Author (left) and musician Pham Tuyen

At noon on April 30, 1975, when Saigon was liberated, musician Pham Tuyen thought that the sacred moment of the nation when Uncle Ho was still present in millions of Vietnamese hearts. The song "As if Uncle Ho were here on the day of great victory" was written by him very quickly and was immediately recorded at the Voice of Vietnam Radio , then broadcast on the airwaves at 5:00 p.m. on April 30, 1975 after the news announced to the world that Vietnam had completely unified the country after 30 years of steadfast struggle.

Musician Pham Tuyen confided: When composing, I did not expect the song to have such a wide influence. In March 2010, when he was a guest at the 35th Anniversary of Hue Liberation Day, musician Pham Tuyen told me: The musicians from Hanoi, Hue, and Saigon met and were singing joyfully when a group of Japanese tourists happened to meet and asked to join. That group of tourists had a few people who knew how to play the guitar, they only asked to sing 2 songs, the first was the very famous Japanese folk song "Hoa Anh Dao", the second was "Nhu Co Bac Ho Trong Ngay Dai Thang". What was more surprising was that they sang in Japanese, which surprised and moved him. "When they sang my song, they sang in Japanese, so the musicians below could only clap along, but when it came to the chorus 'Vietnam Ho Chi Minh', no one told anyone, everyone sang in unison in Vietnamese.

Immediately after that, musician Pham Tuyen met the Japanese group leader and asked why they knew this song, since the liberation day of South Vietnam had passed a long time ago. She replied: “We sing this song not only to praise your victory day of April 30 but also to praise Vietnam under the Ho Chi Minh era. That is why in large gatherings of both Vietnam and Japan, we always sing these two songs.”

At the time of composing “As if Uncle Ho were here on the great victory day”, musician Pham Tuyen was in charge of the Music Department of the Voice of Vietnam. Almost all of the musicians at the station devoted themselves to composing songs about the beloved South. The day he unexpectedly heard the station report that Lieutenant pilot Nguyen Thanh Trung had bombed Tan Son Nhat airport, he and his colleagues stood there for a moment, thinking, “Coming to Tan Son Nhat means coming to Saigon; and once you come to Saigon, it will only be a few days until liberation.” Mr. Tran Lam, Director of the Voice of Vietnam, assigned the task: “Our victory this time is very great, so you guys have to write something really epic.”

That same night, musician Pham Tuyen wrote “As if Uncle Ho were here on the great victory day”. The next morning, he brought this song to the radio station. When reviewing, everyone commented that the song was too simple and had not yet won, so they encouraged each other to prepare this song to broadcast on May 7th, the anniversary of the liberation of Dien Bien Phu. Someone working in politics even told him: “Be careful not to stop being optimistic because we have not won yet”. A few hours later, the news was reported: “At 11am, our army raised the flag on the Independence Palace”. Mr. Tran Lam called Pham Tuyen up to discuss, because the Central Propaganda Department allowed the Voice of Vietnam Radio to broadcast the good news of the great victory at 5pm on April 30th.

Mr. Tran Lam asked: "I said before that we were preparing a grand musical performance to celebrate the victory day, so what songs do we have now?", musician Pham Tuyen listed some songs he already knew. Mr. Tran Lam asked: "So you didn't write any?". Pham Tuyen said that he could only write a short song and sang it for Mr. Tran Lam to listen. After listening, Mr. Tran Lam said that he only needed a short song like this, and that this afternoon he would call the music group to practice.

“I have never attended such a touching recording session. From musician Cao Viet Bach, the choir conductor, to the instrumentalists and singers, everyone shed tears of joy when the country was completely liberated. After finishing the recording at 4 p.m., Mr. Tran Lam informed the brothers in the Propaganda Department and the heads of the internal and external departments of the Radio Station to come and listen in the studio. At exactly 5 p.m. after the news of the great victory was broadcast, the song: “As if there were Uncle Ho on the great victory day” was played continuously until midnight,” said musician Pham Tuyen.

“As if Uncle Ho were here on the great victory day” has a strong vitality, sung by many generations of Vietnamese people with all their hearts. What moved musician Pham Tuyen the most was that until now, the song is still sung by audiences everywhere, on holidays, New Year, or conferences, festivals; from the mainland to the border, islands, mountainous areas to the plains, soldiers or farmers all know it by heart. Moreover, the song “As if Uncle Ho were here on the great victory day” has gone beyond the borders of the country, spreading to many countries across the continents.

Thanh Tung

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/50-nam-ca-khuc-nhu-co-bac-ho-trong-ngay-dai-thang-153131.html