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Composer: Anh Viet Thu
English Title: Lifestream
Translated By: Gigi

The wind blows south, the river guides the wind toward south.
A ferry treads north, dividing the river, causing the current to flow upstream.
A pair of hands row the boat, calloused from months of hardship.
My shirt drenched in sweat, I must hurry to make it to the market on time.

The sun sets in the west, a flock of birds follow the sun to the west.
We head north until we’re breathless, peddling items until we’re tired.
Because we love each other, it doesn’t matter whether we’re both famished or full.
Gazing at the vastness of the water, I hope that my life will turn out well.

Whether it’s the stream or whether it’s the lifestream,
Yet, the current continues to flow upstream with me for months and years.
The water might subside, but then the water suddenly crashes.
The flock of birds might fly far and wide, only to be exterminated.

Yet, my life is like that of a group of water hyacinths,
Silently drifting with the current, with the disarrayed water ferns.
A quiet night beside the river, sitting beneath the mist,
I feel a sting of pain in my heart every time you let out a sigh.

The water wharf from long ago, how can you forget the ferry from long ago?
The evening wind falls silent, but who is quietly crying all alone?
You were the one who stopped rowing, who else would let me drift away?
The stream is vast, yet I am left alone to drift on the stream called life.

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Composer: Tran Thien Thanh
English Title: White Snow
Translated By: Gigi

I know that you and I are very sad this evening.
I promised, but you didn’t see my figure appear.
When the sun shines on your footsteps at the school gates.
When evening pulls back the many love and affection.
When the runway awaits for me to spread these metal wings.

Over here my shirt flutters green, green like our love,
I tied tightly the warm scarf that you knit for me.
When the air spin into vortices behind the wings,
The airplane shrieks in a roar causing my heart to faint.
The airplane speeds up, I spread my wings soaring high.

Wavering like a bird’s wings,
The airplane will leave, leave faraway from the city now.
Clouds stretch really low,
Clouds knit a silk of white,
Clouds chisel into the color of the sun.

Soaring across the skies and ascending into the sky,
The clouds tie together into an area of white snow.
Oh, snow, please dye a color of white,
Into the soul of the petite girl that I love.

When the evening sun sets, the world suddenly darkens,
Erasing that vast area of white snow.
I wish that our love would be like the virgin snow,
Even though both of us are in separate worlds,
Even though the white snow has already disappeared into the night.

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Composer: Minh Ky
English Title: The Story of Three Rainy Seasons
Translated By: Gigi

Ever since the beginning of time, the sound of rain never sounded joyful.
I’m going to tell a story that occurred three rainy seasons ago.
I devoted every piece of my heart to that one person,
Promising to love her and think of her always.

She is a maiden, with silky hair that covered her small shoulders.
A pair of red lips, with a fond remembrance of someone.
Dainty feet, petite heels, searching for her purpose in life.
That heaven has already preordained for her.

We loved each other like butterflies mesmerized by flowers.
As beautiful as a dream, we overcame the first year.
The next year, like rain and wind staring at each other.
She completely forgot her love for me, and that ended the third year.

As I glance at the rain, I feel the pain deepening within my heart.
Love is a blooming flower, at its peak of beauty, only to wither away.
If only I didn’t offer all of my love to her in the past.
Then I wouldn’t feel so miserable now.

Translator’s Notes: Each rainy season stands for one year. Most of Viet Nam has a tropical climate, especially in the South, so there are only two seasons a year instead of four: the sunny season and the rainy season. This excludes cities farther North, such as Ha Noi, that actually experiences all four seasons every year.

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Composer: Thai Thinh
English Title: Destiny
Translated By: Gigi

Because I’m a girl, I haven’t loved anyone once.
Looking towards the future, the rivers and roads seemed wider and longer.
Living in a small house, my younger siblings have yet to mature.
Because my parents loved me, they looked for a potential spouse,
With hopes that this lonely ship can finally find its rightful shore.
I have yet to be attached to those kind of relationships.
Fearing that once I’ve loved, I would be hurt.

