Hanoi - a diverse and endless source of inspiration in music

65 years since the day Van Cao's March to Hanoi was published (1949); 60 years, the late musician's dreams and imaginations in the song about a day when the country is peaceful and independent, troops march to the capital, and families reunite have become reality. Since then, the heroic melody of March to Hanoi: "The army marches like waves/Layers of troops march" has resounded regularly on every occasion of the Liberation of the Capital, and throughout the history of Hanoi's fighting and victory.

Before Tien ve Ha Noi, Nguoi Ha Noi by Nguyen Dinh Thi can be considered one of the milestones, opening the stream of songs about Hanoi during the resistance war. The song was born in early 1947, when the resistance war against the French had just broken out a few days ago. Nguyen Dinh Thi's epic work gathered the thousand-year-old spirit of Thang Long, the seething fighting spirit of the Hanoi people in the early days of the resistance against the French as well as the gallantry that cannot be lost in the midst of wartime life.

Through two resistance wars, Hanoi transformed itself with many ups and downs. It was a heroic, resilient city amidst the days of fierce destruction by American bombs, recorded in Vu Thanh's Song of Hanoi, the optimism and belief in victory in Hanoi, the belief and hope of Phan Nhan. It was also an ancient, elegant city in Tran Quang Loc's Is It You, Autumn in Hanoi?

The inspiration of praise is more evident in works written during peacetime. That is Hanoi in autumn "still green, blue sky and clouds" by Vu Thanh (1981), and Remembering Hanoi by Hoang Hiep in 1984.

Hanoi is a source of inspiration for many generations of musicians. Photo: Le Thi Thanh Nhan.

However, writing about Hanoi is not only inspired by history and praise. There are songs that are formed from very private emotions, originating from a deep love for the capital.

Phu Quang is a musician who has created a very unique Hanoi. Hanoi of mossy streets, street corners, tilted tiled roofs, tree branches, leaves, mist, silent nights... A Hanoi wandering in early winter, shivering in the cold, swaying with nostalgia... "Some people like love to be grand, to shout loudly "I love you" - for example. Some people don't need to speak, just holding hands is enough for a woman to understand that she is loved very much", the musician said. With Hanoi, Phu Quang held hands, touched hair, and sometimes just silently "wandered forever on the streets" to watch. "Em oi Ha Noi pho", "Silent night of Hanoi", "Dreaming of a far away place"... were born from the subtle emotions, full of narrative of a person who is crazy about Hanoi.

For Phu Quang, Hanoi is also a memory. Most of his good songs about this city were born during the decades he spent away from home. "I only write about Hanoi when I can't stand it anymore. It may be good, it may not be, but there is definitely truth in it. I left Hanoi for Saigon because I wanted to find something new, and because at that time there were also sad things I wanted to say goodbye to. But after only three months, I longed to return. But life has its fate, 25 years later I returned to Hanoi. When I returned here, I saw that I was right. Hanoi is like my home, it may not be as luxurious as a hotel, not as magnificent as a capital. But my first love, the first joys and sorrows of my life are also here. I love Hanoi, such an extreme love that when I looked at a leaf, in a moment of madness I thought the leaves in Hanoi were greener than elsewhere," Phu Quang confessed. The musician lived in Hanoi from the age of 5 to 37, then moved to Ho Chi Minh City and returned to Hanoi in recent years.

Phu Quang loves Hanoi passionately and that love is reflected in most of his compositions. Photo: Hai Ba.

The lingering sadness in Phu Quang's love songs about Hanoi is explained by him as the sadness of someone far from home. "Hanoi on the day of return is my dream when I'm far from home. I borrowed the verse of poet Doan Thanh Tung: 'Hurry back, hurry to leave', because it fits my mood. Every time I visit Hanoi, I stay for at least a month, but every time I feel like I'm leaving too quickly. Because I miss it, I crave it more than I thought."

Or like the song "Em oi Ha Noi pho", Phu Quang said: "When I had been in Saigon for half a year, I missed Hanoi so much. Phan Vu read me a poem with several hundred verses written about Hanoi after the B52 bombing. When I heard that song, I was moved and told Phan Vu that there would definitely be a good song. He asked me what the song was like. I said, I just had a hunch, I didn't have any notes yet." And Phu Quang chose some verses from Phan Vu's long poem, combined his emotions to createHey Hanoi Street.

Also on the source of nostalgia and love, musician Tran Tien has another Hanoi. A nomad for more than half of his life, there are many places to remember, many places to call home. However, in many interviews as well as in his compositions, Tran Tien always considers Hanoi as a place to return. “There are two graves of my father and mother. The people who brought me through this beautiful and harsh world. So that my son Phung could grow up knowing the smell of Western gunpowder, Chinese poison and American democracy. There is a small path that goes through the dike leading down to the red river. Where my brother taught me to be a 'bandit', to use a pole to swing over sand dunes, where there is a poetic street covered with purple Indian almond leaves and the girl I love, walking from the small alley to the bright sidewalk...”, the musician confided.

