu nhảy luôn.
Điệu này mới thật mê hồn!
(1) Forrestal, bộ trưởng chiến tranh Mỹ, năm 1950 đã nhảy từ tần gác xuống sân tư tử sau khi được tin Liên-xô đã chế được bom nguyên tử.
nguồn: Độc Lập 21 tháng 3 1959
President Ngô has brought many dances
From the United States to teach the people:
"Hong Kong," a shocking dance,
"Striptease," a naked, boisterous dance!
"Hula-Hup," shaking the hips, thrusting the belly,
"Rock-n-roll," gleeful, nodding,
He's changing fashions, changing tastes,
Bringing in "Tabu, Tabu," so bizarre!
The "enchanting" dances of America.
The President immediately took notice and adopted them.
Into the long-standing world of dancing,
He was once famous as a skilled dancer!
Wait and see his dance from above
Forrestal (1) which he will exploit
From the high floor of the Independence Palace
He himself will jump in and dance.
This dance is truly mesmerizing!
(1) In 1950, Forrestal, the US Secretary of War, jumped to his death from a balcony after learning that the Soviet Union had developed an atomic bomb.
This is a strange bit of doggerel. Yes, people in the Republic of Vietnam loved to go out dancing. The twist was a very popular fad. So popular that Ngô Đình Diệm's brother and sister-in-law tried to stamp it out. The Ngô family in actuality were killjoys and prudes.
The invocation of deceased Defense Secretary James V. Forrestal is an even stranger touch. The accompanying footnote (poems with footnotes are immediately suspect) incorrectly states that Forrestal died in 1950, taking his life after learning that the Soviet Union had built an atomic bomb. He took his life on May 22, 1949, a few months before the Soviet Union successfully test their first nuclear weapon. The Defense Secretary became mentally unstable after being removed from his post by President Harry S. Truman. When this poem was published ten years later I doubt whether many people remembered James V. Forrestal, least of all the people of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
Evening, relief came at the border's black night. Theo cánh quân anh đóng ven lưng chừng đồi.
Along the flank, I'm stationed hillside, halfway up Nghe muôn côn trùng than trong đêm trường sầu thương thế nhân
Hearing an untold number of insects moan through the long night sorrowing for mankind. Hồn rung tiềm thức quay trong vùng thương nhớ, len lén đưa anh qua bến mộng ngày xưa.
My soul, stirred unconsciously, turns back to memory's realm that seeps in, guides me past the dream docks of long ago.
Chuyện ngày xưa chia đều ra hai phe đánh.
Events long ago equally divided two fighting factions. Anh lấy cây làm súng bên em diệt thù.
I took up a stick as a gun alongside you to eliminate the enemy, Phe kia ngang tàng xua quân đốt nhà đuổi hai đứa ta
The other side arrogantly driving away soldiers, burning houses down, chasing away the two of us Trò chơi tuổi xanh đôi bên cùng nhau đánh tương sát lẫn nhau như oán thù nghìn thu.
Children's games, two sides solemnly striking each other as if there was hatred and resentment for millennia
Tháng tháng tiếp nối, thơ ấu ra đi anh giã từ cuộc chơi đó...
Month continues after month, youth has gone and I bade farewell to that game...
Đêm tiễn đưa anh, quay gót son mềm em đếm dài cây số thương
The evening you saw me off, your soft pink heals, calculating the long kilometers, feeling
Gói ghém quá khứ trong chiếc ba lô nơi tuyến đầu nằm thao thức
Packing up the past in a backpack at the front, laying awake
Giây phút suy tư, xanh giấc mơ gầy nghe trái sầu rụng nửa đêm.
Moments of reflection, hopeful slender dreams, I hear the sad fruit fall in the middle of the night.
Nhìn hỏa châu lưng trời soi chia đêm tối
Looking the flares off in the sky, dividing the night's darkness
Anh ngỡ như ngày cưới hoa đăng ngập trời.
I imagine it was like our wedding, floral lanterns flooding the sky Xin em tin rằng đôi ta bây giờ dù xa cách nhau tình yêu ngàn năm không phai nhạt hương sắc
Please dear, believe that the two of us, although now far apart, fragrance of our thousand year love will not fade
Anh hứa yêu em trong suốt cuộc đời này.
I promise to love you all of this life.
nguồn: Triết Giang & Hàn Châu, "Ngỏ hồn qua đêm" (Sài Gòn: Châu Kỳ nhạc tuyển, 1966)
Hoàng Trang was one of my favorite people in the Vietnamese music world. He was gracious, thoughtful and helpful in every way. He co-wrote this song a short time after he was wed. I know that he spent intervals of time during the 1960s among military units so he should have had a solid understanding of the psychology of the Republic of Vietnam soldier.
He describes the soldier's setting well -- a long night watch enveloped in an atmosphere of flares and an insect chorus. The thud of a falling piece of fruit breaks up the monotony. War songs are often about action, but it seems that the greater reality of soldier's life is that they spend a lot of their time waiting in remote locations with only sporadic sometimes terrifying action. Waiting leads to thinking, to an imaginary conversation with a soulmate, someone who would understand and comfort you.
Much of that thinking is nostalgia. Bến mộng / dream docks refer to the passage of his wife to his family, to their conjugal union. Bright explosions in the night recall the fireworks at their wedding. He firmly recalls the moment the parted and he entered his service. Midst the alternating worry and waiting of a foot soldier, he holds on tightly to his love for her, to their enduring mutual love.
The song poses a true riddle. Why do people of one nation fighting one another with the fervency and abandon of children's war games? The answer given is that they and their way of life have been attacked. The narrator can give no deeper understanding of the issues, but defense is a legitimate reason to take up arms. He is defending her and the future life they want to lead. The night insects appear less than satisfied with this outlook as they moan in sorrow for mankind.
Thanh Thúy sings "Ngỏ hồn qua đêm" recording on the Shotguns 27 tape in 1972.
Le "Jules Michelet" n'est point seulement intéressant par ses 4 cheminées et ses gros canons.
Le Jules Michelet est un navire mélodieux. Du matin au soir, presque chaque jour, les habitués de l'Arsenal et des quais s'arrêtent souvent, sur la berge, pour écouter les harmonies de bon aloi qui sortent, à jet continue, de la plage avant. Il ne s'agit point des jolies modulations du sifflet de manoeuvre, mais bien d'un véritable orchestra absolument remarquable, malgré l'absence de certains pupitres. Et ce fut un vrai régal, l'autre soir, autour du kiosque chauve de Boulevard Charner!
Nos élégantes Saigonnaises ont pu d'ailleurs de rendre compte aussi que les cols-bleus musiciens du Michelet, n'excellent point seulement dans la partition de Lakmé ni dans l'exécution impeccable du ballet de Coppélia, un des chefs d'oeuvre de Leo Delibes. L'autre soir, autant que les réglements l'ont permis, on a dansé ferme sur la plage arrière du croiseur aux sons encore de cet excellent orchestre et même aussi d'un jazz band hors pair!
"A bâtons rompus," Saigon Sportif 8/21/1925
Because the French Navy isn't dead yet!
The "Jules Michelet" isn't only interesting because of its four funnels and large cannons.
The Jules Michelet is a melodic ship. From morning till night, almost every day, regulars at the Arsenal and the quays often stop at the bank to listen to the quality harmonies that flow continuously from the foredeck. It's not the pretty modulations of the boatswain's pipe, but a truly remarkable orchestra, despite the absence of some sections. And it was a real treat the other evening around the bare bandstand on Boulevard Charner! [đường Nguyễn Huệ today]
Our elegant Saigon ladies could also attest that the blue-collar musicians of the Michelet excel not only in the score of Lakmé, but also in the impeccable performance of the ballet Coppélia, one of Léo Delibes' masterpieces. The other evening, as far as regulations permitted, there was lively dancing on the cruiser's aft deck to the sounds of this excellent orchestra and even a superb jazz band!
