The Hien Music - music of passion

If everyone writes about winter, everyone writes about autumn, and everyone writes about love... then who writes about soldiers? Those who have forgotten themselves for the country, for the peace of all of us? Yet there is still a musician with many songs about soldiers that live forever: musician The Hien.

If everyone chooses an easy job in air-conditioned studios, on brightly lit stages with grand orchestras and cheering audiences... then who will come to the people in faraway lands, in the cold frontiers... to bring their singing to warm the hearts of many? Yet there is still one person who always devotes himself to every path, no matter how bumpy, stormy, or full of passion: singer-songwriter The Hien.

Musician The Hien (1955 - 2025)

PHOTO: THVL

Writing these lines, I suddenly remember a passage from the song "A Lifetime, a Forest" by musician Tran Long An:

"Everyone chooses the easy job

Who will bear the hardship?

Everyone was young once.

Also thought about my life

It's not like luck or misfortune

It is not clear or murky

Is it you, is it me?

Truth belongs to everyone

Refuse to live a small life

Please sing about my friends

"People who live for everyone"

Yes! You chose your own path. A path that not everyone has the courage to choose and commit to: Living for everyone!

Sing about you

I also knew him from a song about soldiers - Singing about him . At that time, I was just a kid in the shock art troupe of a remote coastal high school. We appeared in an art competition with four acoustic guitars and sang Singing about him passionately and harmoniously. And then that performance conquered the jury, winning the high prize of the competition. Since then, the memory of Singing about him has always followed me on my musical path later, as one of the brothers of the generation of senior musicians full of enthusiasm, love of life and ready to choose the thorny path, bringing songs and love to everyone in the most difficult conditions, such as remote areas, borders, islands.

Musician The Hien is loved and remembered by the public with his image associated with a conical hat, army backpack, guitar, and specializing in singing songs about soldiers.

PHOTO: DIEN QUAN

In the context of Vietnamese music in the years 1985 - 1990, although Hat Ve Anh is a song about soldiers, it quickly attracted and captivated young people by the appeal of its rhythm, harmony, and youthful enthusiasm. It reminds us of Hotel California by Eagles, Have You Ever Seen The Rain by CCR with its warm, full, and energetic guitar sound. Wherever it is, in a drinking table, camp nights, community activities, or on a big stage, Hat Ve Anh resonates with neat rhythms, beautiful harmonies, simple third-range parts, and a strummed guitar sound that easily touches people's hearts. Later, I heard that in order to get the authenticity from the emotional lyrics of Hat Ve Anh , musician The Hien did not hesitate to immerse himself in the real life of soldiers on the northern battlefield in 1983, with a simple meal, a cup of tea on a cold night, sharing hardships with them.

Of course, his compositional legacy is not only Hat Ve Anh , but also many other works that live forever in the hearts of the public. But for me, Hat Ve Anh is a rather important turning point in the career and reputation of musician The Hien. It covers a wide area, spreading to every nook and cranny. It is sung the most at every art festival. It is most deeply imprinted in my mind, and I am one of the next generation, more or less influenced by his generation: music of enthusiasm and love of life! Looking at his smile when he holds the guitar, I thought this man did not know what sadness was. But in fact, no matter what the circumstances, life is a festival. And enthusiasm is always a recognizable characteristic of him.

I knew him! But it wasn’t until later, when the Music Copyright Protection Center organized a year-end party for its member musicians, that I had a chance to chat briefly with him. Just briefly! But I still remember it clearly.

"We always follow and care about young musicians. We always hope that the next generation will be better, more interesting, and have more valuable works than our generation. We are never jealous of anything! Don't worry!"

I listened to him in silence. I suspected that there were some young people in my generation who could not understand the older generation, or had unintentional misunderstandings. That made him say that to me. But for me, I always cherished and was influenced by a passionate older generation. The music of a generation always brought love for life.

Music, after all, you have to climb from the first step, through hundreds of steps. Then one day, when you have reached the temple on the hilltop, you will realize that the previous generations are the steps for you to reach the sacred temple today! Thank you and the previous generations, with a deep gratitude!

There is a river that has just returned to the sea, after depositing all the silt for the fields in its homeland: musician The Hien

PHOTO: DIEN QUAN

There is a river that just flows into the sea

And then music, after all, each person chooses their own path. But his path is days of overcoming thousands of thorns, overcoming many rapids to understand, share and sympathize with the people who are silently sacrificing day and night for the community, for the country. There is a river that has just returned to the sea, after having deposited all the silt for the fields in its homeland: musician The Hien.

Finally, I would like to borrow a song by musician Tran Long An to express my respect:

"The tree has been growing since ancient times

On the hill is very dry

Do trees understand why?

Birds often come back to nest

And you are like a cluster of orchids growing

From those old tree branches..”

Farewell! The ancient branch has just completed a mission!

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/am-nhac-the-hien-am-nhac-cua-long-nhiet-huyet-185251004121706669.htm