I haven’t loved once, how can I anticipate the future?
I don’t know what to expect when it comes to love.
How deep is the river? No one can truly measure its depth.
So how can I measure the depth of someone’s love for me?
Many years have passed that I have lived in peace,
Until I fell in love, which brought me many miseries.
Shallowness depends on the river, how can anyone tell from the surface?
If the ship hasn’t dwell in the shore, how can it know if the water is clear?

And now he comes with his family and relatives to greet mine.
During one joyous day, with just one step forward, I’ve become a loving wife,
Leaving behind my younger siblings who look on with sorrowful eyes.
My parents are happier although tears wet their cheeks.
They reminded me to always uphold my husband’s family ethics.
Walking past the river, I silently ask the crashing waves,
“Is it possible for a girl not to love anyone in her life?”

Translator’s Note: The title “Destiny” refers to her role as a girl, as in what’s expected of her because of her gender: to fall in love, get married, and have a family. She is “destined” to be in this role because she is a girl. To please her parents and others, she must accept this role because she realizes that even she cannot go against destiny (refer to the last line).

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‘Twas Spring when I loved you, the mountains appeared spacious
Crystal-clear lakes sparkled like a thousand golden wings
The day I loved you, the leaves colored green with youth
Waiting for Autumn to arrive before withering
A flock of birds by the river shed their wings every evening
A person sitting by the shore recalls the past

The world seemed gloomy, the months and days seemed desolate
Thought I saw you pass by beneath the flag’s shadow
Then I hear the cheering of the mountains around me
I wait for the sun the rise before leaving
My footsteps tread far, I reminisce as I return
Every night I hear the wind whistle so calmly.

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2. Hien Thuc- Bong Bong Bay
3. Khanh Ly – Bien Nho
4. Khanh Ly – Bai Ca Danh Cho Nhung Xac Nguoi
5. Khanh Ly- Ha Trang
6. Khanh Ly- Hat Cho Nguoi Nam Xuong
7. Khanh Ly – Nhu Mot Loi Chia Tay
8. Khanh Ly – Nhu Canh Vac Bay
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An old person within a park,
An insane person within a city,
A person lying down without breathing,
A person sitting hearing bombs explode.

A person sitting for twenty years,
Watching a flare illuminating at night.
A group of children desensitized to sights of war.
Our people lie down with wounds within them.

Our motherland rests for twenty years,
With its fragile flesh and bones,
Waiting for the land to be blessed.
A golden pigment on our soft skins.
We must cherish the color of our country.

A long day in motherland,
A day in Viet Nam is so devastating.
A rice field brazen by the reddened land.
A herd of buffaloes won’t plow the grass.

A long day in motherland.
Our people forgot that they’re alive.
A prison that nourishes the people.
Our people miss their home.

The days are long and worrisome,
And every night, war torments us.
Our people appear so strange.
Our people look at each other with hatred.

A prison within motherland.
Our people have forgotten their race.
Every day we build upon our resentments.
Every day we crush the marks of war.

Our motherland rests for twenty years,
With its fragile flesh and bones,
Waiting for the land to be blessed.
A golden pigment on our soft skins.
We must cherish the color of our country.

A long day in motherland.
That group of children have matured.
An old person look on with grief,
Waiting for the cold breeze to calm.

A person sitting for twenty years.
A bittersweet moment with a glass of wine.
How can a Vietnamese person not have golden skin.
How can a mother not miss her deceased children.

Translator’s Notes: The “we” in this song is the Vietnamese people. Trinh Cong Son uses the words “người Việt” (meaning: Vietnamese people) in almost every line and I translated it as “our people” since this song is for the Vietnamese people. By doing so, I hope the the readers can immerse themselves in this song and truly understand the emotions that Trinh Cong Son was conveying. The last two lines in this song are rhetorical questions and so I did not end them with a question mark.

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Night after night, the artillery shells descend into town.
A street sweeper halts his broom to silently listen.
As the shells drop, a mother wakes from her slumber.
As the shells drop, a child lets out an innocent cry.
Bright flames pierce the dark night over the mountains.

