Sing the song "Hung Vuong" to remember his merits

Every year on the 10th day of the third lunar month is the Hung King's death anniversary.

When mentioning the founder of Vietnam, I remember the song “Hung Vuong” by musician Tham Oanh. This is one of the heroic epics, historical epics, country songs, country songs, ancestors songs… among the songs of “pre-war” musicians who were once indebted to the Fatherland such as: Luu Huu Phuoc, Hoang Quy, Do Nhuan, Van Cao, Pham Duy, To Vu, Tham Oanh…

Tham Oanh, a music professor, was a pioneer in the period when Vietnamese modern music had just broken away from Western and Chinese music... to write Vietnamese music with a strong national identity.

It is said that he is very strict with some "new" musicians. The music sent to him for evaluation, not to mention the lyrics, melody, and "square" rules (Carrure), he rejected in the first round. Such a "judgment", like Tham Oanh!

Musician Tham Oanh wrote about 50 works, but not all of his songs are “listenable”, he is very picky about his listeners, because his music is “hard to listen to”. Music lovers listen to his music through the voices of Thanh Lan, Mai Huong, Kim Tuoc, Tam Van, Ha Thanh, Duy Trac, Anh Ngoc… with songs: Gio hoan ca, Nho nhung, Toi ban duong to, Thieu phu Nam Xuong, Toa mieu co, Song nuoc vien phuong, Xa cach van truong, Co hang hoa, Nang ban, Vo chong ngau, Chieu tuong nho, Vuong to, and Hung Vuong…

I remember around 1993, I bought a video tape “Epic of Heroes”, this was also the first time I heard the original “historical songs”, which I thought had been lost over time. The video tape staged mountains, rivers, borders… quite elaborately, including historical songs of a famous time such as: Ai Chi Lang, Hoi Hoi Dien Hong, Bach Dang Giang (Luu Huu Phuoc), Bong co lau (Hoang Quy), Ngay Xua (To Vu), Go Dong Da (Van Cao), Hung Vuong (Tham Oanh). As for the song “Hung Vuong”, unlike other musicians, Tham Oanh only used the two words “Hung Vuong” and did not use any other words to talk about the merits of King Hung.

The above mentioned senior musicians contributed to the war with many songs praising the Vietnamese people, who, despite being small, are a heroic nation that has defeated the invading army and defended the country since its founding. Although music is not as powerful as modern weapons, it is a source of spiritual encouragement for thousands of people fighting on the battlefield.

The historical epic of musician Tham Oanh and some historical songs mentioned above are borderless songs, rising tides that break the chains of slavery, they are also the "proud melodies" of our ancestors who shed blood for the day of peace, and the song "Hung Vuong" in particular we sing as a word of gratitude "the prosperity of the Southern country is thanks to the merits of Hung Vuong".

Tham Oanh was a “pre-war” musician, he was born in 1916 in Hanoi, in addition to his music, he also composed three musical plays: Quan giang ho, Ba Nha - Tu Ky, Doan ket la tuc dung. And, every year on Hung Vuong’s death anniversary, sing the song “Hung Vuong” - to be proud - our country has four thousand years of civilization: “… Four thousand years of civilization/ The Southern country is strong and prosperous thanks to the merits of Hung Vuong/ The brocade flowers of this country are built together/ For generations, it is glorious and majestic/ For generations, thanks to Hung Vuong, who founded this country for the people/ So that his descendants can gather and build a lasting foundation until now/ Vietnam is so bright/ Swearing to steadfastly build the Southern house/ Here are the descendants of Lac Hong from North to South/ Let us unite in one heart/ The Vietnamese country thanks to Hung Vuong will win forever/ The race will be strong and prosperous…”.

The “White Shirt Trio” performed this song in the video “Heroic Songs”, which sounded like words of “longing for the homeland” even though it was thousands of miles away. The history of four thousand years of civilization was wrapped up in a song of only a few minutes, and every year we sing “Hung Vuong” to silently remember his merits.

It would be a regrettable omission for Vietnamese music researchers and critics to forget musician Tham Oanh!

History, if not taught well or not interestingly, will become a dry, boring subject. To balance, instead of studying history, let's sing history!

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