Famous singer Khanh Ly and the story of preparing for her departure

Famous singer Khanh Ly.

At 76, I live a peaceful life without demands or dreams.

How is your life now?

I closed the door, stayed at home to avoid the epidemic, and listened to the news of the epidemic in Vietnam. I was very worried and always followed the situation in my homeland.

I don't have much work now, I mostly stay at home. I have two four-legged "babies". Every day, I feed and put them to sleep; garden; do all the housework: cook, clean the house, wash dishes, do laundry...

I am living with my third daughter. Luckily, she is not married. Otherwise, her husband might not let her take care of her mother. (laughs)

I am very healthy. Thanks to not drinking, not using drugs, gambling, not going out much,... I am 76 years old and still in good health. I just have to pay attention to high blood sugar, it is quite dangerous! At my age, if you don't get this disease, you will get that disease.

I rarely hang out with old friends. Young people often come to my house to play music and listen to me tell old stories, and that's fun. When I meet old friends, they just keep worrying about everything from their husbands and children to their own problems. Well, it's better to make friends with young people!

- How did you live during the peak of the epidemic in the US?

I'm not afraid of getting the virus or dying. It's just that I'm afraid of such a strange death: being quarantined, dying quietly, not being able to see my children and grandchildren at the last minute, and being cremated or buried with a few others. I find those things too pitiful for a death.

-What have you changed since your husband passed away 6 years ago?

When he was alive, he took care of everything for me. When he passed away, I had to take care of everything myself and didn't know where to start. It was really hard. Luckily, I have a daughter to help me. At my age, I don't have many shows left. But I still have to take care of myself. Isn't that sad?

I am still sad and miss him, but I am not lonely. For over 40 years, wherever I went and whatever I did, he was always by my side. Now that he is gone, I don't want to go anywhere anymore. Partly because he often went out for work, I got used to staying home alone. I also know that out there are many people who care, share and love me, so I don't feel lonely.

Losing him is an irreplaceable loss in my life. But because I know my fate, I am content with my current life.

- How does age affect you?

I have changed in every way. My hair is no longer thick, my skin is tight, and my singing voice is not like when I was in my twenties. The only thing that has not changed is my heart. I believe in the saying "Parents give birth to children, God gives birth to their personalities". You can learn many things very well, but your personality is not. God gives birth to good friends, you cannot learn to be kinder or worse.

- Many older people I know are afraid of becoming forgetful and forgetting the things they cherish. What about you?

I know that there will come a time when I will forget everything. But in life, everyone will have many people and many things to forget. The more you remember, the more sadness, regret, and self-torture you will feel. Therefore, the more you remember, the more pain and suffering you will feel. Me too, the more I can forget, the better. I have lived a long life, gone through many ups and downs, sadness and joy, happiness and suffering, rich and poor,... forgetting a little will only help my heart feel lighter.

-What songs does she often hum?

I still sing Trinh Cong Son's songs.Like a farewell, A world to return to, Dust and sand,... Music goes with our age. When I was young, I used to singOld Diem, What age is left for me,... now if I sing again, maybe it's just to remind myself of my own memories or to send to the audience who want to live in their memories. I'm almost at the point of "going to another world".

Now, many people come to listen to me sing not because I sing well but because I am a part of their memories. They see me as they see a period of their life: peacetime, wartime, chaos, evacuation, poverty, suffering and happiness. They look at me, listen to me sing and remember everything. Therefore, I have confidants who understand me only through my singing.

I love my memories. Memories are like first love, unforgettable. And who knows, some viewers may see me as seeing their first love.

When I die, I want to leave my husband's ashes with him.

- In your long music career, from the young girl Mai "black" who only knew how to sing, naive about life to the famous singer Khanh Ly, what have you contemplated?