The battleship Jules Michelet circulated among French ports throughout the Far East and Pacific region. Such a vessel definitely projected colonial and imperial power. For the French residents of Saigon the vessel's arrival was heartily welcomed and here we learn one of the reasons why. The Jules Michelet brought a little variety to the city's musical life.
The article remarks about "regulars" at the docks enjoying the rehearsal of the naval band. The regulars would have included a number of Vietnamese dockworkers. The ladies of Saigon enjoyed the band's ability to perform classical works by Délibes, but the musicians were most appreciated by those who loved to kick up their heels and dance. The jazz band must have been a subset of the larger naval band. At that time a jazz band was almost certainly a dance band. I would imagine that they sounded similar to Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians.
Một ban gương mẫu như vậy không chắc đã huy động, nhưng cái gì khó khăn mới gọi là đặt giá. Chúng tôi cần đến những tay đờn thật xưa hiện giờ còn sống; đã biết qua nếp chơi tài tử cũ, ngón đờn không phải bị nhiễm độc bởi sự cải biến hàm hồ của cổ nhạc đương thời.
Chính những người đó mới làm sống lại mẫu mực của cổ nhạc. Và đó mới gọi là hòa tấu hay hòa ca cổ nhạc, chớ không phải... đánh giặc nhạc theo kiểu Năm Cơ - Văn Vỹ.
Such an exemplary group we'll probably be unable to mobilize, but the difficulty lies in the price. We need thosemusicians who have been playing for a long time who are still with us; those familiar with the manner of playing olden talented amateurs music, who finger haven't been poisoned by the careless modifications of traditional music today.
It is these people who make the ideals of traditional music live again. And that is what could really be called traditional ensembles and singing, not like the... attacking-the-enemy music in the manner of Năm Cơ and Văn Vỹ.
nguồn: Trùng Dương, "Với chủ trương phục hưng nền Quốc nhạc Tivi có nên nhận thêm vài ban tài tử lớn," [With Object of Reviving National Music on TV, should we accept a few big talented amateur groups] Đuốc nhà nam 13 tháng 4 1969.
Nhạc tài tử is the musical system underlying cải lương theater. It is also a refined art form on its own. This opinion piece interests me because he describes a couple of musicians that I love in a derisive way. However, the derision is accurate. Listen here:
These two along with Bảy Bá are the backing track of hundreds of cải lương and vọng cổ recordings. I think playing on recordings accustomed them to time limits and made their playing more rapid fire and virtuosic. At times it has the energy of Flatt and Scruggs - Foggy Mountain Breakdown.
The "đánh giặc" metaphor is really funny. It's a battlecry to attack the enemy, but within this music there's, of course, no enemy. The abundant ability of these musicians results in an aggressive form of musicianship. I think the writer is right in wanting to promote musicians from an earlier time who would likely play in more relaxed manner. I have no idea what the Saigon Television channel decided to do.
The words "nó," before we only used it to name the category of people that we despise or look down on, it was not often used to name objects.
It was a challenge translating this two letter title. Vietnamese people employ "nó" in many ways these days, sometimes in this derogatory way, sometimes just to fill in for he or she in the case a person of lower status (say, a child) or to fill in for "it."
Gaunt, ragged orphans were a part of Vietnamese life. The lyrics of this song make it clear that this pitiable scene is located north of the 17th parallel. In socialist society one imagines that there were be a safety net to provide for orphaned children. By the same token, children were sometimes shunned and abandoned because of their family status, or as the result of land reform. Was this song simply created for psy-war purposes.
The Republic of Vietnam had plenty of vulnerable orphans, although I imagine that they would have been incorporated into the "informal economy" (think of Dickens - Fagan, Oliver Twist, the Artful Dodger). Nevertheless, Vietnam at that time was in the midst of a civil war, so the heartlessness had to be found on the other side. The song cover shows a toddler who while looking forlorn does not look to be un cared for. The urban setting looks much more like Saigon and Hanoi.
Hoàng Oanh thâu bài "Nó" cho hãng dĩa Sóng Nhạc năm 1967. Văn Phụng làm hòa âm. Có người húyt sáo cùng giọng hát cảm tình của Hoàng Oanh.
Ai ăn chè bột khoai, buồn tàu đậu xanh nước dừa, đường cát hông?
Who'll eat some taro flower custard, mung beans in coconut milk, ground sugar?
Út Trà Ôn:
Nghe tiếng rao trong đêm dài u buồn
Hearing the hawker's cry on a long sad night
Đêm từng đêm thầm vang bên phố nhỏ
Each night echoing down on the narrow lane
Nghe tiếng rao như một lời kêu than
Hearing that cry like a lamentation
Cho số kiếp phụ phàng
For an unfortunate fate
Út Bạch Lan:
Em đi bán chè thưng
I sell sugary custard
Nặng lo chữ hiếu cho tròn
Bear the weight of filial piety to the end
Và em lo thân sống
And I have to worry about about staying alive
Cho tròn nợ áo cơm
To pay off the debt of food and clothing
Câu 1:
First part:
Út Trà Ôn:
Lối : Hễ mỗi lần nghe tiếng rao vang từ đầu phố là lòng tôi như nhớ thương em gái lạ đã đi ... rồi
Each time I hear that cry at the top of the lane, my heart seems to remember her, a stranger who has ... gone
Cũng gánh gánh chè khuya qua lại đường này
She also carried a load of custard to sell along this road
Em gái ấy ở trong cuối phố
She lived at the end of the lane
Với một mẹ già tuổi độ sáu mươi
With her old mother, aged around sixty
Tóc chưa xuống khỏi bờ vai
Her hair hadn't yet reached her shoulders
Mà em đã gánh nặng rồi thương đau
But she bore that heavy load, pained
Vì nuôi mẹ khổ nghèo nên em phải chịu nhọc nhằn
lo cho tròn câu hiếu thảo
To take care of her poor, miserable mother she had to wear herself out to show piety to the end
Câu 2:
Part 2:
Tuổi mới mười lăm vo cơm chưa sạch cám
Turning 15 she washed rice still mixed with bran
Mà em đã biết nấu chè thưng và gánh bán cho khách qua đường
Yet she knew about to cook sweet porridge and carried it out to sell to customers on the street
Nhưng tội nghiệp thay, chữ a bê em chưa biết một vần
But it was real shame, of her ABC's she didn't know a word
Nhưng em siêng lắm chiều nào em cũng học với bà mẹ già
But she worked hard, every evening studying with her old mother
Chỉ đọc được vần xuôi
Only reading a few syllables
Thấy thương em cố sức sống trong cảnh đói nghèo thất học
Seeing that she struggled in this situation of ignorance and want
Cho nên tôi mới bảo em mỗi ngày một buổi
I told her every day for a session
Đến nhà để tôi dạy dùm sau bữa cơm trưa
Come over to my house and I'd help her after lunch
[Thơ]
[Poem]
Em đến học được chừng mười bữa
She came around to learn for around ten sessions
Bỗng nhiên em liên tiếp vắng ba hôm
Suddenly she was absent for three days in a row
Tôi đón hỏi em vào lúc nữa đêm
I greeted her in the middle of the night
Khi em gánh gánh chè khuya về xóm vắng
When she carried custard back home at midnight through the deserted neighborhood
Câu 4:
Part 4:
Lối: Nghe tôi hỏi em cúi đầu im lặng rồi ngẩng
nhìn tôi qua ngấn lệ tuông ... trào
Hearing my question she lowered her head then looked up at me through a streams f overflowing tears
Em trả lời với tôi trong tiếng nói ngẹn ngào
She answered me with a voice choked with emotion
Em nói em nghèo lắm không tiền mua giấy mực
She said I'm very poor with no money for paper or ink
Thì làm gì trả công thầy dạy dỗ cho em
How can I pay you back for teaching me
[Thơ Vân Tiên]
[Vân Tiên poem]
Thầy ơi má đã dặn khuyên
Teacher, my mother advised me
Dốt đành chịu dốt đừng phiền người ta
