Huong River - the river of music and poetry. Photo: Hoang Hai

The cool breeze woke up those who went out early. The city in the morning had an indescribable gentle beauty. The trees and leaves were gentle, the roads were gentle, and the Perfume River was so gentle. My friend and I stood on the balcony of Truong Tien Bridge, looking upstream. Far in front of us was a range of misty green mountains, overlapping with white clouds covering the tops. There, the mountains and clouds were one. Taking a deep breath of the cool, steamy air, my heart suddenly opened up, wanting to fly, fly with all the purity and clarity of the morning.

The green river below, in that vastness, I remember I once searched for “a purple flower”, “a bird falling” on this river. It was not my daydreaming but the lyrics of a song that took me to find that beautiful fairyland.

At that time, I had just graduated from school, was in the most beautiful youth of my life, full of dreams and aspirations. I was lucky to be an apprentice at Thua Thien Hue Radio Station. Honestly, at that time I did not fully appreciate the meaning of journalism, but the greatest joy was being able to go in and out of the building located in the most beautiful location in Hue, right next to Truong Tien Bridge (now a flower garden with a bronze statue of Phan Boi Chau).

The theme song of Thua Thien Hue Radio Station is the melody of the song “Little Spring”, music by Tran Hoan, poem by Thanh Hai. When I first joined the station, a senior (now gone to the white clouds) asked me very gently: “When you first joined the station, do you know the theme song of the station?”. Such a simple question, but I could not answer perfectly when the senior asked about the origin of that song, not just the melody I sang. And I went to find and then memorized the poem “Little Spring” by Thanh Hai in that “quiz to learn” situation.

There were afternoons when I sat by the window of the station, which opened towards the riverbank, looking at the river out there, each verse of the poem “Little Spring” seemed to appear before my eyes, shimmering on the river under the afternoon sunlight. I seemed to hear the sound of birds singing somewhere, even though I knew that there were no birdsongs in the deserted river, nor were there any purple flowers on the river, but somehow I felt like I had everything. “Growing in the middle of the green river/ A purple flower/ Oh lark/ Why are you singing so loudly/ Each sparkling drop falls/ I reach out to catch it.”

At that time, we, the students born in the late 60s and early 70s, grew up when the country was at peace, the youth were also excited about the new life, respected history and sent many beliefs and hopes for the future: "The country of four thousand years / Hard work and hardship / The country is like a star / Just keep moving forward / I am a singing bird / I am a flower branch / I join the chorus / A stirring low note". When we were in our twenties, reading such verses, singing such lyrics, we felt like a cool stream of water was poured into our souls, like a fertile field waiting to sow crops. And when we reached the verse "A small spring / Quietly offered to life / Even at the age of twenty / Even when our hair is gray", we told ourselves that "We will try to live a life worthy of this life, of this homeland". Looking back at our generation back then, many of my friends lived like “small springs, quietly giving to life” without regretting their choices in life. Choosing to stand on the side of love, choosing to stand on the side of silent dedication, “joining the chorus” to make “a stirring low note” like many others.

The poem “A Little Spring” was written by poet Thanh Hai when he was lying on his sickbed, in the last days of his life. The poem initially had no name, and was copied by the poet’s wife in a notebook. He passed away on December 15, 1980. The poem was later set to music by musician Tran Hoan and the song “A Little Spring” immediately became widely loved and was chosen as the theme song of Thua Thien Hue Radio Station (later Thua Thien Hue Radio and Television Station and now Hue Radio and Television Station). The poem and music have brought the soul of poet Thanh Hai to everyone, gentle and pure for nearly half a century and will forever remain on the trees, on the roads, on the rivers of Hue, because the last words are the passionate love for life and homeland of the son of Phong Dien, Pham Ba Ngoan (the birth name of poet Thanh Hai): "Spring we sing/ Nam Ai, Nam Binh verses/ Thousand miles of mountains and rivers/ Thousand miles of love/ The rhythm of Hue's land".

Xuan An

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/mua-xuan-nho-nho-151994.html