"Send sunshine to you"

Musician Pham Tuyen.

In 1975, soldier and poet Bui Van Dung was stationed with his unit in Ho Chi Minh City in hot weather, when he suddenly heard the radio report that in the North there was a monsoon, heavy rain and cold, with temperatures dropping to 5oC. Feeling sad and missing his wife and the farmers in the North who were working hard in the harsh weather, Bui Van Dung had the idea to write the poem "Sending sunshine to you" and he called his friend Cung Van at the Saigon Giai Phong Newspaper to confide in him.

He told me to copy the poem, and then bring it to the editorial 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 copy it, then said: "No need to come to the editorial office, tomorrow morning the newspaper will publish this poem". And the next morning (December 18, 1975), the poem "Sending sunshine to you" by Bui Van Dung appeared in the Saigon Giai Phong Newspaper: "Want to send you a little bit of golden sunshine/ Pity the cold of the plowmen and planters/ So I just want to share the sunshine equally out there/ There is a deep love from inside".

Then, musician Pham Tuyen came from Hanoi, read Bui Van Dung's poem, he sympathized and finished writing this song in just one night even though he had never met the poet. It was not until 1981 that Pham Tuyen met Bui Van Dung during his business trip to Hanoi. Bui Van Dung had 6 poems set to music by musician Pham Tuyen, notably the songs "Con kenh ta dao", "Gia em dung yeu anh", "Bien gioi nay la to quoc", "Dang cau roi chung tong xin co mat"...

In 1986, Lieutenant Colonel Bui Van Dung left the army. 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.

Musician Pham Tuyen was born in 1930, from Hai Duong, and was a member of the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Musicians' Association from 1963 to 1983. He currently lives in Hanoi. Musician 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