Put your heart into the proverb...

(Baonghean) - “Oh, who knows whether the Lam River's water is clear or muddy? Who knows whether life is shameful or glorious…?” Is someone singing, somewhere far away, or is it a song rising from within my own heart, a child far from home, a child who has experienced countless hardships, whose hair has turned white, yet still remembers the folk songs and melodies endlessly? Oh, dear one, are you “climbing the mountain to pick a sim fruit” or rowing a boat along the river? Do you see me? I – the bareheaded boy, wearing patched clothes, splashing in the Lam River every afternoon. The boy sitting on the dike, enjoying the breeze, waiting for my mother to return from the market on her long journey. The boy sitting by the oil lamp every night, “caring for books and studies as much as for food and clothing,” as my grandmother's song advised?...

The "Affectionate Folk Songs" program organized by the Alumni Association of Phan Boi Chau Specialized High School (Vinh City) in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: AN

It seemed as though time had settled the anxieties, longings, sorrows, and expectations. Yet, suddenly, a single song brings them all back. Who, with gray hair, still feels youthful? Who, having weathered countless storms, still hesitates to utter a declaration of love? Perhaps we are gazing at the river's reflection in that folk song, seeking a distant homeland on the horizon. There's the salty pickles, the sour eggplant, the scorching sun and pouring rain, but also the warmth and affection of "When a girl marries, the whole village rejoices" (Nguyen Sy Dai). There, we are, impulsive yet deeply thoughtful, "if you love, love for sure." There, the girl we cherish, in her youth, awaits us with so much yearning: "She mistakes the moon for a lamp / She mistakes the boat sailing downstream for the storm"... As has been the case for hundreds of years, and will continue for generations to come, those who remain hold firm in their faith, and those who depart never forget the way home…

I will always remember, in a small attic room, on a Hanoi afternoon, sitting with the talented musician from Nghe An province—musician Nguyen Tai Tue. The two of us tapped on the wooden table to create a melody to sing "Dreaming of Home." "Dreaming of Home"—a heartfelt piece by him, heavily influenced by the folk songs and melodies of our homeland. At that moment, we shared the same dream… In the distant, twilight-shrouded homeland, perhaps Rang Market, or maybe Bong Market, or Veo Market, the Lam River, or perhaps Dinh River, or Bung River…, we left behind so many promises. We told ourselves, "Let's go home, let's go home," yet how heavy were the steps of our longing and memories!

Are we—the "scholars"—who grew up on potatoes and cassava, on the sweat and toil of our mothers, only to become "scholars in long robes, scholars far from home"? So that whenever we feel nostalgic, we can only express our longing in folk songs? Like the river, with its shallows and depths, its erosion and deposition, just as our own fate is full of complexities, we cling to folk songs to remind ourselves not to forget loyalty and affection, and at each crossroads, to choose the clearest path to continue our journey…

We have traveled to the ends of the earth, yet we still haven't fully grasped that proverb: "Whoever knows whether the waters of the Lam River are clear or muddy will know whether life is shameful or glorious." Isn't that true? That proverb is the soul, the root within us, which has flourished and cast its shade over our lives…

Thuy Vinh