Ignorance, you should suffer it instead of troubling somebody else
Một con một mẹ đã già
You and your mother who is old
Đói nghèo chịu được ơn kia khó đền
Hunger and want we can stand, don't take favors that would be hard to repay
Câu 5:
Part 5:
Không, chú dạy dỗ là mong em biết chữ
No, I've instructed you in the hope you would become literate
Chớ đâu phải được trả công bằng quà vật bạc tiền
Not so that you would have to pay me back with gifts or money
Vì thương em nghèo có hiếu lại hiền
Because I sympathized with you, a poor girl who's both dutiful and kind
Tôi nói chưa hết thì em đã khóc to hơn nữa
I hadn't finished speaking when she cried even louder
Và vội vàng quảy gánh chạy đi
And hurriedly she turn around and left with her load
Đường vắng giữa khuya chỉ còn một mình tôi đưa mắt nhìn theo em khuất dần trong bóng tối
On the empty road at midnight, I was all alone following her with my eyes as she disappeared into the shadows
Với nỗi xót thương cho một kiếp sống não nùng
With a feeling of pain and pity for such a sorrowful fate
Câu 6:
Part 6:
Rồi kể từ đêm ấy tôi không còn trông thấy bóng em đâu
So from that evening I never saw her shadow again
Chừng hỏi thăm mới hay em bị đuổi nhà và đã ra
đi ở mướn
Asking around I learned that she had been evicted and had to go out and work for hire
Để lấy tiền nuôi bịnh mẹ tại nhà thương
To get money to take care of her sick mother in the hospital
Nghe chuyện ấy lòng tôi nao nao buồn tủi
Hearing this my heart felt troubled and dejected
Thương cho cuộc đời những trẻ bơ vơ
Pitying the lives of helpful youth
Rồi đêm đêm đi về trên xóm cũ
So each night coming home to the old neighborhood
Tôi bồi hồi nhớ lại tiếng em rao
I feel restless remembering her street hawking
Như còn vương vấn nơi phố lạnh canh buồn
Like it still haunts this lane, rattling on in sadness
"Em đi bán chè thưng
"I sell sugary custard Nặng lo chữ hiếu cho tròn"
Bearing the weight of filial piety to the end"
Giờ em đi mất đâu còn
Now, who knows where you've gone
Nhưng tôi nhớ mãi tâm hồn thơ ngây
But I always remember that innocent soul
In my opinion, vọng cổ is the greatest musical achievement of the Vietnamese people in the 20th century. It is attributed to Cao Văn Lầu (Sáu Lầu) but I think it is fair to say that it has been shaped by many hands. It is a song or theatrical aria used in cải lương built around a structure that has been realized ten of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of ways. It similar to the blues in there being an audible, accepted structure as well as myriad ways of creating within that structure.
Vọng cổ balances strictness and elasticity. Framing the lyrics presented above there is a formal structure. Elements can be added and sometimes subtracted from that structure. It can open with a recited poem, a song, or even in this case the sound of an itinerant vendor hawking her wares. Câu 3 / the Third Part is replaced by a poem. When vọng cổ is performed as an instrumental, the instruments just play Cầu 3. I haven't notated this, but the ends of some phrases have to come to a unison on a series of pitches. A moment of intensification comes during the "lối" (path) where the unaccompanied voice intones, usually at a higher more dramatic pitch level, some part of the thematic meaning within the song.
Út Trà Ôn is the master of this genre. He could recite the traffic code and make it sound beautiful. Here he is briefly joined by another star of the cải lương stage - Út Bạch Lan. Út is an endearment - it refers to the last born child in the family, the runt. Trà Ôn is a Mekong delta city.
The song is like a one act play or monologue. The narrator living in a dense urban setting flashes back to an event that made a strong impression on him. Teens scraping out a living to help support their family was and I would think still is a part of the fabric of Vietnamese life. It used to be ubiquitous to hear vendors hawking their wares on the streets of Vietnam's cities. In the mid-1990s it was still common to hear the singsong of these street vendor cries. Locals barely noticed (until they wanted a little soup, a desert or to sharpen their knives) but as a foreigner I found this practice absolutely charming.
Street vendor calls hawking their wares had been common in many parts of the world (including Europe) but modernization has done it in -- modernization the form of the motorbike. The noise and the speed of these vehicles changed the pulse of city life. It also meant that it wasn't a big deal to fetch what you wanted for yourself instead of waiting for the vendor to stop by. Plus, you can't hear the vendor any more. There are some now that use amplification or prerecorded messages - but where' the beauty in that?
Returning to our song -- the narrator both pities and admires this 15 year old girl. "Có hiếu lại hiền" - "Hiếu" means dutiful, especially in the context of respect and caring for parents. "Hiền" describes somebody gentle and kind. He understands her circumstances and is impressed with how hard she struggles to take care of her elderly, worn-out mother. Having to help out with their survival from an early age she never received an education.
Living in the world firmly tied to her mother, both for survival, support and instruction, has limited her actions and agency in the world. The narrator willingly gives of himself and undoubtedly experiences no hardship of his own in trying to aid the girl. Nevertheless, her mother has instilled a sense of honor, a moral code whereby they cannot accept anything of value without being able to repay it, in turn, with something of value.
It appears that after her refusal of the narrator's kindness, the mother's and daughter's circumstances take a turn for the worse.
"Gánh" literally describes a burden carried upon the shoulders -- long bamboo pole with balanced, fairly heavy objects balanced at both ends.
The teenage vendor has limited life experience. The lyrics note that she doesn't even yet know how properly wash rice before cooking it (perhaps because rice is a luxury). This gentle girl has been pushed into the world to fight for survival walking for miles every night calling out "Ai ăn chè bột khoai, buồn tàu đậu xanh nước dừa, đường cát hông?"
some Hà Nội street cries
We have to imagine a very thin girl carrying a very heavy load. Chè is a word used to describe many kinds of deserts. Their content is mostly liquid, and liquid is heavy. At one point it's described as "chè thưng" illustrated below.
I am grateful for the privilege of being permitted to research in the Trung Tâm Lưu Trữ Quốc Gia II (National Archive II) in Hồ Chí Minh City. The staff were extremely helpful and I was able research very productively during my brief visit.
I found a good deal of information in a file originally compiled by the Thư Viện Nam-Phần Việt-Nam - this would have been the state library for Cochinchina, later becoming the library for the Republic of Vietnam. This file registers the publications (print, audio) that were deposited there from the late 1940s through around 1959.
More than 1000 songs are listed in this file. The reasons for being listed are often not given, but in some cases the year, the publisher and creators are given. Otherwise, the criteria for inclusion are not always clear. Some important songs were published and not deposited or listed. But file provides a good picture of the music marketplace of the 1950s - both the hit songs and songs that were published but never popular. The sheet music of many of the latter may be forever lost.
Here are the top 10 most represented songwriters during this period. None are southerners. Lê Thương had lived and been active in the South the longest:
1) Phạm Duy
2) Hoàng Trọng
3) Dương Thiệu Tước
4) Y Vân
5) Hoàng Thi Thơ
6) Lê Thương
7) Ngọc Bích
8) Văn Phụng
9) Hùng Lân
10) Thẩm Oánh
All except Hoàng Thi Thơ are northerners.
