Nightlife

Pham Dinh Chuong, the musician of the Thang Long Orchestra, left us many unforgettable songs. He wrote in genres ranging from Cha-cha-cha to Slow... and he also wrote a song with an elegant Bolero melody: "Night Hamlet". He wrote this song in 1955, and I carefully copied it in my school notebook from 1960 to the present day, and it hasn't faded!

"Nighttime neighborhood"—this is not just an address for one particular poor neighborhood, but a poor nighttime neighborhood representing all the poor nighttime neighborhoods that existed in Southern Vietnam during the 20th century.

"Nighttime Hamlet" is a song written in the Bolero style; it could be said to be an elegant Bolero song... although its content depicts "the poverty of a nighttime hamlet, where people live by the labor of their own two hands." Poor but clean, poor but "noble," poor but "characterful," a truly admirable poverty of the poor class in "Nighttime Hamlet," and generally of the working masses at that time!

Bolero music is often criticized as "cheesy." Frankly, no one has yet fully explained the meaning of the word "cheesy"! And to be fair, if there's a song that people consider "cheesy," then if you give it to singers like Thai Thanh or Khanh Ly to sing, it'll instantly lose its "cheesiness"!

In 1960, singer Thanh Thúy, part of a music troupe from Saigon, performed "Xóm Đêm" (Night Hamlet) in Bình Tuy (now Hàm Tân - La Gi). At that time, the concert was free; entry was free. Listening to Thanh Thúy sing "Xóm Đêm"... Because she sang so beautifully, the next morning I rushed to the bookstore to buy the sheet music. But the sheet music for "Xóm Đêm" was sold out. I asked a few friends if I could borrow some to copy.

At the beginning of the "free pause" (The road home at midnight... (just entering the rhythm), it truly is Boléro, neither slow nor fast, gradually unfolding in a nighttime neighborhood like "rain falling, erasing the worn path"...

What makes the song "Nighttime Neighborhood" so good?

In my personal opinion, 80% of a good song is thanks to its lyrics. If a writer or poet were to write a second set of lyrics for "Night Hamlet," I guarantee that this second set of lyrics would instantly transform "Night Hamlet"!

It's strange, but songs about life that include "Rain" are always the best songs! It seems that "Rain" brings more sadness than joy to life, even though "Rain" represents life itself.

In the Bolero melody, "Tap the rhythm as if it were raining," Pham Dinh Chuong showed us a heart-wrenchingly sad "Nighttime Village": "...The road home in the dead of night/ The deep alley at night is colorless/ Through the rickety fence, how many heads are there?/ The dim yellow light of the streetlamp/ The long road is deserted/ Far away, I hear someone singing a dreamy lullaby/ Rain falls, erasing the worn path/ There are two hearts still waiting/ Who is saying goodbye at the silent, deserted village/ Who is sending a thousand gentle words with their eyes?/ Hoping that the poor love will be blessed by the sun on the doorstep tomorrow/ Making life more beautiful..."

Composer Pham Dinh Chuong wrote "The Poor Village with a Poor Couple Temporarily Residing," about sleepless nights hoping for a brighter day: "...In the night of exile, who is longing?/ A lonely night of waiting/ A night of countless hours of silent rain/ Carried by the wind, stirring dreams/ A promise of tomorrow's warm spring light/... Therefore, the night still awakens with fragrance/ To guide someone's steps on the road/ To see the village at night without sadness/ Because there are people who know how to bring love..."

"Nighttime hamlets" refers to hamlets along canals, suburban hamlets… often poor hamlets throughout Southern Vietnam during the war. Back then, working-class people living in these poor hamlets loved this song. It could be said that this is one of the most elegant Bolero songs in Vietnam.

The song "Nighttime Neighborhood" was released in 1955, and even after so many years, listeners still fondly remember those loving nighttime neighborhoods: "...The night is silent and lonely / Hearing someone softly sing a tender lullaby / Hearing the air filled with love / Promising to end the desolation of life..."

Source