Voluntary

I was going to find another title for my article about the song Tu Van by the late musician Truong Quoc Khanh. But, after much deliberation and with several titles already written on paper, I finally chose the name of the song for my article. And, I think, perhaps there is no title more suitable for my article than Tu Van.

Tu Nguyet is the pure, beautiful ideal song of a young generation, of generations of Vietnamese youth. In the struggle against foreign invaders and traitors yesterday; in the cause of building and protecting the country today, Tu Nguyet is still passionate about noble dedication. The lyrics are as beautiful as poetry, the melody is sometimes passionate and calm, sometimes soaring and immense, imbued with lyricism and heroism, Tu Nguyet deserves to be ranked among the great songs of the revolution.

Illustration: LE NGOC DUY

Born in the struggle movement of the youth, students, and pupils in the South during the years of fighting against the American imperialists, Tu Van is both a love song filled with the desire for peace and an epic of the uprising of those who sacrificed for national independence and freedom. The students at that time affectionately called Truong Quoc Khanh the Dove Musician. Yes, the dove, the symbol of peace, flutters its wings in his song.

If I were a bird, I would be a white dove.

First of all, it is the voluntary incarnation into the image of a symbol of peace. Peace is the greatest aspiration, the eternal aspiration of the Vietnamese people. The country has gone through many wars, suffered countless pain and loss; a lifetime of too much war, I cling to the bed, cling to the mat waiting for you as Huu Thinh wrote in his poem, there is nothing more precious than peace.

Of course, the desire for peace will not become a reality when every Vietnamese person silently watches the footprints of foreign expeditions without doing anything. We must stand up and fight against the invaders and traitors under the light of justice. We must continue to devote ourselves by voluntarily joining the revolutionary army, by passionate love for our homeland, by sacrificing for the Fatherland without calculation.

If I were a flower, I would be a sunflower.

If I were a cloud, I would be a warm cloud.

If I were human, I would die for my country.

Beautiful, familiar images, evoking many associations about the Party, ideals; about life, humanity and, last but not least, the voluntary dedication to the homeland. These images sublimate with the musical notes, weaving a majestic melody of a time that still sparkles and is warm today.

A sunflower follows the sun's rays, a warm cloud in the vast blue sky, a consciousness devoted to the origin is still not unfamiliar with the future. Like a ray of light shining from a tragic memory, like a melody firmly preserved from yesterday's message. Voluntary, voluntary and voluntary... follow each other in an unbroken flow of the past and present, of the past and the present, of the past and the future.

And here, the beautiful, very beautiful movement of a patriotic artist's soul, more precisely of a whole generation of patriots getting up and going, getting up and going with beloved compatriots along the length of the country from South to North.

As a bird, I will spread my soft wings

From South to North, many news are connected.

We should remember, this was the period when the country was divided into two at the Ben Hai River (Quang Tri), but in the hearts of patriots, North and South were still one, mountains still connected to mountains, rivers still connected to rivers, unifying. Voluntarily flying high with the soft wings of the embodiment of peace, overcoming countless hardships and dangers to connect the South with the North.

“Northern day, Southern night” was the situation of many people at that time and the white dove volunteered to be the messenger of love to erase the vast separation. The light of hope was lit from the fire of the heart, creating miraculous flights of youth, of the nation determined to fight the enemy to regain the country.

Voluntarily bring love of life to everyone, beautiful as a flower blooming in the cool dawn dew, its fragrance blending into thousands of hearts yearning for peace. That romantic space captivates our hearts, pure and peaceful like a dream in our chest. A dream carrying the word peace!

As a flower, I bloom love in the morning

Together with thousands of hearts intoxicated with peace.

Voluntarily embarking on the ideal flight path on heroic and romantic wings. Like warm clouds following the wind of the times flying across the sky of the Fatherland. Each mountain and river carries the heroic spirit of thousands of years, adding energy to the current generation. The immense flow of history supports the boat of the nation but also exists in each individual. Each Vietnamese child voluntarily embarks on the path of justice, repelling foreign invaders, and destroying traitors like their ancestors for thousands of years. Patriotism multiplies patriotism, heroic spirit multiplies heroic spirit, never running out according to the law of existence and development of this Fatherland. Listen:

As a cloud, I fly across the sky with the wind

That ancient hero should continue his words.

And, on the revolutionary path, how proud and moved is it that the country has children who are willing to sacrifice, voluntarily sacrifice for the Fatherland. That is no longer strange; it is truly mysterious but it is also extremely simple, close like the Vietnamese people who fight the enemy, write poems and sing:

As a human, please once when lying down

Looking at the brothers standing next to the flag.

How many people have voluntarily laid down their lives like that; their deaths have inspired bright and heroic spirit for comrades, friends, contemporary generations, and future generations. Live once and die only once. Live for the Fatherland, die for the Fatherland, serene and peaceful like a dove, loyal and steadfast like a sunflower, gentle and wandering like a warm cloud, indomitable and passionate like a flag.

And, shining brighter than all, as a Human being with a capital letter, living and dying not only for himself, for each of himself, but always integrating and transforming into the sublime, vast thing, that is the homeland, the beloved Fatherland. The flag never falls even though generations of people have fallen as an eternal symbol of patriotism, of immortality.

Today's youth generation still often sings "Tu nguyen" by Truong Quoc Khanh. Many people still remember musician Bo cau, a son of the homeland of Don Thuan, Trang Bang, Tay Ninh . In the movement "Sing for my compatriots" during the years of fighting against the US, Truong Quoc Khanh was the Deputy Head of the Saigon Student Art Troupe (the head of the troupe was musician Ton That Lap). He passed away on June 23, 1999 after leaving the country beautiful songs, including the extremely famous "Tu nguyen". The lyrics and melody of "Tu nguyen" still resonate:

If I were a bird, I would be a white dove.

If I were a flower, I would be a sunflower.

If I were a cloud, I would be a warm cloud.

If I were human, I would die for my country...

People remember musician Truong Quoc Khanh as if remembering an unforgettable time, as if to strengthen faith in the nation's future and also to pay tribute to those who have fallen but still watch their brothers stand up and raise the flag high.

Nguyen Huu Quy

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/tu-nguyen-188127.htm