"Sending sunshine to you"

Fifty years ago, the song "Sending Sunshine to You" (music by Pham Tuyen, lyrics by Bui Van Dung) was born with a lyrical melody and content like a sincere heartfelt message from a husband in the South to his beloved wife in the North: "I haven't seen winter here yet / The sun is still red with plums and peaches at the end of the season / The sky in Saigon is so blue and captivating / How wonderful is the winter in the South."

Composer Pham Tuyen.

In 1975, soldier and poet Bui Van Dung, stationed with his unit in Ho Chi Minh City during the sweltering heat, suddenly heard on the radio that the North was experiencing a monsoon, with heavy rain and freezing temperatures dropping to 5°C. Feeling nostalgic for his wife and the hardworking farmers in the North toiling in the harsh weather, Bui Van Dung conceived the idea for his poem "Sending Sunshine to You," and he called his friend Cung Van at the Saigon Liberation Newspaper to share his thoughts.

He said he would copy the poem and bring it to the newspaper office the next morning. Journalist Cung Van urged Bui Van Dung to read each line of the poem slowly over the phone so he could transcribe it, then said: "No need to come to the newspaper office, the newspaper will publish this poem tomorrow morning." And the next morning (December 18, 1975), Bui Van Dung's poem "Sending Sunshine to You" appeared in the Saigon Liberation Newspaper: "I want to send you a little golden sunshine / I feel sorry for the cold of the farmers / So I want to share the sunshine equally with those out there / With the heartfelt love from here."

Later, composer Pham Tuyen came from Hanoi , read Bui Van Dung's poem, and was so moved that he finished the song in just one night, even though he had never met the poet. It wasn't until 1981 that Pham Tuyen met Bui Van Dung during a business trip to Hanoi. Six of Bui Van Dung's poems have been set to music by composer Pham Tuyen, most notably the songs "The Canal We Dug," "If Only You Hadn't Loved Me," "This Border Is Our Homeland," and "The Party Called, We Will Be Here"...

In 1986, Lieutenant Colonel Bui Van Dung left the military. After serving two terms as Secretary of the Party Committee of Thuong Trung commune, Vinh Tuong district, Vinh Phuc province, he officially retired in 1996.

Composer Pham Tuyen was born in 1930 in Hai Duong province. He served as a Standing Committee member of the Executive Board of the Vietnam Musicians Association from 1963 to 1983. He currently lives in Hanoi. Composer Pham Tuyen was awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize for Literature and Arts, along with many other prestigious awards.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/gui-nang-cho-em-698801.html