A few faint scents

Báo Bình Thuận•28/04/2023

Love songs have touched countless Vietnamese hearts. Amidst the many poetic sentiments conveyed by these songs, different scents and feelings are subtly present in the lyrics.

Fragrance from nature, flowers, and fruits.

The scents present in these love songs are perhaps most numerous: the scent of various flowers: ylang-ylang, magnolia, milk flower, lotus, crape myrtle, pomelo blossom, betel nut flower, jasmine, and forest flowers; then there's the scent of rice, the countryside, green rice flakes, fragrant straw, along with the scent of incense, coffee, and the aroma of new notebook pages…

The lotus flower has been featured in the song "Beside President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum" by composer Dan Huyen. The composer expressed his deep respect and love for President Ho Chi Minh when he visited his mausoleum in Hanoi . The composer's sentiments are also the sentiments of millions of Vietnamese people: "President Ho Chi Minh's heart rejoices when his descendants return in increasing numbers, filled with his love / With thousands of fragrant lotus blossoms, the whole nation loves and respects him."

With the love song "Hoa Sua" (Milk Flower), composer Hong Dang left a deep impression on music lovers: "The milk flower still smells sweet at the street corner night after night / How could I forget you?" In the song "Em Oi! Hanoi Street," music by composer Phu Quang, lyrics by poet Phan Vu, listeners are once again reminded of the scent of magnolia and milk flower, one of the characteristic features of Hanoi: "Em Oi, Hanoi Street / I still have the scent of magnolia / I still have the scent of milk flower." Composer Trinh Cong Son also had feelings about the scent of milk flowers on the streets of Hanoi: "The season of milk flowers arrives, perfuming every breeze," along with the aroma of green rice flakes: "The season of green rice flakes arrives, fragrant in small hands" (Remembering Hanoi's Autumn).

The fragrant scent of pomelo blossoms is also the theme of the famous love song "Secret Fragrance," lyrics by poet Phan Thị Thanh Nhàn, music by composer Vũ Hoàng. The fragrant pomelo blossoms help the girl express her feelings for her lover before he leaves for war: "The fragrant pomelo blossoms stir my heart/.../ The girl is like a cluster of flowers silently/ Letting the fragrance speak of her love."

The song "Areca Flower and Betel Garden" by composer Nguyen Tien is imbued with the fragrance of areca flowers, a scent that has captivated countless hearts. The poetic and incredibly peaceful image of rows of areca trees and betel gardens has found its way into the song: "Areca flowers fall, whitening my courtyard. And the fragrance of areca flowers permeates the betel garden." The fragrance of the night-blooming jasmine also creates an allure, prompting a girl to invite a boy to visit her hometown, a poor rural area yet overflowing with affection: "I invite you to stop, on a moonlit night with wet coconut leaves / Beside a pot of freshly boiled potatoes / The fragrant night-blooming jasmine garden" (Homeland Love - Dan Tho). Composer Trinh Cong Son also mentioned the fragrance of the night-blooming jasmine, a flower that blooms at night: "I bring you a night-blooming jasmine / Is it the jasmine that smells good, or your lips?" (Night-blooming Jasmine).

Not only the fragrance of flowers familiar to everyday life, but also the scent of forest flowers has found its way into musical compositions. "Mountain Girl's Song," a composition by musician Tran Hoan, features lyrics like: "Oh mountain girl! Time has captivated me so many times / Beside the forest, the fragrance fills the vast autumn sky." With the song "Sunset in the Color of Leaves," musician Thanh Tung recalls the scent of forest flowers in the forestry fields, where young volunteers worked together to build their homeland: "I walk through the undulating hills / My feet fragrant with forest flowers / So that spring follows my footsteps, accompanying me to the forest."

Along with many other scents, of coffee, incense, new rice, fragrant straw… in other love songs (“Nameless Drop of Sadness” – Tô Giang; “Borderland Evening” – Trần Chung, lyrics: Lò Ngân Sủn; “Spring Has Arrived” – Trần Chung; “Song of the Homeland River” – Nguyễn Trọng Tạo; “Song of Hope” – Văn Ký; “Sunshine on the Poor Village” – Phạm Thế Mỹ; “Like a Love Song” – Nguyễn Ngọc Thiện)…

Fragrance from love affairs

Besides the scents of nature, flowers, and fruits, Vietnamese love songs also contain the fragrance of love, emanating from people who deeply love each other. The scent of hair has appeared in the compositions of many musicians. "Sadness in Memories" by musician Truc Phuong has lyrics like: "The fragrance of hair, tears never shed." And here, another scent in the love song "Dream Under the Flowers," lyrics by poet Dinh Hung, music by composer Pham Dinh Chuong: "Oh, flowers beside my shoulder, the fragrance on my head / Every night I hear dreams drifting away."

Many musical pieces have spoken of the fleeting beauty of life. "Falling Leaves in the Evening" by composers Doan Chuan and Tu Linh carries the melancholy of an unfulfilled love: "There are nights that turn to dawn, how sad life is, my dear old friend!/ Why regret the unfinished, fading beauty?/ The wandering boat now has no harbor." There are beautiful love stories, then separation. One leaves, the other stays, leaving behind poignant verses in the night. "Cold Mist in the Winter Evening" by composer Manh Phat expresses the sadness of longing and waiting: "The verses are chilling in the dim night/ Preserving the petals of past flowers, the scent of waiting/ And drowning in sorrow."

Romantic love stories remain the dreams of many. Composer Ngo Thuy Mien expressed this dream of a passionate autumn love in his song "Autumn for You": "Do you dream that when autumn comes / We will walk the same path together / You and I dream of that autumn, our love will be fragrant?"

Then there's the familiar scent, like a warm breeze, in composer Tran Hoan's song "Spring Love Song": "My dear, spring has arrived on the branches/.../ What a familiar scent, like a warm breeze." Composer Thong Dat, with his song "Who Returns to the Tuong River," remembers a lover, with a scent of love so intensely passionate: "Far away, I still miss you/ I dream of your unforgettable image/ The scent of love, a sweet and intoxicating dream..."

So there you have it, scents that linger in the heart. Here are the scents of flowers, rice, roasted rice, the scent of the countryside, of the ancient forest, of nature; and there is the scent of love, of the deep and passionate bond with one's beloved. These gentle and tender scents in love songs have left unforgettable emotions in the hearts of their admirers. Listening to these love songs again, our hearts are filled with nostalgia for the scents that once intensely accompanied us, or perhaps just fleetingly carried away by the winds of life.

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