These are the most represented songwriters year by year:
1949 - Dương Thiệu Tước
1950 - Phạm Duy
1951 - Dương Thiệu Tước
1952 - Hoàng Trọng and Trịnh Văn Ngân
1953 - Châu Kỳ
1954 - Phạm Duy
1955 - Phạm Duy
1956 - Hoài An, Hoàng Thi Thơ and Hoàng Trọng
1957 - Y Vân
1958 - Y Vân
1959 - Hoàng Thi Thơ
Very often the information is minimal - just the title of the song. In most cases, I was able to fill in the file's missing information using my own personal files. In other cases, I was just left with questions.
Here are some of the mystery song titles:
"Ba cảnh đời" (1952)
"Binh bét về làng" (1956)
"Cánh hoa đời" (1952)
"Dạ Lan Hương" (1950) (I would like this to be "Cánh hoa duyên kiếp", but this song was deposited in 1950 and the Đoàn Chuẩn-Từ Linh song was written in 1953)
"Đẹp xưa" (1955)
"Gửi mẹ hiền" (1956)
"Hạnh ngộ" (1959)
"Hò dô ta" (1955) (There are multiple songs to choose from)
19g -- Đài hiệu - Quốc kỳ. -- Station theme - National anthem
19g03 -- Chiêu hồi. -- Open arms.
20g -- Tin tức, thông cáo -- News, announcements
20g20 -- Phim: Tài liệu các loại giây leo. -- Film: Documentary on creeping vinces
21g -- Điểm báo, Bình luận -- Newspaper opinion, discussion
Giới thiệu chương trình hôm sau. -- Introducing tomorrow's programming
21g10 -- Thời sự Quân đội -- News of the Armed Services
21g20 -- Thoại kich "Tham thì thầm" Ban Phượng Hoàng trình diễn. -- The play "Inner Greed" performed by the Phoenix Groups
Đài hiệu -- Quốc Kỳ -- Station theme - National anthem
LƯU Ý: Hoặc do trở ngại kỹ thuật, hoặc vì có tin quan trọng cần loan báo, chương trình có thể thay đổi vài tiết mục vào giờ chót
Attention: If there are technical difficulties or important announcements, the programming could be changed at the last moment
ĐÀI MỸ - American Television
1330 Turn on
1413 What's Happening
1415 Sign on news
1430 Gator Bowl (FB)
1700 Red Skelton Hour
1800 Auto racing
1830 Get Smart
1900 Roger Miller
1930 Evening news
2000 Weather
2006 Operation Entertainment
2100 What's Happening Gunsmoke
2200 Late News
2210 Feature Movie
nguồn / source: Đuốc Nhà Nam 29 tháng 1 1969
I couldn't say how many televisions there were in The Republic of Vietnam when this item appeared in the newspaper. By the autumn of the following year there were over 300,000, over 100,000 of those in Sài Gòn. That's fewer than two for every citizen of the south.
Vietnamese language television was only introduced in February 1966. The number of viewers in January 1969 must have been considerably less than 300,000 - maybe one to two hundred thousand. The Cần Thơ television station had only started a few months prior, thus nearly the entire audience would have viewed from the environs around Sài Gòn.
A television set cost around 130 dollars or 15,300 đồng - a lot of money. While sets were few, it's likely that there was a good deal of communal viewing.
There were two channels in Sài Gòn - the Vietnamese channel and the American channel (for American personnel). The American station drew from the three major networks in the United States as well as motion pictures. On January 29, 1969 American viewers would have enjoyed the Gator Bowl - a college football game where the University of Missouri defeated the University of Alabama - that was played a month earlier on December 28, 1968 (!). This suggests that tape or film of the game had to travel across the ocean to be broadcast. Surely viewers knew the outcome already.
The station also showed an episode of country singer Roger Miller's show that was only on the air for three months in 1966. They also broadcast Red Skelton's variety show - a program that had a twenty year run. Gunsmoke was a long running western and Get Smart was a spy comedy with Cold War overtones. Programs like "What's Happening" and "Operation Entertainment" must have been locally produced. The broadcast day closed with an un-identified feature film.
While the American broadcast day lasted over twelve hours, the Vietnamese broadcast was far more limited lasting around four to five hours. They had no reservoir of programming to draw from and had to create entirely original programming. Their broadcast included a good deal of public affairs, including the "Chiêu hồi" program lasting an hour that appealed to the young men of the other side to drop their weapons and come over to the side of Republic of Vietnam. These programs usually included entertainment to message more attractive. I can't imagine that documentary on creeping vines was exciting, but it must have been recorded in Vietnamese. The day's final program was the screening of a play. There were no drama series and instead theater troupes were hired to create content for the station. The brief broadcast day was bookended by the station's musical intro and the national anthem (Tiếng gọi thanh niên - Calling The Youth).
On a crowded Lambro trip some evening
Xuôi mình không quên mà ngồi bên nhau.
Within a current of strangers we sat next to each other.
Trời mang nhiều trớ trêu chi, người chưa hề biết quen gì, sao ngồi gần như tình nhân si...
How can heaven have such notions, that we people know nothing of, why were we sitting close like mad lovers?
Em xuống xe Lam đi vào hẻm sâu.
I got off the Lambro to enter a deep alleyway.
Anh vội theo chân ngõ hồn xôn xao.
You hurriedly followed my steps into the alley, my soul astir
Làm quen chuyện vãn dăm câu, niềm vui mộng ước ban đầu, trong đã rồi... mặt ngoài còn e.
Got acquainted through half dozen remarks, happy hope began there, inside was thus... the outer expression was still bashful.
Ngờ đâu yêu đương như đám lục bình, trôi theo con nước vô tình, Anh lấy vợ, vợ anh giàu có.
Who knew that love is like water hyacinth, floating along in indifferent waters, you married, your wife is rich
Tình em se cát dã tràng biển đông, em muốn tìm chồng cho xong, nhưng ngại thêm gặp kẻ bạc lòng.
My love is a sand crab filling in the ocean, I'd like to find a husband and be done, but I hesitate meeting someone with a fickle heart
Trên chuyến xe Lam đông người chiều nay.
Upon this Lambro trip there's a crowd this evening.
Nghe nhiều bơ vơ nỗi niềm chua cay.
Feeling hopeless, bitter feelings
Còn đâu một chuyến xe Lam, ngày nao mộng ước vô vàn bao kỷ niệm giờ mình Em.
Where has that Lambro trip gone, I dream daily, endless memories for Me alone.
Giao Linh ca "Chuyến xe lam chiều" trên băng Kim Đằng, xuất bản tháng 10 1973
Bây giờ, thỉnh thoảng vẫn thấy một chiếc Lam cũ, tơi tả xuất hiện đâu đó. Tiếng máy xe không còn kêu bon bon, mùi khói xăng không còn thơm như trước nữa nhưng người Sài Gòn không ai không nhớ tới những chuyến xe Lam - nhất là những chuyến xe Lam chiều vội đưa người về với gia đình, với người yêu đang chờ trên phố nhỏ. Còn đâu một chuyến xe Lam? Có chăng, chỉ còn lại dư âm trong bài Chuyến xe Lam chiều của nhạc sĩ Vinh Sử! (Lê Văn Nghĩa, "Xe Lam chiều,"
Nowadays, occasionally you'll see a dilapidated old Lambro scooter coming from somewhere. The engine no longer makes a putt-putt sound, the smell of gasoline fumes is no longer as pleasant as before, but for Saigon people, nobody can forget those Lambro trips – especially those hurried afternoon trips taking took people home to their families or to their lovers waiting on a small lane. Where did those Lambretta trip go? Perhaps they remain only in the song "An Evening Lambretta Trip" by composer Vinh Sử!
nguồn: Thanh Niên (April 10, 2016).
