Musician Nguyen Hong Son and songs about oil rigs

Musician - Professional military colonel Nguyen Hong Son has composed many songs on the theme of the sea and islands; of which, nearly 20 songs were written specifically for the rigs and their soldiers. Soldiers in Battalion DK1 - Naval Region 2 (Ba Ria - Vung Tau province) still jokingly say that Nguyen Hong Son is the person who tells stories about the rigs with the best and most touching music .

Musician Nguyen Hong Son (left) shares a new composition with Lieutenant Colonel Nghiem Xuan Thai - a son of his hometown Yen Lac ( Vinh Phuc )

Every sea he passed, every oil rig he set foot on... all gave him profound experiences about the lives of soldiers who guard the sky day and night, protect the sea, and firmly protect our sovereignty on every nautical mile. Then, in each song, he seems to devote all his thoughts and feelings to recreating the harsh, fierce but proud reality of the oil rig soldiers at the forefront of the wind and waves...

I had the opportunity to meet musician Nguyen Hong Son during a business trip organized by the Naval Region 2 Command at the beginning of this year. During the party to prepare for leaving the shore, musician Nguyen Hong Son accompanied us on the guitar and sang the song “Feelings of a soldier on a rig”: “The rig in the clouds, one watch in the southwest. When the tide rises, it lies across the waves. Sitting waiting for the moon to rise, we write a love letter. The sea and waves sing, dreaming of our homeland.”

He shared that it was the first song he wrote about the DK1 platform in 2001. With a soulful, lyrical rhythm but no less heroic, the song is like a story about the houses standing tall in the middle of the sea. There, despite difficulties and hardships, the soldiers are still optimistic, love life, and steadfastly stick to the sea: “The soldiers on the platform, still steadfast in storms. Despite hardships, they do not lose heart. They dedicate their youth to nothing... The red flag flutters in the wind. Guns across the sky... stand guard”.

On the first night when the Truong Sa 21 ship carrying the delegation left the port, the officers and soldiers on board printed many copies of the song “The feelings of a soldier on a rig” and sent the karaoke file via Bluetooth. We passed it around and gathered to practice singing to forget the seasickness. However, it was only when we saw the rig appearing in front of us that we had a deep understanding of the story that musician Nguyen Hong Son told in the above song. Now, that song has become a traditional song of the DK1 rigs.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hong Son is a member of the Vietnam Musicians Association, with more than 35 years of experience working in units of the Navy. Currently, as the Head of the Cultural House of Region 2, he is closely involved in and accompanies the cultural and artistic activities of the region and does not forget to devote his heart to his love of music. With simple and rustic lyrics, each song in his compositions is a story about the soldiers of the DK1 platform, about beloved Truong Sa, and about the fishermen on the ships going out to sea...

To date, musician Nguyen Hong Son has written nearly 200 songs about his homeland, country, and islands, including nearly 50 songs about the sea, islands, and oil rigs. Many of his works have received awards from the Vietnam Musicians Association and the Navy.

Songs by musician Nguyen Hong Son resounded in the cultural exchange program between officers, soldiers and working delegations on DK1/10 platform.

Along with “The feelings of the soldiers on the rig”, other songs such as “The green color of the rig”, “The yard”, “Singing through the radio”… are also especially loved by the soldiers on the rig, who enthusiastically practice them to become their “favorite” songs. And these are indispensable exchange performances when the working delegations visit the rig.

“Here, the soldiers are very happy with life. In the small yard, they still play shuttlecock. Around them, they diligently grow vegetables. The pleasure of improving their fishing skills is to collect rafts... Life in a yard. Heavy responsibility towards their nation”. The song “Khoàn Sân” is a combination of poetry and music, resounding with a cheerful and proud melody. Through it, the musician “honestly” tells about the life and activities of the soldiers on the rig: Training on the roof during the day, playing sports in the afternoon, growing vegetables, raising pigs and chickens to increase production, fishing at night... Four seasons pass, the soldiers’ travel route is only around the 6 sides of the rig. However, when the Fatherland needs them, the responsibility towards the nation is extremely great.

Growing crops on the rig is also a unique and interesting story, which was “told” by musician Nguyen Hong Son in the song “Green Rig” with the image of “A soldier nurturing lush seedlings. Vegetable seeds from the homeland send immense love”. Although “the young Malabar spinach fence endures many storms”, overcoming the harsh weather, the difficulties and deprivations in daily life, the marine soldier as well as the vegetables grown on the rig, still rise up, listen to the sound of the waves, bask in the sea sun and grow green...

I still remember, during that trip, our working group missed the appointment with the platforms many times due to big waves, strong winds, and rough seas. So we had to sadly transfer gifts through the zipper and use the walkie-talkie to wish each other a Happy New Year. Unfortunately, we were there, you guys were here, seeing their silhouettes but unable to reach out. Instead of the words we wanted to say, from the other end of the line on the platform echoed the song “Singing through the walkie-talkie”: “Only a few dozen steps away, but it feels like a thousand miles away. Can’t hand over the letters from home. Can’t watch you sing in your graceful manner… Hey waves come so indifferently. Hey wind, howling at someone. But accidentally stopping the little sister. Putting on pink steps to step forward”. The song was interrupted by the emotions from both sides. Without anyone telling us, we turned away, quickly wiping away our tears. In trembling, choked voices, we female journalists continued the song as if expressing our feelings: “Then the waves can only listen to the singing, the singing on the ship is blown by the wind. Blurring the girl’s eyelashes. Choking when the voice is raised”...

Surely, those who have been through the sea of the oil rigs will feel and be more impressed by the compositions of musician Nguyen Hong Son. His songs have truly become spiritual food, encouraging and motivating the officers and soldiers of the oil rigs to ease their homesickness and longing for the mainland to fulfill their duties as soldiers guarding the sea on the continental shelf...

Article and photos: Hoang Cuc

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