Song 'Returning to Lotus Village': Offering You My Unwavering Faith

During a business trip to visit President Ho Chi Minh's hometown, where he had many childhood memories, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Construction Newspaper Tao Khanh Hung was overwhelmed with emotion and moved. The journalist confided that returning to Uncle Ho's hometown meant returning to his roots - the place where he was educated and learned about his revolutionary ethics and ideology. And this was what inspired him to write the musical work "Returning to Sen Village" - a work with the folk song melody of Nghe An.

Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Construction Newspaper Tao Khanh Hung - author of the song "Ve Lang Sen".

We returned to Uncle Ho's hometown, Sen village.

The image of Uncle Ho's hometown Sen village was gently inserted by journalist Tao Khanh Hung right from the first verse. "We return to Uncle Ho's hometown Sen village" carries the profound meaning of a child returning to the place that holds Uncle Ho's childhood memories. The verses and images in the song are full of emotions.

Journalist Tao Khanh Hung shared: "Returning to Sen Village" is a song that was born after I and a group of cadres and reporters from Construction Newspaper had a field trip to offer incense to President Ho Chi Minh (July 2022), in Sen Village, Uncle Ho's hometown. The beautiful scenery here and the familiar artifacts associated with his childhood in the simple thatched house with bamboo walls inspired me to come up with simple, authentic but rich poetic ideas (lyrics).

Delegation of officials and reporters of Construction Newspaper offered incense to President Ho Chi Minh at Kim Lien special national relic site (Nghe An).

CWe returned to Uncle Ho's hometown, Sen village/ A simple thatched house with bamboo walls/ A row of red hibiscus flowers leading the way/ Grapefruit trees laden with branches, purple rows of sweet potatoes.These are authentic images that any Vietnamese person can feel when visiting Uncle Ho's hometown. Simple thatched roofs, rows of red hibiscus flowers, grapefruit trees with heavy branches... were carefully selected by the journalist and put into the song's lyrics.

Why didn't the author choose "lotus" - a flower that has been planted a lot in the Kim Lien relic site, and has become the typical "national flower", to express what about Uncle Ho's life like other musicians have expressed, but instead used the image of hibiscus to describe? Obviously, the author consciously "stays away" from the stereotypes and images that have been used by many senior musicians.

Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Construction Newspaper Tao Khanh Hung discussed with Lieutenant Colonel - Meritorious Artist Huong Giang about the song's performance before recording.

“The hibiscus row here is an actual image in the Kim Lien National Special Relic Site leading us to Uncle Ho's house. In this song, I used the image of the red hibiscus row leading the way, not the lotus flower, to create something different. The song was released on the occasion of the 133rd anniversary of Uncle Ho's birth, expressing the respect and gratitude of the People and our Party to beloved President Ho Chi Minh; at the same time offering him the steadfast belief in the leadership of the Party and State in the cause of national construction and innovation" - journalist Tao Khanh Hung shared.

When composing this song, it is impossible not to mention Nam Dan district in particular and Nghe An province in general - the homeland with a rich revolutionary tradition, the birthplace of President Ho Chi Minh and many talents for the country such as: Nguyen Truong To, Phan Boi Chau, Ho Tung Mau, Le Hong Phong... And the people of Nam Dan, Nghe An are very industrious and hard-working in production, steadfast, steadfast in following the Party.Oh Nam Dan, the sacred place that gave birth to many talented people/ The Soviet Union fought a heroic resistance war/ One sun, two dews built a season of happiness...

Rich in folk music

The song “Returning to Sen Village” by journalist Tao Khanh Hung was released on the occasion of Uncle Ho’s birthday, divided into 2 parts. The first part is a narrative, describing Uncle Ho’s hometown Sen Village with a vivid picture of the countryside. The second part is a surging chorus, the emotions are pushed to a high level. Especially the chorusWe offer you our steadfast faith/ Ho Chi Minh, your name glorifies the country- are beautiful, captivating, poignant and heroic lyrics; creating a special impression in the hearts of the public, expressing respect for beloved Uncle Ho and sending to him the steadfast belief of the children of Vietnam who are carrying out his last wishes.

According to journalist Tao Khanh Hung, a musical work is the result of serious artistic labor and the intelligence of an entire team: composer, arranger, and singer. “With the song “Ve Lang Sen” - a political song, the lyrics and melody must not be dry but soft, touching the hearts of people, conveying the author's intentions. For that reason, the group met to discuss the content of the lyrics and agreed on the melody, musical instruments... to be appropriate. The song uses many musical instruments: bamboo flute, zither, monochord and electronic instrument, creating the sound of folk songs Vi and Giam" - journalist Tao Khanh Hung said.

People say, music is like a connecting thread, not only bringing joy, nurturing positive emotions but also bringing strangers closer together. For journalist Tao Khanh Hung, music is a friend. There are many things that cannot be shared with anyone, so music helps to speak for us. Music makes us love people and our country more, music is also the place to open our hearts, satisfy our creative passions and spread love for our homeland and country. Therefore, every trip of journalism is an opportunity for him to experience, accumulate knowledge, and cultivate feelings about every part of the country. And from there, cherish the love for each place, lyrics, and image to one day create a new song.

With his dedication and passion, it is understandable that the musical works - the brainchildren of journalist Tao Khanh Hung - were loved by the public immediately after their release, such as:Returning to Sen Village, Proud of a Young Teacher, In the Mist of Sa Pa, Beloved Truong Sa, Ha Giang in Me, Muong Te, My Hometown, Tea Fragrance, Returning to the Windy Capital, Hanoi's Love, Returning to the Source of Light, Returning to Ha Nam, Dear...

Lieutenant Colonel - Meritorious Artist Huong Giang is performing a song in the recording studio.

Among them, “About Sen village"This is the first song that journalist Tao Khanh Hung wrote about Uncle Ho, but it has truly touched people's hearts with its beautiful, sweet, and profound lyrics and melody, with the sound of love ballads and folk songs, making anyone who listens feel like they are returning to Uncle Ho's hometown, Sen village.

The person the author trusted to perform the song was Meritorious Artist - Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huong Giang - a singer from Nghe An with a clear voice, good vocal technique, and folk songs about the Central region were performed very successfully by the singer. Huong Giang once worked at the Military Region 9 Art Troupe and is famous for her role as Ms. Su in the play "Two Mothers" by the late musician An Thuyen. Lieutenant Colonel - Meritorious Artist Huong Giang is currently working at the Vocal Music Department (Military University of Culture and Arts).