"August 19th" - a shorthand transcript transformed into an immortal song.

Joining the crowd of protesters on August 19, 1945, musician Xuan Oanh walked and composed, leading the crowd in singing the song "Nineteen August".

Exactly 80 years ago today, at the call of the Viet Minh Front, the people of Hanoi took to the streets and marched towards the Grand Theatre for a rally, the entire capital resplendent with red flags bearing yellow stars. The rally turned into an armed demonstration that took place at the Residency, the Security Forces barracks, and other facilities of the puppet government.

The song "August 19th" is performed by the Vietnam Radio and Television Mixed Choir.

Composer Do Xuan Oanh, then 23 years old, led the march starting from the Giap Bat train station area to the Grand Theatre. Leading the procession, the composer clearly felt every step and the fervent atmosphere. The melody and the first lines of the song burst forth, and he sang loudly: "All Vietnamese people stand up and contribute their strength for one day / We swear to fight wholeheartedly with our blood and bones for the future."

As he composed the song, he guided the group to sing along, their voices harmonizing with their footsteps. By the time they reached Cho Mo Market (Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi), the song was complete with 10 verses, taking the historical date of the nation as its title. The musician set the rhythm from the beginning, and the group sang as they walked until they reached the Grand Theatre, where marching groups from all over joined the crowd, singing a medley of revolutionary songs, from "Marching Song," "Destroy Fascism," "Viet Minh Flag," and ending with "August 19th."

According to the book "Do Xuan Oanh - The Nightingale of the Revolutionary Spring," from late 1943-1944, when directly participating in secret propaganda activities for the Viet Minh Front, preparing for the General Uprising in Hanoi, the musician had been nurturing the intention to compose a song about this event.

The emotions had been building up since his early days, as he recalled his difficult childhood and the hardships the war inflicted on his family. His grandfather, a patriot of the Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc movement, was persecuted by the colonial government, forced to leave his homeland, and his family was separated. His sister, the most beautiful girl in the region at the time, was abducted by a French official, tortured to death, and her body returned home. Because of poverty, Xuan Oanh only completed the fourth grade. Afterward, he struggled to make ends meet, working various jobs as a foundry worker, a miner, and then in Hai Phong as a tutor and singer, where he met composers Van Cao and Nguyen Dinh Thi and began participating in the revolution. All the resentment, hardship, and suffering from his childhood, along with the revolutionary fire burning in the artist's heart, burst forth into his melodies.

The short, rapid verses, like the rhythm of footsteps, the cries of "resentment and anger," became a powerful force of unity, urging the entire nation to "rise up" and shatter the chains of slavery. The procession marched under the "light of freedom," with "flags flying everywhere." The song concludes with a reminder: "Never forget August 19th, the day of the uprising / Happiness illuminates the Vietnamese land," expressing optimism and faith in the country's new future.