Forever the song 'Hello Lam Hong girl' echoes

Musician Anh Duong's real name is Le Anh Duong, born in 1935, in Son Hai commune, Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province. He graduated from the Hanoi Conservatory of Music, then was assigned to the Military Region 4 Art Troupe and held the position of troupe leader.

Song "Hello Lam Hong girl" by musician Anh Duong. Photo: Ha Tinh Newspaper

He was honored to be awarded the Third Class Military Exploit Medal, the First Class Resistance Medal, and the First Class Glorious Soldier Medal. He also received the State Prize for Literature and Arts, Phase II, 2007, with the following works: “Hello, Lam Hong Girl”, “Dedicate Yourself to Liberating the South”, “Peach Blossoms Bloom on the Border”, “Phu Cham Xy”, and the symphony “Victory Monument”. He was awarded the Ho Xuan Huong Literature and Arts Award, Nghe An Province twice: the third time (2000-2005) and the fourth time (2005-2010).

Musician Anh Duong during his lifetime. Photo archive

With the famous song "Hello Lam Hong girl", musician Anh Duong once said: In the summer of 1967, he attended the Victory Emulation Congress held in Huong Son district (Ha Tinh). After attending the Congress, he was invited to help the Provincial Military Art Troupe stationed in Nhan Loc commune, Can Loc district. The way back was not far but the enemy attacked very fiercely, had to go at night, comrade Hao - Political Commissar took him home and did not forget to tell him: "Comrade, don't worry, people built many tunnels on both sides of the road, there are youth volunteers everywhere to protect".

That night, the moon was dim, the sky was drizzling, enemy planes fired artillery, the sky was bright. On the road, there were constantly female youth volunteers coming out to greet and ask questions very friendly and cheerfully. Mr. Hao said he really wanted to write a work about these brave and courageous female youth volunteers. They forgot their own bodies to keep the road clear. The musician said: The Ha Tinh female youth volunteers were truly brave. Bombs and bullets plowed and re-hoeed the 15A road, leaving no green on both sides, life and death were just around the corner, yet the girls, only eighteen or twenty years old, steadfastly stuck to it day and night. The car was running and suddenly had to stop. A bomb exploded in front of us. Despite the roar of the planes, the girls hurriedly filled the bomb craters for our car to pass. They considered death as light as a feather. Every car passing through the important point encountered voices, laughter, and friendly greetings. Occasionally, a voice singing a folk song from Nghe Tinh would rise up, stirring people’s hearts: “Hey, soldier driver / Come back and celebrate your victory with us… okay?” Witnessing those touching images, the musician was filled with emotion. That night, he completed the song “Hello, Lam Hong girl”.

Before returning to his unit, musician Anh Duong reported to the then Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Van Linh that he praised the song and wanted the musician to write him a copy. The song probably also received inspiration from these first audiences. In early 1968, at the Victory Emulation Congress of Military Region 4, the Art Troupe staged a trio performance of this song to welcome the Congress. Unexpectedly, the song attracted so many listeners. In no time, the song spread throughout the Military Region, with people on stage singing and the audience clapping and singing along. When musician Do Nhuan went to Nghe An for work and heard the song "Hello, Lam Hong Girl", he liked it so much that he brought it to Hanoi to record and broadcast on the radio.

Musician Do Nhuan is a person who has done a lot of research in composing, writing many unique works. He soon realized the rare uniqueness of "Hello, Lam Hong Girl": "First of all, the tempo of this song is very fast, very different. The rhythm is attractive, it can be said that there has never been a work whose music is as powerful and attractive as this work. The fast tempo from the beginning and the concise and tight melody make it easy for the work to evoke the inspiration of the endless army overcoming difficulties to support the battlefield. Since then, the song has been loved by audiences and listeners nationwide through the music program of Voice of Vietnam Radio".

Musician Anh Duong shared many times that“Every time I hear the lyrics: “Our car runs on the road, between the villages we cross many streams, passes, hills and fields and our car goes to the battlefield”...I just imagined that the driver was on his way to the South, passing through his hometown Nghe Tinh. The rough and rocky road of war could not stop the wheels from rolling smoothly under the hands of that soldier driver. He sang happily, drove happily, despite the dangers lurking and the affection when by his side was"Lam Hong girl, amidst the sound of bombs and bullets exploding, one can still hear the echo of folk songs on the street"...And also full of faith, love and optimism"Even though your car runs day and night; it still cannot compare to your love for the South"...

With a passionate heart, not only in art, musician Anh Duong has silently devoted his life like a warm flame, so that forever here still resounds the heroic song, like a call to action.

The musician's heart has stopped beating, but generations of music lovers still sing the song about the girl Lam Hong, about the love for his homeland and country that he left behind...

Van Khanh