Dad's Lullaby

My father was a man of few words, as tough as the ironwood he had planed and chiseled to build this roof. But every night, after dinner, he would hold me in his arms, sit on the hammock swinging on the porch, and begin to sing. His lullaby had no name, sometimes it was a Central Vietnamese folk song he had picked up, sometimes it was just a few repeated lines, but it contained a whole world of love.

I still remember my father's voice was low and hoarse, like the wind blowing through the coconut trees behind the house. Some people said his voice was not beautiful or melodious, but to me, it was the most wonderful music. Every time I heard my father's voice, I felt calm, safe, and loved. One time, when I was 8 years old, my father took me back to my paternal hometown by bicycle. The June sun was scorching hot, the bumpy dirt road made the wheels slip. I was exhausted, crying the whole way. My father didn't say anything, just silently drove me, then softly sang a lullaby - the familiar song he used to sing to me every night. In the middle of the harsh noon sun, that song was like a cool breeze, soothing my fatigue.

As I grew older, I began to feel embarrassed by my father's lullabies. When my friends asked me what I liked to listen to, I didn't dare say that I still liked to hear my father's voice, still wanted to be held in his arms and lulled to sleep. During puberty, I gradually distanced myself from my father - a rustic, rough and quiet father. I pursued modern, vibrant music, and then in the late nights when I couldn't sleep, I remembered my father's deep lullaby.

Then I went to study far from home, on nights far from home, that lullaby would occasionally resound in my dreams. One night I woke up with a start, tears wetting my pillow, my heart empty. I called my father, didn’t say much, just wanted to hear his voice. But my father was still the same, spoke little, only asked: “Have you eaten?” and “If you miss home, try to study hard, come back tomorrow.”

On the day I graduated, my father attended the ceremony. He stood at the back of the hall, holding the bachelor's cap that I gave him. When everyone took pictures, hugged each other, laughed and cried, I just wanted to run to hug him, to thank him for the wordless lullabies that had raised me over the years.

Time passed. Now I am a father, my daughter has just turned 3 years old. Every night, I lull her to sleep with the lullabies that my father used to sing. I am not a good singer, my voice is also hoarse like my father, but my daughter giggles every time I sing. I suddenly understand that there are melodies that do not need to be perfect - as long as they are sung by the person you love.

Yesterday, I called my father. He was drying rice in the yard, his voice still hoarse and gruff as before. I told him about my daughter, how I imitated my father in rocking her to sleep like in the old days. My father just smiled and said nothing. But I knew that on the other end of the line, he was emotional.

Dad’s Lullaby is not an ordinary song. It is a father’s love for his child, his way of saying “I love you” in his own way. And now, I am continuing that melody, for another generation - lullabies called fatherly love, through many generations still resonate forever.

Hello love, season 4, theme "Father" officially launched from December 27, 2024 on four types of press and digital infrastructure of Radio - Television and Binh Phuoc Newspaper (BPTV), promising to bring to the public the wonderful values of sacred and noble fatherly love.
Please send to BPTV your touching stories about Father by writing articles, writing feelings, poems, essays, video clips, songs (with recordings),... via email [email protected], Editorial Secretary Office, Binh Phuoc Radio - Television and Newspaper, No. 228, Tran Hung Dao, Tan Phu Ward, Dong Xoai City, Binh Phuoc Province, phone number: 0271.3870403. The time to receive articles is from now until August 30, 2025.
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Let's continue writing the story about Father with "Hello Love" season 4, so that stories about Father can spread and touch everyone's hearts!

Source: https://baobinhphuoc.com.vn/news/19/171884/bai-hat-ru-cua-ba