From "Quan Ho Village" to "Cau River Night": Kinh Bac Love Song

Notable among them are the two poems “Quan Ho Village” and “Dem Song Cau”, which were set to music into two popular songs: “Quan Ho Village of My Hometown” and “Love on the Quan Ho River”.

“My hometown Quan Ho village, January is the season of singing festivals, the nights of singing and calling of the moon, the Cau River is green, across the green Quan Ho village”. The lyrics in the song “My hometown Quan Ho village” by musician Nguyen Trong Tao have become familiar, not only to the people of Bac Ninh , but also to the love and memory of many people who love beauty at home and abroad. The gentle and poetic landscape and people of Bac Ninh are depicted in each verse, so that many people, because of their passion for a song, have had to return to the poetic Cau River, intoxicated by the Quan Ho melodies of the Lien Anh and Lien Chi singers on both banks.

Cau River, section through Phu Lang commune, Bac Ninh province.

“My Quan Ho Village” was composed by musician Nguyen Trong Tao from the poem “Quan Ho Village” by poet Nguyen Phan Hach in 1978. Poet and writer Nguyen Phan Hach is also a son of Bac Ninh, born and raised in Mao Dien commune, now Mao Dien ward. He deeply loves the beauty of his homeland. The beautiful natural scenery and the unique cultural and spiritual life of Quan Ho people have penetrated deeply into his subconscious, present in lyrical verses: “Cau River is a green bag/ Across the Quan Ho village/ The sails of nostalgia/ The song at the beginning of the wind/ Mother washes her blouse by the river/ The moonlit night calls/ The water flows gently/ The stork goes wading/ January is the festival singing season/ Brown shirt scented with incense/ Basket hat with hanging straps/ The long dark folds of clothing…” . Poet Nguyen Phan Hach and musician Nguyen Trong Tao, two kindred spirits, met and sublimated, the whole poem - song about Quan Ho village took off, reaching a large audience near and far.

"The poem "Night on the Cau River" composed in 1980 is my heart, my love in particular, but also the fate of soldier love in general at that time..." - Colonel, poet Do Trung Lai.

Colonel and poet Do Trung Lai was from the old Ha Tay province, now Hanoi . During his life as a poet, he had many opportunities to meet Bac Ninh, had deep memories of the poetic Cau River, and then created the famous poem "Cau River Night". The poet once confided in the People's Army Newspaper: "The poem "Cau River Night" composed in 1980 is my heart, my love in particular, but also the fate of soldiers' love in general at that time...".

The author said that in his youth, he loved a Kinh Bac girl by the Cau River. Due to the circumstances at that time, they loved each other for three years but the number of times they met each other added up to only a few hours, and each time they met was in a hurry. The reason the poem is called “Cau River Night” is because one Saturday evening, the poet and his lover went to the Cau River to play, sitting on the dike looking down and seeing many rafts of people fishing under the moonlight on the riverbank. The sparkling moonlight shining on the calm river water that night sowed many emotions in the poet’s heart. Besides, witnessing the fierceness of war and the spirit of sacrifice for the Fatherland of our soldiers and many couples separated by war… the author had abundant emotions to write the poem.

The lyrics of the poem "Cau River Night" are simple and real, describing the "route" of a soldier to his beloved: "I crossed the Red River, the Duong River/In the rainy season, the water foamed red/I don't know where you live/A quiet stretch of the Cau River...". The image of a girl in love appears so gentle and profound: "You are the gentle Tam/In the middle of my life, I went to the festival/Love was exchanged peacefully/But my eyes still looked at each other in confusion...". And the Cau River is like a witness to their love: "Cau River is sometimes full, sometimes empty/Flowing across the quan ho song/Wetting the hem of many people's shirts/The hem of love is wet with the hem of memories/You speak as softly as a breath/I listen to remember for the rest of my life:/Keep love like keeping fire/Don't forget, don't fade, don't let it go!...".

“The Night on the Cau River” also depicts another love, which is the love for one’s homeland and country. To preserve their great love for their homeland and country, lovers accept sacrifices and temporarily separate from each other in longing. But it is also this longing that is the support for soldiers to firmly defend the Fatherland: “Tomorrow will surely be sunny/ So the stars will be spread all over the head/ Tomorrow, we will guard the northern border/ Leaning against the night of the Cau River”.

By chance, he came across “Dem Song Cau” in Van Nghe newspaper, musician Phan Lac Hoa composed the song “Love on the Quan Ho River”. The Cau River once again appeared as a charming lyrical character, witnessing a beautiful love: “Where does love come from? A gentle stretch of the Cau River. Stars in the sky pass through the mesh of the net. Falling into the deep river. Love has been exchanged peacefully. You are the gentle Tam. But your eyes still look confused...”. The Cau River flows through Bac Ninh, still the same for thousands of years, imbued with Quan Ho songs on both banks. That river has been, is and will always be an endless source of inspiration for poetry. Not only Bac Ninh people but also tourists from all over the world admire the river of Quan Ho singers, wanting to come here to hear the Lien Anh and Lien Chi singers sing: “The Cau River water flows gently, but we, we love each other, never, never will it stop…”.

Thanh Huong

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/tu-lang-quan-ho-den-dem-song-cau-ban-tinh-ca-kinh-bac-postid424806.bbg