The first song was written at the grave of a teammate
In the years 1979-1989, the land of Vi Xuyen (Ha Giang) was once called the “lime kiln of the century” – referring to the fierceness and pain of the fight to protect the northern border. Among the Hanoian boys who set out for the border, there was musician Truong Quy Hai (author of famous songs Hanoi in the rainy season, moments later…) At the age of twenty, when he had just left school, he first witnessed his comrades sacrifice right before his eyes, then personally sent them off and buried them.
Share with PV Vietnamese people, musician Truong Quy Hai said that for him, the memories of the days of fighting at the border battlefield are still intact in him. Sometimes, remembering his fallen comrades, he gets choked up.
“I always think I can still go back, but for them, life has forever stopped in those days, when youth was still unfinished. Because of that, sometimes we see something familiar. , I think of them again.”
Musician Truong Quy Hai. (Photo: FBNV)
First song Letter back to mother was written by musician Truong Quy Hai in 1984, when he was 21 years old. “At that time, many comrades in my unit sacrificed their lives. The scenes of those days were so painful that they cannot be described in words. As the person responsible for taking care of wounded soldiers, sometimes I ask for help. permission for the commander to assist in the work of the fallen soldiers and to carry out the task of burying the fallen brothers.”
One time, musician Truong Quy Hai found blood-soaked paper from a Sa Pa cigarette pack while on duty to embalm his comrades. The letter was written in Kowloon ink, mixed with blood, leaving only three words “Dear Mother”. “Sitting next to the grave of my newly buried comrades, thinking about the letter in the cigarette pack (maybe it wasn’t a letter, but something he wrote when he missed his mother so much), I mumbled a few lyrics. I just wanted to “Sing to your teammates, so they can still see their brothers by your side, gradually singing will become a song, from there teammates in the unit will name it and make it into a song” – musician Truong Quy Hai confided.
Later, when returning to Hanoi, Truong Quy Hai continued his studies at the University of Mining and Geology, then the National Economics University. However, one day he realized that the destiny of his life was his work as a composer: “When I was young, I used to practice violin, then because I broke my arm, I had to quit. However, even though I studied Next, I will also be a performing artist, not a composer. The battlefield gave me emotions, gave me the practice to compose melodies. People call it karma, for me it is the destiny of life. “My life. When it’s destiny, I don’t change anything, I just keep moving forward.”
Musician Truong Quy Hai performed the song “Dan En”, written about his fallen comrades. (Clip: FPT Can Tho University)
“Each milestone carries the shadow of history, the blood and bones of teammates”
Although famous for many love songs, the soldier theme seems to always be the biggest and most painful topic in the soul of musician Truong Quy Hai. In 2023, he and his teammates once again visited the Vy Xuyen martyrs’ cemetery, incense burner 468, and sang new songs for their brothers. “Every time I come here and look at the border markers, I see the shadow of history there, the blood of my ancestors, the blood of my comrades. One time, when I went with a VTV documentary film crew, the moment The moment we gathered around milestone 256 to sing, I don’t know who accidentally placed the bucket hat on the milestone. At that moment, I suddenly felt like the milestone was like a living person, like the soul of a comrade standing there forever. , guarding the peace of this country.”
Besides songs about the Northern border front, musician Truong Quy Hai also composed songs Southwest afternoon shadow – writes about the soldiers who died on the southwestern front of the country, and Immortal circle, for soldiers in the battle of Gac Ma. He shared: “At our time, there were three fronts: the Northern Front, the Southwest Front and the Border and Island Front. With Vi Xuyen, I was there so I wrote quite a lot. Now, at On the remaining two fronts, I also partially completed them. After they died, I could not speak, I speak for you, because the three armies are three siblings.”
For musician Truong Quy Hai, the homeland was carved by immortal souls in their twenties, from generation to generation, until the present. “Until now, young soldiers are still firmly armed to protect the border. Besides, there is a very large force, in their hands are keyboards, smart tools. They have also become soldiers. new warrior, with an equally difficult and challenging task of enriching and beautifying this country, bringing it to new heights.”