The nostalgia for Hanoi in Tran Tien's works is not vague or vague, but more "real" and real. Tran Tien remembers the old things, the losses of life that cannot be recovered, with a bit of sadness and guilt. "There is something very painful about Hanoi / The beloved person leaves and never returns"; "The old horse-drawn carriage path is sadly missed"; "Hanoi at the end of the umbrella / A windy afternoon / A person cannot bear to return / Hanoi in my heart / A distant dream of a person far from home" (Street Improvisation). A dusty Hanoi, not as beautiful as a dream, dirty but sincere, with love and pain: "The old poor street, the old poor tiled roof / Outside the old train station, the distant sound of the whistle is sad" (Poor Street).

In the nostalgia for Hanoi, there are many identities. And in those identities, there are always the figures of women. "Hanoi is me/ Secretly clumsy and a melancholy girl/ Hanoi is my mother/ Wearing a brown scarf and an old shirt/ Pitying the red eyes worshipping her husband". "Who do you love, the second sister, standing at the head of the communal house/ The second sister is poor, the second sister is sad, the second sister is lonely, the second sister cries". "In that place, I still remember my old love/ The young woman who met me shyly". "They are all that a man passing through this earth has. They are always my mother, my sister, my younger sister. My lover, my friend. Even though there are people I have never talked to. I still prefer women to rule the earth than men. Women are peace, are stability. Where there are swarms of colorful yellow bees flying out in fairy tales, a warm and fragrant place that men cannot bring to the world", Tran Tien explained.

Hanoi always appears in memories, because as the musician said: “People often cherish the past that time cannot erase. Memories are like wine that has been aged for a long time in a dark, cold corner of the soul. The longer it is kept, the stronger and more absorbed it becomes. What is not worth remembering will go away by itself, there is no need to chase it away. The present will be the past of those who come after, will be the wine of other futures, other generations, if they know how to preserve the treasures of their lives.”

Along with the songs of Tran Tien, Phu Quang, Mai van la tuoi tho toi Hanoi by Nguyen Cuong, Hanoi in the season without rains by Truong Quy Hai, Hanoi in the windy night by Trong Dai, Nho mua thu ha noi by Trinh Cong Son, Huong magnolia by Anh Quan, Hoa sua by Hong Dang... are very unique corners of Hanoi, together creating the appearance of the lyrical music about Hanoi.

Instead of a Hanoi of nostalgia and longing, many young writers write about the capital with a present-day mindset, with a spirit representing the generation in which they live. These could be innocent lyrics, evoking the joyful life of the streets such as: "Walking down the street in the early morning / Walking through the corner of the park, there are so many things / People greeting the coming dawn / Watching old people practicing yoga / Why do I feel peaceful in my heart / A very familiar Hanoi". (Passionate Hanoi - Nguyen Duc Cuong)

Nguyen Duc Cuong shared that this song was written around 2007. "At that time, I had just graduated from school and formed a group to perform in the provinces. We often came back late, very late, and once we arrived in Hanoi at dusk. At that time, I was very tired, but when I saw a peaceful Hanoi moving into a new day, I forgot all the tiredness. The weather at that time was autumn, chilly, the elderly and children started going out to exercise. I just wrote whatever I saw."

The song "Passionate Hanoi" by Nguyen Duc Cuong won the experimental prize of Vietnamese Songs.

The unplugged rock and R&B style song is a realistic yet romantic look at contemporary Hanoi. A "gentle and warm Hanoi", "streets full of colors and lights", "the dim afternoon of the shimmering Hoan Kiem Lake", "people in a hurry", "sitting down to eat at a roadside restaurant"... easily reaches young people because that is what they are living and experiencing every day.

"Cuong writes with the feelings of a young person, so he is very optimistic. Everything that happens around life is fresh, so he wants to write a song about Hanoi with a positive view, to move towards further development. And even though Hanoi is in a state of integration, it still retains its ancient culture and still retains its poetic and romantic street corners," Nguyen Duc Cuong shared.

Dinh Manh Ninh's Hanoi sidewalk iced tea is also a small slice of the life of young people in Hanoi today. It may be good or not, but the young artists show that they are following in the footsteps of the previous generation to continue the inspiration about Hanoi with a new mindset.

The inspiration for Hanoi's change is because Hanoi itself has changed. Musician Phu Quang commented: "Hanoi used to be more peaceful, now it's more intense and vibrant. But change is inevitable, change makes things more attractive. Just like the Red River, in the past there was a lot of water, now the river is much shallower, that's also sad. But on the other hand, there are more bridges across. That's how life is. When you're young, you have the beauty of youth, when you're old, you have the beauty of old age. Life is more rushed and hurried, so there must be more negligence, but I still believe this city will become better and better."

Source VNE