The Xe Lam of Vietnam is a category of auto rickshaw, a popular means of transportation throughout the developing world to this day. In Thailand there is the ubiquitous "tuk tuk" named after the sound that Lê Văn Nghĩa describes as "bon bon" and I translate as "putt putt." Three wheeled motorcycles date back to the earliest days of motorized transport. The tuk tuk and similar vehicles were principally manufactured in Italy, the home of the Lambretta scooter.
nguồn ảnh: Lê Văn Nghĩa như trên
In many places they functioned as taxis carrying at most a couple of passengers. In Vietnam these Lambrettas were a modification of a Lambro that was a small three-wheeled freight vehicle. These were modified to create a rear cabin that could carry more passengers. The Xe Lam performed a function someplace between a taxi and a bus. These vehicles had existed since the 1940s, but according to Lê Văn Nghĩa they were introduced in the Republic of Vietnam in 1966 and were in common use until the early 2000s.
It was a communal setting bringing strangers together as we witness in this song. A young man and woman felt an inarticulate spark of love. He became betrothed to another. She is unsure about ever finding somebody for herself and holds on to dreams of what might have been.
Vinh Sử often employs folk imagery and the image of the dã tráng or sand bubbler crab is very familiar. In the process of feeding, it filters sands leaving it behind in small spheres. These spheres have an aesthetic quality that seems intentional, yet the effort of creating these shapes is inevitably erased by the rising tide. Thus this crab of is a metaphor for labor expended for nought.
Từ thứ năm 19-8-71 hãng WARNER BROS trình bày tại 2 Rạp Máy Lạnh
REX và VAN HOA Dakao (Từ 21-8)
--Một Thành tích Hi Hữu của Thế giới Âm Nhạc
--Một Thế hệ Trẻ khắp Hoàn vũ đang chờ mong...
From August 19, 1971 the Warner Brothers Company presents at 2 Air-Conditioned Theaters
Rex and Văn Hoa Dakao (from August 21)
A Rare Achievement of the Music World
A global young generation has been waiting for...
nguồn: Đuốc Nhà Nam 20 tháng 8 1971
The film debuted on March 26, 1970. It took more than a year to reach Sài Gòn where I'm sure it was well received. It was presented there with subtitles in Vietnamese, Chinese and French (perhaps that accounts for the delay). As far as I know it has never been screened in Hà Nội?
Tầng cao nắng đốt vàng nguyên At higher levels sunlight burns golden Cho vàng tưới rội khắp miền tràn lan Makes gold pour through every realm, far and wide Vườn trưa lặn ngập trong vàng Garden, midday, submerged in gold Làm duyên lẳng lặng đôi hàng cau tơ. Brings a quiet charm to the row of young betel palms Hướng dương say nắng ngẩn ngơ Sunflowers in a daze bask in the light Lâng lâng đôi cánh dật tờ bướm bay. Serenely a pair of butterfly wings flutter. Trời trong chẳng gợn làn mây, Sky, clear, not even a hint of clouds Gió không giễu cợt hàng cây rủ buồn.
The breeze does not perturb the row of sagging trees.
nguồn: Tri Tân tạp chí #55 (21 tháng 7 1942)
Translating poetry (and song lyrics) is a hobby for me. With Google translate it's almost unnecessary. The AI comes very close to capturing the meaning. Here's Google:
The sun shines brightly on the high branches, casting a golden glow.
Gold pours down, spreading across the land.
The midday garden is bathed in gold.
The rows of young betel nut trees add a touch of charm.
The sunflowers are dazed by the sun.
Their wings flutter like butterflies.
The sky is clear, without a single cloud.
The wind doesn't mock the sad, drooping trees.
Even if AI can make a decent translation, it does me good to wrestle with word choice and meaning, so I am happy to put in the effort of my own translation. This poem was published in a bi-weekly cultural magazine Tri Tân which means something like "Know The New." "Cô" means Miss, making it clear to the readers of that moment that the poem's author was a woman.
She wrote her poem in the traditional six-eight (lục bát) form - couplets of six and eight syllables. The sixth syllable of the first line passes and rhyme down to the sixth syllable of the second line. The eight line of the second line passes a rhyme to the sixth syllable of the third line, which in turn passed to the fourth line, etc...
Her poem was later anthologized on pages 1375-1376 of the volume Thơ Mới: 1932.1945: Tác giả và tác phẩm (Hà Nội: Nxb Hội Nhà Văn, 1999), an indispensable book in my library. The anthology gives the poetess's full name as Lê Thị Cẩm Lai, born in 1923 in the village of Đại Nài, in the Thạch Hà district of Hà Tĩnh province (Vietnamese northern central region). The only other biography given here is: "Từ sau 1945 là cán bộ phụ nữ" - "From after 1945 was a woman cadre." Checking online, we can learn that she passed away in 2006, was a communist party member, and subsequently wrote a great deal more poetry.
Vietnamese poetry, especially from that time, frequently evokes nature, often as a barometer for one's own feelings. Unlike much poetry of that time, the poetess here seems to be feeling pretty good. Sometimes the sun in Vietnam can feel too powerful, even oppressive. Here it brightens and enlivens a scene. Perhaps this was at her own home in Đại Nài village? (which today has been absorded in the city of Hà Tĩnh and is called phường Đại Nài).
Trước đây anh Trịnh Công Sơn, đã làm giàu cho các nhà xuất bản nhạc, các hãng băng cũng từng lang thang không một đồng xu dính túi. May lắm nếu có phòng trà nào nhận ra anh thì đãi anh một chai nước ngọt, không tính tiền theo giá biểu của... phòng trà.
Cái luật rừng, cá lớn nuốt cá bé, cây lớn che bóng mặt trời của cây con tưởng chỉ xảy ra trong đời sống động vật, thực vật ai dà lại hoành hành trong đời sống loài người, lại là những người làm văn nghệ.
Bao giờ mới có một đạo luật bảo vệ tác quyền, bao giờ mới có một hội đích thực bênh vực công trình sáng tác của giới cầm bút?
Và bao giờ những người như... Sơn mới hết lang thang trên những đường phố đèn xanh đèn đỏ, thèm một tách cà phê, một ngụm khói Capstan nồng ấm như đôi môi người tình?
In the past Trịnh Công Sơn enriched the music publishers and cassette companies, he now wanders without a penny to his name. He'd be very lucky if some teahouse recognizes him and treats him to a bottle of soda without calculating the complimentary price of the... tearoom.
The law of the jungle, big fish swallow little fish, big trees shade the sunlight from the little ones, you would think only happened among plants and animals without taking licenses in the life of mankind, especially through who make art.
When will there be a law to protect intellectual property, when will there be an authentic organization to protect author's creative projects?
And when will people like... Sơn be able to end their wandering on the streets with red lights and green lights, desiring a cup of coffee, inhale a puff of Capstan, warm like a lover's lips?
was that this was a lucrative time to be a musician. Songwriters sometimes were able to buy a car from the royalties of a song. Musicians often both worked on a salary for the government (usually the security services) and also had sidelights performing at nightclubs, cafes, and military bases. Singers earned a great deal of money performing on the radio, television and at đại nhạc hội (music festivals).
The payment of royalties was usually not fair -- often the songwriter only received a flat payment when a song was recorded. When tape recording came along, piracy became rampant, further depriving songwriters income due to them. However, by and large the years of the Republic of Vietnam was a great time to be music creator and a music performer.
The image from 1974 of Trịnh Công Sơn wandering the streets of Saigon needing to bum a cigarette or a glass of soda seems far-fetched, but, not baseless.
nguồn ảnh: Tiền tuyến 27 tháng 2 1974
Trịnh Công Sơn never worked for any branch of the Republic of Vietnam's security services (although I suspect he could have if he wanted -- he had many highly placed friends). He did not sing in professional venues. He did not play guitar at a professional level. His income would come from songwriting royalties. Many of his songs were recorded to disc and tape, but as I noted above, these were usually compensated for by one-time payments. There was no system of paying ongoing royalties.
