Dda`o Va(n Hie^.p
Nguye^~n Thi. Die^~n
To my wife and my children
TERESA - TIMOTHY - CRYSTAL
CHRISTINE - BENJAMIN - ANGELA
The Country Bamboo Bridge
The Bamboo Bridge is an unforgotten image in the soul of Vietnamese
people wherever they now live\.
After more than 20 years, I returned to Vietnam to put a pacemaker
for my father who was suffering from cardiac arrhythmia\. I had an opportunity
to see with my own eyes the new life of the Vietnamese people in my hometown.
The society is open but people still live in poverty they have not recovered
their prosperity from the war.
The old Bamboo Bridge still exists, the famous southern theme Vo.ng
Co^? is heard: why are many people still suffering.
I wrote this song with a hope that the Bamboo Bridge will connect the
love of my people who are living in different continents.
This is a first song I ever wrote\. By chance or lead by God, I have
always found myself loving the traditional Vietnamese music which is usually
called the old music.
During the 70’s when I was a student at Conservatory of Music in Saigon
City, this music was no longer respected. I and other friends prepared
a proposal to restore and develop the Vietnamese traditional music. Our
proposal was approved by music professor Nguyen Huu Ba and Minister of
Art and Culture Mai Tho Truyen.
However, I was forced to leave the Conservatory of Music because the
faculty was angry that we had gave directly to the Minister of Art and
Culture with our proposal.
I wrote this song in a sidewalk cafe to express my feeling when this
happened. My friend suggested that I send this song to the music academy
and I won the Art and Culture Award in Traditional category with this first
song in 1971.
The Bach Viet band was bond and I go back to Medical school to finish
my M.D. degree\.
The title of this song is from a traditional poem, the song is about
holding to your own values and your own independence\.
Ke Thi Chung
(Buddhist Poem)
This poem was wrote by Buddhist Lama Thich Man Giac, in the Ly dynasty
1906, right before his death.
Spring goes, flowers fall
Spring comes, flowers smile
Life change in front of your eyes
Age bring gray hair
Although the season changes
The branch and the soul remain the same forever
The music was composed by Nguyen Phuoc Kiet and David Dao, describes
the infinity of nature, people, and life\.
Bailing Water By The Communal House
In Vietnamese literature, a Bailing Water by the Communal House is the
one of many traditional poems, describing the love between man and woman
with images from the simple material of daily life\. In this song, the
young man uses of his frayed shirt which he left at the lotus pond when
he drew water to tell his girl friend that he is still bachelor and need
someone to care for him in his life. This is a way to propose\.
This song I wrote based on a Northern Folk Music theme called Quan
Ho\.
Vietnamese music also includes several ethnic music from the mountain
of North, Central and South Vietnam. Play by different ethnic groups with
simple bamboo instruments, mountain music has a special colorful characters
of the tune\.
Ca La Khia is a song composed by Y Vu and David Dao based on mountain
music of the North Vietnam with Western technical music arrangements.
This song written based on a Northern theatrical theme describes the love between a boatgirl and a soldier who is about to go to front lines to fight for freedom. She promised to wait for his return even if the future is uncertain.
My love, come to my boat
I will take you to the river
Brilliant with the moonlight
The wind blow my hair longer
The sky brings my voice higher
And my love is like the moon
Falling on the water
The tousle hair boy in this song has a palm fan which a wealthy villager
to buy from him. The boy turns down offer of several castles, oxen, fishes,
beautiful songbird etc... and other riches, but accepts a bowl of sweet
rice which is a fair trade\.
This song based on a poem by an unknown author describes the honesty
and reality of people who lives in the country.
This song I wrote based on the North-Central Folk theme\.
Give you my love
I put my heart in the leaves
I wish you pick up the leaves
And burn them in smoke
Flying to heaven
This song I wrote based on Vietnamese novel from French colonial period
The souls of butterfly dreams about angles by the author Kha?i Hu+ng. It
describes an impossible love between a nun and a poet.
When we mention the mice, we have to remember the cat who is the first
enemy of the mice\.
This poem in this song is by an unknown author and is similar to the
expression when the cat is away, the mice will play
One day, the cat climbs up to the palm tree looking for mice living
in the nest.
Unfortunately, all the mice disappear, actually they went to the cat’s
house to eat and make noise\.
I wrote this song based on the Northern Theatrical theme\.
I wrote this song based on mountain theme from central Vietnam highland.
It describes the festivals of mountain people during the golden harvest.
Yan Pout Emiet means New Golden Harvest.