"A lap Viet Nam" is embroiled in controversy over its lyrics, what does Dong Thien Duc say?

In June 2023, the song Mot vong Viet Nam composed by musician Dong Thien Duc was released by Tung Duong on the YouTube platform.

After a year, the song attracted 18 million views, spreading on many social networking platforms. The song was also performed by Tung Duong on many large and small stages, receiving support from a large audience.

The song "A Round of Vietnam" by Dong Thien Duc, sung by Tung Duong, recently got into controversy over its lyrics (Photo: character's Facebook).

However, Mot Lap Viet Nam also got into controversy over its lyrics. The reason is that some viewers felt "awkward" with the lyrics: "Vietnamese people have brown skin, black eyes, fragrant and indomitable like lotus branches".

In addition, the audience also wondered why a song about Vietnam ended with English lyrics. Viewers left comments under the video recording Tung Duong's performance.

Sharing with Dan Tri reporter, musician Dong Thien Duc said that he composed Mot vong Viet Nam in 45 minutes, the song had 3 drafts but he was not satisfied with any of them. When he decided to stop writing, Dong Thien Duc thought he would write the song from the perspective of young people - it took him 3 months to have the complete version of the song.

"Figuratively, I used the word "brown skin" because in the beginning of the song, I mentioned my mother. Maybe before she gave birth to me and my siblings, my mother had yellow skin, but through the hard days, sleeping under the sun, blocking the wind and rain to raise us, her skin became dark brown and tanned. Putting the word "brown skin" in the song is the thing I respect most about my parents and all Vietnamese people," Dong Thien Duc explained.

Regarding the addition of the English ending, the musician explained that A Round of Vietnam is the theme song for a travel and culinary program that specializes in introducing the beauty of the homeland and Vietnamese people to foreign friends. Therefore, the program wants to add an English sentence to the song to convey the song's message to international tourists more easily.

"At first, when I heard this suggestion from the program, I objected more strongly than the audience. Suddenly my song was "interspersed" with half English and half Vietnamese. Moreover, this is a song about the homeland.

But thinking back, developing the country and integrating is not a personal matter. I will choose to express it through songs," the male musician said.

Dong Thien Duc shared that the reason for his songs to have good lyrics and philosophy is because he reads a lot of books and has the ability to use words flexibly.

"In high school, I was quite good at literature and never copied the teacher's sample essays but analyzed them from my own perspective. Gradually, I developed my own writing style without realizing it...", Dong Thien Duc shared about his vocabulary in songs.

He said that as an amateur musician, he had to learn from many people. He taught himself through the internet, books, and from his predecessors.

He also learned many musical skills from his wife, singer Le Thuy Anh (runner-up of Bolero Idol 2018) to improve himself.

When Dan Tri reporter asked: "What do you think if someone calls you the "king of hits" (famous songs, known by many people, with high sales)?", Dong Thien Duc frankly said: "Many people will like a certain title because they are trained through formal schools. Career and achievements are what they want to conquer.

I'm different, I'm very afraid if someone gives me a nice title. I want people to only call me a composer. If I'm called a noble title, what if there's a song that the audience doesn't like, then what if I go from being a musician to... a songwriter?

Musician Dong Thien Duc - author of a series of famous songs such as: "A round of Vietnam", "Tomorrow people get married", "Who is loyal forever"... (Photo: Provided by the character).

Since 2010, he had the hit song "Them mot lan dau" performed by the group HKT, followed by many other small hits such as: Thay thay, Nguoi da yeu ai, Dau be vi ai, Co don se toi hon ... so he is also used to the song becoming a phenomenon, loved by many audiences.

According to Dong Thien Duc, he is satisfied with everything that his career, audience, and ancestors have given him. His income from music is quite stable, except for the song Mot Vong Viet Nam , he does not collect royalties.

"I'm a strange person. If it's not my money, I won't pick it up if I see it fall. I think it's enough," he confided.

The male musician also confided that he "does not have star disease": "I know that bragging and lack of modesty will make me fade away the fastest. I don't want anyone to put me too high and when I fall, I just hope no one will push me down...".

Dong Thien Duc's real name is Dang Huu Duc, born in 1987 in a family with no artistic tradition in Binh Dinh. After leaving the programming profession, Dong Thien Duc gradually made his mark in the music industry with a series of songs such as: Tomorrow people get married, Who is loyal forever, Locked separation , Them mot lan dau, Thay thay, Sao cung duoc, Co don ke tot hon, Noi dau tho xa, Dau vi vi ai, Sao ta nguoc loi...

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giai-tri/mot-vong-viet-nam-vuong-tranh-cai-ve-ca-tu-dong-thien-duc-noi-gi-20240618011318521.htm