Most of his songs were published. I think in many cases he sold the songs outright when they were published as sheet music. A very large number of his songs were published in collections by Nhân Bản. As far as I can tell, Nhân Bản published nothing but Trịnh Công Sơn song anthologies between 1967 and 1972. Some of these were released outside of the formal censorship system and perhaps could be considered black market. I have to believe that these songbooks were widely available and sold in fairly large numbers. Who was behind Nhân Bản? And did Nhân Bản pay Trịnh Công Sơn regular royalties?
Overall, the years of the Republic of Vietnam was a great time to be a musician. However, starting in 1973 opportunities for musicians began to dry up. This was owing to the withdrawal of American forces and the economic stimulus they brought to the economy. When you add to that the popularity of new audio cassette technology and the rampant piracy that it promoted, it became harder for creative musicians to profit from their work.
The overall premise of the article quoted above is correct. The society of that time did not have laws or enforcement that allowed creators to receive the payment they should have been due for their creative work. However, was Trịnh Công Sơn's situation as desperate as the author claimed? That's not impossible.
Underlying this, I believe was an aesthetic and worldview the Trịnh Công Sơn must have held. He seems to have held a refined notion of the value of creativity. That its value lays outside of matters of money and payment. Nghệ thuật vị nghệ thuật. That was a notion that would not work in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the north. Music had to serve the nation and if you couldn't or wouldn't direct your creative abilities in that direction you went silent. (Đoàn Chuẩn is a good example of that).
In the Republic of Vietnam you could create music that did not serve the nation. But it should serve the marketplace or you could go hungry. Not only did you have to serve the marketplace, you had to actively attend to your business interests. That did not appeal to Trịnh Công Sơn. As this 1974 article points out, a lot of other people over the years found it in their business interest to promote and sell Trịnh Công Sơn's music.
Người đi một nửa hồn tôi chết
Một nửa hồn kia bổng dại khờ
H.M.T.
recited:
Someone left, half my soul died
My soul's other half suddenly foolish [Hàn Mặc Tử]
BALLADE
Trên ngõ hẹp lối vào hẻm sâu,
On the narrow alley, the way into a deep cul-de-sac Nhà anh đầu xóm nhà em cuối đường,
My house is at the front of the neighborhood, yours at the end of the lane, Ngày ra vào hai đứa gặp nhau trước lạ sau rồi cũng quen quen trong ánh mắt nhưng không dám chào.
Daily coming and going we met, at first, strangers then more familiar through glinting eyes, yet dare not make any greeting.
Trên lối nhỏ anh thường gặp em,
Along this tiny path I often met you, Tình yêu thầm đến dần theo tháng ngày,
An inner love gradually came along with the days and months. Và hôm nào em vắng vào ra suốt ngày đứng ngồi không yên trắng đêm thức trọn anh nghe nhớ thương,
And one day you were absent, coming, going all day, standing, seated, uneasy, awake all night nagged by longing.
Nhiều khi gặp nhau trong ngõ vắng người anh muốn chào để làm quen nhưng ngại em ngoảnh mặt làm ngơ,
Many times when we met in the empty alley, I wanted to greet and get to know you, but I worried that you would turn away and pretend not to notice, Thư xanh viết lời thương yêu chân thành mấy lần anh muốn trao em nhưng sợ không nhận bạn bè cười chê.
A blue letter of sincere love, many times I wanted to offer it to you but I was afraid that you wouldn't accept it and laugh in scorn
Trong ngõ hẹp bây giờ quạnh hiu
In the narrow alley now desolate Chiều qua cả xóm tiễn em lấy chồng,
Yesterday afternoon, the whole neighborhood saw you off when you took a husband, Nhìn theo đoàn xe đón nàng dâu ai cũng khen nàng tốt số đâu hay có người đang nghe xót xa
My gaze followed the procession greeting the bride, everyone congratulated her good fortune, they'd never know that somebody was in pain
nguồn: Phương Anh, "Ngõ hẻm gặp nhau" (Saigon: Yêu, 1971).
"Ngõ hẻm gặp nhau" was recorded on the Nhã Ca 1 tape along with "Không giờ rồi," "Khi không," and "Gái nhà nghèo." Phương Anh - pen name for Thanh Phương - is the credited songwriter on the tape release and on the sheet music published that time. In more recent years this song has been co-attributed to Vinh Sử (actually his alter ego, Cô Phượng).
The songs and melodic style of "Ngõ hẻm gặp nhau" is consistent with Vinh Sử's other songs from that time. A pair regularly pass by each other in the neighborhood and a spark is lit. Unfortunately, shyness prevents him from speaking with or writing to her. While he hesitates, she suddenly omits her walk through the familiar alleyway because she is getting married. The celebration takes place making our narrator sad and regretful.
Vinh Sử drew upon a couplet by Hàn Mặc Tử to provide a recited introduction to his song "Phản bội." Likewise this song draws another introduction from the poet - a couplet from the poem "Nhưng giọt lệ" [Tears].
After 1975 Vinh Sử changed the songs title to "Trên lối nhỏ" and substituted those words for the opening image of "Trong ngõ hẹp." The replacement of a "ngõ hẹp" with a "lối nhỏ" suggests movement from an urban alley to a rural path.
Thanh Tuyền ca bài "Ngõ hẻm gặp nhau" trên băng Nhã Ca 5, năm
I'm a teacher, tresses rest on my shoulders Xuân tròn đôi tám mơ mộng tương lai
In the spring of life, eighteen, dreaming of the future Trời cho mang nét trang đài
Heaven has allowed me wear the countenance of a lady's chambers Ngõ tim chưa bước chân ai
Nobody has yet set foot upon the pathway to my heart Vui bên đàn học trò thơ ngây
Happy by my flock of innocent students
Em là cô giáo nơi tỉnh lẻ xa
I'm a teacher in a remote province Quen giọng thanh thót trong vần ê a
Who has gotten used to the warbled syllables "ay" and "ah" Dạy khuyên em bé thật thà
Guiding the sincere little ones Lễ nghi yêu kính Mẹ Cha thương Ông Bà hơn cả đời ta.
In ceremonies I love and respect my folks and cherish my grandparents more than my life.
Nhiều khi trường tan chuông đổ xôn xao
Often at the end of the school day when the bell loudly rings Ngoài sân tan tác hoa phượng, em nghe lòng mang nổi bâng khuâng
Out on the yard scattered poinciana flowers, I feel a sad longing Chợt thương ngày nào lên sáu lên năm
Suddenly fond of those growing to be five and six Hồn nhiên trong tuổi học trò
Unaffected at this age of schooling
Nay kỷ niệm để dành nằm mơ!
Those are memories for when I lie dreaming!
Em là cô giáo tuy nghèo mà vui
I'm a teacher, though poor, it's fun Không đòi đua chỉ an phận mà thôi
I don't imitate, just content with my fate Làm thân giáo chức đâu ngại
Dedicating myself as an educator with no hesitancy Dìu đưa em bé tương lai
Guiding the little one's futures Đi xây dựng danh vọng ngày mai.
Building a name for themselves tomorrow.
nguồn: Cô Phượng, "Lời cô giáo trẻ" (Khánh Hội-Saigon: Ấn phẩm Họa Mi, 1973).
This song borders on socialist realism portraying an idealized model of social behavior. She's sixteen years old, obedient to her family, prepared to live a life of poverty, yet wholly dedicated the development of children in a remote province where her work will perhaps go unnoticed. Through her guidance, Vietnam will benefit from a future cohort of young people ready to make Vietnam a better place.
This depiction is betrayed at the outset by her awareness of her beauty and potential. Her "sad longing" arises from the knowledge at this moment that she might find romantic fulfillment, yet nobody "has set foot on the pathway to [her] heart." The scattered remains of poinciana flowers that she describes have to bring to mind the red remnants of celebratory firecrackers after a wedding.