Night after night, the artillery shells descend into town.
A street sweeper halts his broom to silently listen.
After each round, a child awakens with fright.
A shelter collapses. Oh, the piles of flesh!
Each night its flames blinds the face of our land.

Thousands of bombs explode by the village gates.
Like rain, the bombs poured onto the rice fields.
A house burns crimson at the end of the street.
Endless grenades, claymores that the trucks carry.
Endless stores they carry throughout our town.
Bones scattered everywhere, our mothers’, our loved ones’.

Night after night, the artillery shells descend into town.
A street sweeper halts his broom to silently listen.
Night after night, I can hear the future trembling.
Shells, like prayers, but they don’t bring salvation.
A child barely alive listens to the sounds every night.

Night after night, the artillery shells descend into town.
A street sweeper halts his broom to silently listen.
Each night, the artillery shells sing our people to sleep.
Their familiar sounds, like a refrain from a sad folk song.
Our children have yet to mature to catch a glimpse of home.

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2. Khanh Ly – Ngay Dai Tren Que Huong
3. Khanh Ly – Cat Bui
4. Khanh Ly – Bien Nho
5. Khanh Ly- Ha Trang
6. Khanh Ly- Hat Cho Nguoi Nam Xuong
7. Khanh Ly – Nhu Mot Loi Chia Tay
8. Khanh Ly – Nhu Canh Vac Bay
9. Khanh Ly – Hay Song Gium Toi
10. Khanh Ly – Phoi Pha

Composer: Trinh Cong Son
English Title: Withered Away
Translated By: Gigi

I embrace the heart of the night
Gazing at the new moon, now returning
Remembering those footsteps of the past
Oh, how ephemeral
Every youthful spring has now aged
I pass by the shore one day
Life is like the passing wind

I have no one left
The road back seems infinitely long
Those nights away from you
Bitter wine filled the glasses
I constantly drink this life away
To relinquish every bit of happiness
For the world that’s waiting

I return only to wait each day
Watching the sun shines its luminous rays
Watching the raindrops fall endlessly
Is there anyone who’s been away only to return?
To return to the end of the skies
To become the drifting clouds

Just return to where you came
The road on this life is but nothing
How many seasons have passed?
There are many times
From the midnight garden, footsteps arrive
Footsteps so silent, but from whom?
Within my soul, I envision the past.

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2. Khanh Ly – Bien Nho
3. Khanh Ly – Ru Ta Ngam Ngui
4. Khanh Ly- Ha Trang
5. Khanh Ly – Dem Thay Ta La Thac Do
6. Khanh Ly – Nhu Mot Loi Chia Tay
7. Khanh Ly – Nhu Canh Vac Bay
8. Khanh Ly – Diem Xua
9. Khanh Ly – Doa Hoa Vo Thuong
10. Khanh Ly – Nguoi Ve Bong Nho

Composer: Trinh Cong Son
English Title: Live for Me
Translated By: Gigi

Live for me; speak for me; breathe for me.
This flesh is saved for the act of vengeance,
For madness, for ambition, of a pack of lunatics.

Live for me; speak for me; breathe for me.
This heart is saved for the crimson fire,
For peace, for the people who are still struggling.

Can anybody hear the voices of the Vietnamese people?
Who yearn only for peace within the dismal night,
Who yearn for the day where warmth will embrace their souls.

Live for me; speak for me; breathe for me.
It’s been so long, why are you still waiting?
Why are you still sitting, silently sleeping, my brothers?

Live for me; speak for me; breathe for me.
What else is there to see besides the ravaging flames of war?
My people, how can you rejoice being nothing but beggars?

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4. Khanh Ly – Cat Bui
5. Asia Hop Ca – Dap Loi Song Nui
6. Khanh Ly – Bien Nho
7. Khanh Ly- Ha Trang
8. Khanh Ly- Hat Cho Nguoi Nam Xuong
9. Khanh Ly – Nhu Mot Loi Chia Tay
10. Khanh Ly – Phoi Pha