(laughs loudly) It's been a long time since I heard this name! When I was in school, my friends called me "black" Mai (Khanh Ly's real name is Nguyen Le Mai - PV) because I was really dark. I liked to sunbathe, walk on the hills or go to the forest in Da Lat so I wasn't as fair-skinned as my peers.

Next year, I will be 60 years old as a singer. I have learned from the long journey I have been through and call it fate. I have no talent, I do not sing well, I am not beautiful but I am destined to be loved. Having that fate is my luck.

I have given everything I have to life, to friends, to children,... but I have received more in return. What I have today is too much. In life, we should not put ourselves above others. When landslides occur, high mountains will collapse and low hills will remain the same. If anyone wants to compete to be a tall tree, I will only ask to be a weed. Even if I am burned, I will still grow back after a cool rain.

- Khanh Ly has no talent?

I'm not exaggerating! I've had so much in my life that now I know how to be content and not ask for anything more. Being content with one's lot is still hard to live, my friend! At this age, asking "What do you dream of, at fourteen, at fifteen?" (lyrics from the song "Age of Dreams" - Pham Duy) is a big death.

- Recently, Hoang Trang is a young singer who is considered to be your successor and Hong Nhung sings Trinh's music. But strangely, except for you, no one sings Trinh's music without being harshly judged, including Hong Nhung. What do you think?

Mr. Son has many muses as well as many people who sing his music better than me. They sing Mr. Son's music in a new style, while I sing simply, simply, and say what I say. Maybe the audience is used to my singing style, so what you said happened.

However, the river never stands still, and certainly does not flow backwards. I think we should accept the new as we accept a river that must naturally flow. The river flows out to the ocean as if to harmonize the new and the old, enriching the inherent identity. Music should not be about right or wrong. I like to listen to My Linh, Hong Nhung, Tran Thu Ha, Thu Phuong, Uyen Linh,... and many young people whose names I cannot remember.

Hoang Trang is a girl with a strong, youthful and passionate voice. Trang just doesn't love Trinh's music enough. She should love Trinh's music a little more and it will be much better. I think if the audience loves Trang because of Trinh's music, then she should just sing Trinh's music, there's no need to expand to other genres of music.

- What are your memories of Trinh Cong Son?

Mr. Son is the shadow under which I stand and enjoy the coolness of my life. Memories of him are still full in me. I vow not to do anything to harm Mr. Son. No one can affect him and nothing can replace the love I have for Mr. Son.

- At the end of your life, how did you prepare for your departure?

I don't wish to have a grand death like Phi Nhung. When God calls, I will go. If possible, let me go quietly in my sleep.

I told my friends that if I die, my children and Quang Thanh will take care of my funeral. I will be cremated and my ashes will be placed with my husband's. Whether they keep them in the house or spread them is up to my children to decide. I want Quang Thanh and my children to take care of it because I consider Thanh as my own child.

I hope everyone remembers me, just in a small corner of their hearts. Everyone remember that in that month and year, there was a person named Khanh Ly who passed through their lives.

As Mr. Son wrote:Those who come do not hope/ Those who die do not forget(Who will remain - Trinh Cong Son). No one wants to be born in this world. And not everyone who dies is forgotten. Isn't that why there are those who have passed away who live forever in everyone's hearts?

- What is bothering you right now?

Before I returned to Vietnam, my youngest son and his wife had a grandchild when our family was not well off. A mother’s only wish was for her children to live peacefully, so I thought if I were gone, who would love and care for them? Only when I saw that my children were all safe did I return to my country.

Right now, I have nothing to worry about. If I am gone, my children will still be alive, everyone will still live their lives as they always have. Tomorrow the sun will still rise, the night will still fall. So whether I live or die is not important.

- Are you going back to Vietnam?

I always want to return to Vietnam. I love Hanoi and Saigon, I love Notre Dame Cathedral, I love the peaceful book street and I love the bicycles full of flowers. I hope the epidemic will end soon so I can return to visit my friends and meet the audience who love me and I love them.