It's an attractive image: an independent teen girl, long hair wearing a white, virginal áo dài. The kids see her as an attentive helpful teacher. She sees herself pulled in more than one direction -- fully committed to her family and profession, yet simultaneously conscious of her beauty and of feelings that she has not fully articulated to herself.
This innocence makes her more attractive. Most Vinh Sử songs happen a little later on, when something would crushed this the feelings of this self-possessed young woman - her parents or her poverty would block her from the marital bliss that she is not convinced that she desires. Perhaps the joy and fulfillment that comes from leading a class of tiny children sounding out their vowels is enough to dispel all of her vague, disquieting longing? The plaintive music undercuts the confidence in her ability to be satisfactied by this alone.
Thanh Tuyền introduced "Lời cô giáo trẻ" on the Kim Đằng 1 cassette in August 1973.
Ngâm
Cây hoằng vì bởi trái sai
Em xa Anh vì bởi anh tay trắng nghèo
Recited
The Fibraurea recisa is overrun with fruit
I'm far from you because of your poor empty hands
Khổ tâm vô vàn khi mình lìa nhau.
It's been endless pain since we separated
Cũng do Cha Mẹ em vốn sang giàu
Because my folks are rich and important Sân nhà phơi hồng xác pháo, em ngỡ xác chết tim đau, thôi vẫy tay chào giây cuối qua cầu.
Our yard is laid out with red firework remains, I'd believe they're the corpse of a pained heart, fine, I'll wave during the final seconds crossing the bridge
Khổ tâm khôn lường cho phận làm con. It's immeasurable pain for a child's fate
Nghĩa Me công thầy thân gái vuông tròn.
Her parents's duty, a girl's life perfectly arranged.
Vâng lời theo chồng xa xứ, sang giàu nhưng chẳng sắc son em vui vui gượng, em cười cười suông.
Agreeing to follow a husband to a faraway place, rich but inconstant I'll strain to be happy, I'll give a false smile.
Hỡi Thầy Mẹ, Ép mỡ ép dầu, sao đành ép duyên con, cho cau xanh phải xa trầu. Oh mom and dad, you can force out oil, how you force out my true love, force the green areca far from the betel.
Hỡi Thầy Mẹ, hôm bước qua cầu, nhìn cầu bao nhiêu nhịp, nghe lòng mình sầu bấy nhiêu
Oh mom and day, the day I cross the bridge, I'll note how many posts the bridge has and feel sad that much in my heart
Khổ tâm cam đành mang lòng bạc đen.
Painful, I'm resigned to a heart of betrayal and ill fortune
Chắc anh thông cảm em nổi ưu phiền.
Surely you'll understand me and my distress.
Vui gì ư?
Happy about what?
Đời nhung gấm, bên người không nghĩa con tim, đêm môi lạ mơ người tình quen.
My life of embroidered velvet, beside somebody with no attachment to my heart, at night with unfamiliar lips, I'll dream of the lover I know.
nguồn: Cô Phượng, "Khổ tâm" ([Saigon]: [Tác giả], 1973).
I am uncertain about the meaning of the recited opening couplet. "Cây hoằng" seems to be the "cây đằng hoằng" or Fibraurea recisa pictured below.
I cannot find any folklore that is associated with this plant - a wild vine whose roots have powerful medicinal properties. The fruit appear to serve no function useful to mankind but has a distinctive yellow color. The meaning suggested to me by this couplet is that the fecundity of this vine's fruit matches the extent of the poverty of the narrator's beloved?
Her parents are well off and the man she loves is too poor and unworthy in their eyes. She goes through with the wedding her parents have arranged because she has no other apparent choice. But every step of the way she holds on tightly to the affection she has for her beloved. Her parents would symbolically separate cau (areca palm) and trầu (betel net), the two essential ingredients of a happy engagement. She measures the distance crossing the bridge -- crossing a river being the symbolic threshold leaving the world of her family to join a new family.
As is often the case in Vinh Sử's songs, there are folk verses to reference.
Qua cầu ghé nón trông cầu,
Cầu bao nhiêu nhịp dạ sầu bấy nhiêu
Crossing the bridge I lower my hat to give it a look
For each section of the bridge I feel greater melancholy
The lyrics use the words "sắc son" which must be the words "sắt son" or "son sắt" pronounced in the Southern dialect. "Sắt" means iron or steel - something strong and enduring. A folk couplet uses this image to express a willingness to endure hardship in loving relationship.
Cho dầu phận có long đong,
Nhưng tình son sắc thì lòng vẫn vui
Even if fate brings misfortune
But with resolute love, my heart will remain happy
Aware that her heart lacks conviction in what is supposed to a happy day and a happy union, so she can only pretend and smile to allow her unwanted future to begin.
The pairing of "bạc đen" must be a compression of an image from The Story of Kiều.
Thưa nhà huyên hết mọi tình,
Nỗi chàng ở bạc, nỗi mình chịu đen
Respectfully telling the mother her feelings
Of his betrayal and her misfortune
The betrayal must be her forced betrayal of her beloved, and, of course, the misfortune is her own. But ultimately she will not betray him. Even in the embrace of her new husband she be dreaming of her lovers lips.
The villain in this tale and in many similar tales are the parents who covet wealth and possessions. She cannot properly protest any decision her parents have made. Her new husband might similarly be a victim. Maybe he was forced to separate from his lover to enter into a union with a woman determined to show him no affection?
Giao Linh introduced "Khổ tâm" on the Kim Đằng 1 tape release in August 1973. Evidently Thanh Tuyền recited the poem at the song's opening.
Good heavens, You've gone away!
Tại anh gian dối nên làm khổ tôi.
Because your lies have made me miserable.
Buổi đầu gặp gỡ chưa nguôi, kỷ niệm mang mãi trên môi, xin ngoéo tay nhau thề chung đôi...
Our first meeting still fresh, memories still born by my lips, we crossed fingers and vowed to be together as a couple.
Nhiều khi tôi cố quên đi nỗi niềm
Many times I've tried to forget these feelings Càng quên thêm nhớ vô vàn chẳng yên.
The more I forget, the more I endlessly remember with no relief
Nghĩ mình bạc bẽo vô duyên, để người ta đổi thay đen, cam chấp nhận số phận buồn tênh
I think I'm ungrateful, failed in love, so that somebody changed to black, I've silently accept such a sad fate
Chim xa rừng còn thương cây nhớ cội, người đi xa người tội lắm người ơi!
Birds distant from the forest still love trees, remember their roots, people distant from each other is sin I tell you
Anh quên rồi đàn lia thia quen chậu, bọn mình quen hơi Anh bạc tựa vôi.
You've forgotten that fighting fish get used to their bowl, as we two would get used to our air, You're unfaithful (pale like lime)
làm sao tôi giết Anh trong giấc mộng.
How can I murder You in my dreams?
Để cho nhung nhớ không còn nhớ nhung
So my longing is no longing longer Trả thù duyên kiếp long đong, trả thù ai đã bội vong, gương đã vỡ sao lành mà mong.
To avenge misfortune in love, avenge someone ungrateful, the mirror once broken, how can it be fixed with only hopes
For my taste, there is no better interpreter of Vietnamese song than Trang Mỹ Dung. She sings with a full, dark timbre and phrases exquisitely. This song's melody opens in a way that is very foreign to Western ears. It is sung outside of the Western equal tempered scale and instead the pitches are bent toward the equidistant seven note scale that influences the oán mode (my observation owes a great deal to the fine musicologist and composer, Lê Tuấn Hùng). In an equi-distant seven note scale, the third and sixth scale degrees that open the verse (Trời ơi anh đã xa mất tôi...) are neutral, neither major or minor, but in between the major and minor western scale degrees. This inflection that clashes with the diatonic setting of the harmony adds intensity to the emotional impact of the song. Other than the opening of the song's verses, these two degrees are little used in the song.
