Musician Le Minh Son: It should be called "Oh my hometown"!

(Baonghean) - As the Music Director of the reality TV show “Du ca Viet” (scheduled to air on VTV1 on July 25 and will travel through 63 provinces and cities nationwide), musician Le Minh Son and his crew recently had a survey trip to Nghe An with its treasure trove of Vi and Giam. Throughout the journey “to Nghe An”, the “country guy” took the opportunity to “badmouth” Nghe An girls and many other “regional specialties”…

Musician Le Minh Son. Photo: Hai Ba

If I had gone to Vinh earlier, I might have...can not get married

Up to now, "Du ca Viet" has traveled to 7/63 provinces and cities, mainly the northern mountainous provinces. Why did you put Nghe An "island" first and not the other provinces in the order of the map?

- There is something calling me, I don't know what, that makes me think I need to come back here sooner, right away. Maybe it's because the invitation never gets old, for anyone: "The road to Nghe An is winding/ The green mountains and blue water are like a picture". Maybe it's because the songs are so "provocative", only Nghe An girls can be: "Angry then angry but loving then loving...". And the "culprit", could also be... the girls from Vinh that I've met, that I've been in trouble with and it seems like there's a "song" that I've fallen in love with (laughs)...

How terrible, Vinh girl let him "bear shame"?

- If I remember correctly, there was a poem: “Vinh girls’ eyes are like fire”. When I read it, I thought: “She” must be in love. But when I got to Vinh, I realized that even when these girls are not in love, they still have fire in their eyes, that’s what’s so deadly!

Is it as dangerous as the case of "eyes like knives glancing at the cliff", author of "Oh my homeland"?

- What is a “betel knife”? A “diamond knife” is what can cut rocks. If I had come to Vinh earlier, that “rock” might not have been able to “survive” the eyes of… Vinh girls! If I had come to Vinh earlier, I might not have been able to get married! (laughs).

Son Tay girls used to be “in demand” because of Quang Dung’s poem “The Eyes of Son Tay People”. Hopefully, Le Minh Son can help Vinh girls “run shows until they are exhausted”?

- “Your forehead is like the sky of your homeland/ Your eyes are gently sad like the West” - Sounds so sweet, “having a good husband” is a must! See, in other countries, women are so gentle! They are not always ready to “cause trouble” like Vinh girls! (laughs)

Just kidding, but when a Vinh girl is “gently sad”, it’s enough to drift away! Have you ever heard Hoang Quyen sing my song “The door smells of sunshine” (which is also the name of her first album): “The door smells of sunshine/ The small crack of the door, I peek out/ The day without you, the first summer flowers, the flowers are just starting to turn red/ Such a sad day/ Without you, it’s so fresh/ The little bird, singing by my door, the door smells of sunshine/ The sunshine is as yellow as a summer orange/ The sunshine is as yellow as the full moon/ The sunshine is fragrant/ Your sunshine…”.

Do you know who the “muse” of “The door smells of sunshine” is? She is exactly a “real Nghe girl”! It’s just that one day she happened to tell me that in the morning, when she opened the balcony door, suddenly a few sparrows flew in chirping, no matter how much she tried to chase them away, they wouldn’t go away, and there were also some flowers that had just bloomed… Just like that, she said that suddenly, she didn’t want to go to work anymore, she just wanted to stay home and lie in the sun like a lazy cat. In general, I really like lazy girls, so that day, right in the car, the first lyrics of “The door smells of sunshine” quickly took shape. The next day, I drove to her office gate to show her off, and after listening, she said something shocking: “The sun doesn’t smell of sunshine! You’re lying too much!”

Ah, that's how Vinh girls are! Men, you have to be scolded to be good!

- But I'm easy to please, oh my gosh! (laughs). Yes, I know you girls: "If you love, love for sure/ If you have problems, then have problems all the way/ Don't be like the rabbit standing at the top of the field/ When happy, it plays with the shadow, when sad, it plays with the moon...". No wonder, every time I "play" I get "beaten". Now... I've changed!

Writing "Oh my hometown" is like... "flattering" Nghe people

Of course! So, what are you doing here?

- Because of "Du ca Viet" - a journey of traveling through Vietnamese cultural regions. And with Nghe An, of course, it is the Vi Giam. But the Vi Giam that I am looking for, may not be the usual performances performed on stage, but must be hidden deep in each poor village, and sung by old artists who have never withered, never withered because of poverty or time. It could also be the Vi Giam melodies that resound from special fates, who have stood on the edge of life and death and returned to life with the Vi Giam words that seem to urge, like waiting... But okay, I won't say anymore, "all is exposed"! Wait until "Du ca Viet - Through the Vi Giam region" is broadcast, you will see how much I love the Vi and Giam songs of your hometown...

I know that “Oh My Hometown” is not written about Nghe An, of course I know. It is a village that belongs to Le Minh Son, and it does not belong to anyone. But somehow, when those lyrics and melodies are sung, I always feel like I am talking about Nghe An land and Nghe An people: its poverty, its “difficult” past; its generosity, its talkativeness, hidden behind the “wind-filled kites”, the “thump-thump of festival drums outside the communal house”, or the “love-filled” dances and songs that my mother sings; and especially the “eyes - wine waves”, “areca knife” - how could it not be Nghe An girls... I just like to “claim” like that, do you find it annoying?

- You are right. Sometimes I myself am surprised that I can say so accurately about... the land and people of Nghe An, even when I have not met them, and did not intend to. It was only when I "drowned" in the eyes of a Vinh girl that I regretted that I had... flattered her too soon! (laughs).

With “Oh my hometown”, I have a rather happy memory with the Nghe people. That was when I was sitting on the judge’s chair of a singing game show, in the preliminary round, a very confident male contestant walked in and loudly introduced his performance called: “Oh hometown... choa”. All the judges were surprised and asked: “Oh hometown choa” is the composition of who... it sounds familiar, is it related to... Mr. Le Minh Son sitting here?”, then he slowly “explained”: “Oh hometown toi is a word of Mr. Son, but people from Nghe An should say “Oh hometown choa” to be correct!”. I was so happy, I let him in, even though the beautiful female judge sitting right next to me scolded me: “Hey, this guy, we are recruiting people for a singing contest, not... a comedy show!”. But I was still stubborn: “If you want to sing well, you have to be smart first! This guy is good, let him in!”...

Nguyen Le

(Perform)