The opening epigraph is a very famous couple written by "H.M.T." - the colonial era poet Hàn Mặc Tử. Likely known to all Vietnamese listeners, these words that conclude his poem "Lang thang" (Wandering) provide the framework of the songs message. Phạm Duy created a famous song - "Giết người trong mộng" (Killing Someone in My Dreams) - based on the same poem. The poet is driven to dissolution, hardship and hunger by the lingering memory of an ideal love.
"Phản bội" also incorporates the image that opens the Southern folksong "Lý chim quyên." Here are the lyrics and their translation from Phạm Duy's book, Musics of Vietnam (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1975). Phạm Duy writes that "lý" means villagers song. It contrasts with 'hò" - folksongs that arise from work. "Lý chim quyên" could be translated as "Village song of the cuckoo." Phạm Duy's lyrics are written in a strong southern dialect - quyên becomes khuyền.
Lý chim quyên
Chim khuyền guầy
Ăn trái guây
Nhẵn lồng ơi con bạn mình ơi
Thia lia guầy
Quen chậu guây
Vợ chồng
Vợ chồng ở con bạn mình hơi!
The nightingale
eats
longans,
My friend!
The paradise-fish
inhabiting the bowl
like husband and wife
get accustomed to each other
Viết Chung made an arrangement of this folksong, sung by Thanh Tuyền) that is seemingly based on Phạm Duy's interpretation.
Phạm Duy's transcription includes padding syllables - chữ đệm like ơi,guây (quây), bạn mình - that turn a couplet of lục bát folk poetry into a song. Lục bát means six-eight and refers to the six and eight syllable division. The sixth syllable of the upper line sets the rhyme for the sixth syllable of the following line (lồng - chồng), an aid to memorization.
Chim quyên ăn trái nhãn lồng,
Thia lia quen chậu, vợ chồng quen hơi.
I would translate the couplet:
The cuckoo eats the longan,
Siamese fighting fish get used to their jar, wife and husband get used to the air.
Hơi means air, but also atmosphere, odor and also implies vitality. The cá thia lia is also known as the cá xiêm. It really is a fighting fish, but the lesson of the song is that within the bounds of a jar it gives up on those fighting tendencies. The word "quen" means to come to know and to grow accustomed to. A husband and wife might also have a tendency to fight within the bounds of "air" - the shared air of a household, but they grow accustomed to one another and hopefully arrive at some kind of harmony in their relationship. Folk wisdom suggests that - the reality of rural Vietnam was that often families decided who got married to who. The future bride and groom had little to say and had to work things out themselves. This, I suppose, was as natural and inevitable as the cuckoo bird's hunger for longan fruit and fighting fish giving up the fight. It is interesting that the bird appears to live in the open and chooses what to eat, while the fish and people and constrained and make the best of things.
The broken relationship started with a pinky promise - ngoéo tay nhau. It sounds like this relationship had conflict (fighting fish) but she believed it was solid and it obviously meant a great deal to her. He became an ingrate who betrayed their "karmic" tie. Like Vinh Sử's song "Sao muốn giết người yêu," the song's narrator thinks murderous thoughts about their former beloved. In the one case, these thoughts were more like a recurring daydream, in "Phản bội" she wants him wiped away from within her dreams.
The sheet music cover at the top of this entry has a few interesting details. It shows the head of a woman singing that transforms as the image descends into an anatomical drawing. Line segments appear to connect organs of the body to attributes of the musical scale shown on a staff skewing upward. The "hỏi" tone in phản is simply presented as a comma. The "nặng" tone in bội is a Playboy bunny symbol (representing the former lover's dalliances?) and the circumflex (＾) on top of the word is shaped into a leaping fish (a fighting fish?).
Biết nhớ em nhiều cũng thế thôi
Nhớ em em có nhớ gì tôi
Từ nay vui với đời sương gió
Vui với rượu nồng với chính tôi.
recited poem:
Knowing I miss you so much, it's just that
Missing you, do you miss me at all?
From now I'll be happy with a life of rain and dew
Happy with hard liquor, with me, myself.
HABANERA
Tôi không còn thương nhớ người yêu.
I no longer care about or miss my lover.
Từ em cô dâu sính lễ qua cầu.
Since you, the bride with your wedding presents, crossed the bridge.
Nỡ quên kỷ niệm ngày thơ ấu, trò chơi "cưới hỏi" đầy yêu dấu, tôi chú rể em làm cô dâu...
How could you forget our childhood memories, our "engagement" toys full of affection, me, the groom, you, the bride...
Tôi không còn thương nhớ người ta.
I no long care about or miss somebody.
Tìm vui thâu đêm quán nhỏ tay ngà.
Search for happiness the long night at small taverns, ivory hands
Với ai chẳng lần mình quen biết, với ai chẳng cần gì tha thiết, tôi quên người quên cả chính tôi.
Whoever I'm with at no time will I know her, will I need sincerity, I've forgotten her, forgotten even myself.
Thuở xa xưa, tôi ngây thơ nghĩ rằng, nếu khi vắng em rồi, chắc là tôi sẽ khó sống.
Long ago and faraway, I naively thought that, if you had left my life, probably it would be hard for me to go on.
Để bây giờ em cho tôi hiểu đời, tôi đã mất em rồi, thì tôi cũng vậy mà thôi.
So now you've showed me how to understand life, I lost you already, it's the all the same with me.
Nên không còn thương nhớ đầy vơi.
So I can no longer care or miss any more or any less.
Giờ không ai yêu cũng chẳng yêu người.
Now no one loves me, I don't love her at all.
Chỉ vui với cuộc đời đây đó, chỉ vui với bạn bè sương gió, tôi không còn thương nhớ đến ai.
I'll just be happy with that kind of life, a friend of mist and wind, I'll not longer care or miss any one.
Vinh Sử, "Không còn nhớ người yêu" (Sài Gòn: [Tác giả], [1973]).
The sheet music cover for "Không còn nhớ người yêu" is remarkable. A pretty young woman is in the midst of a striptease while in the lower left corner a dim face with what can only be described as a shit-faced smile is foregrounded.
Is this the "đời sương gió" represented in the song lyrics? Sương gió - literally dew and wind - suggests exposure to the elements, meaning that one has experienced great hardship. In Lam Phương's song "Kiếp nghèo" "gió sương" describes a difficult itinerant life. The man on the cover of "Không còn nhớ người yêu" looks like he is feeling no pain.
A cute flashback to a couple of little kids acting out their future wedding engagement sets the song's scenario. The pair obviously knew each other well and felt friendship and affection for each other. We don't know why he lost her. Of course, feelings change over time. In other songs, the young woman could either be pressed into a marriage arrangement by her parents or tempted by a rich suitor. Or maybe she just fell in love with somebody else? There is also the possibility that the male protagonist of this song is just a bum. His subsequent life choices suggest that.
The lyrics of the song do portray his affection for her as having been sincere and losing her is a staggering loss. These words present his dissipation a little more subtly than the sheet music's cover. "Tìm vui thâu đêm quán nhỏ tay ngà." He looks for fun at small club, with "tay ngà" - ivory hands - i.e., the fairer sex. These are delicate, well-cared for hands. It takes money to "thâu đêm" / spend the whole night with a woman like that. Such extravagantly self-destructive behavior may have been autobiographical as this article suggests.
The hallmark of Vinh Sử's songs of this time is the overly dramatic reaction to life's setbacks. "Trời ghen má đỏ" shows a woman feeling lost and forlorn at the sudden death of her newly wed husband. In "Sao muốn giết người yêu," in his agony of losing the person he loves most imagines killing her. "Khi không" shows the despair that comes with a lover's sudden betrayal.
Vinh Sử credited Chế Huyền Trần as a co-author. One of his many pennames, the surname Chế suggests someone of Chăm ethnicity. Chế Linh introduced this song and many other Vinh Sử songs arguably launching and sustaining his career.
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