I wrote this article during Iraq war to honor our soldiers
This lady play the song with a single zither instrument
If I will not come home this New Year
I know my mom and my brothers
are waiting and looking for me
When they saw the yellow plum
flowers bloom at the gate
Last year I promised I will
be home at a new year
Now swallows are darting
through the gate
And the information of my son
still far away
Oh! Remember one time with no
war
Listen to the fire crackers
any where
Sat beside the cake boiler
and waited for the sun rose
And our faces are turned red
If I do not come home my mom
probably is very sad
The roof of our house does
not have a person to decorate
The garden does not have
yellow flowers to celebrate a new year
My young brothers are waiting
for their old brother
To bring home for them a new shirt
And they will wear to show
the neighbors on three days of a new year
I know my mom was waiting and
my brothers were looking for me
If I come home my comrades
will be sad
All of us were celebrated
many new years at the battlefield
I can not be warm at home and
leave my friends at the war zone
Oh! Mommy I will not come home this new year
Trịnh Lâm Ngân wrote this song during Vietnam War. He described a sentiment of a soldier during the New Year Holidays (Tết).
War is violent. War separated teachers and students, husband and wife, father and children, brothers and sisters, friends and friends. A soldier always put his country at the highest priority. A soldier can not go home on the new year even he knew his mother and his brothers, sisters are waiting to see him because he was loyal to his comrades. Soldiers live and die together on a battlefield, combated for one reason and served for the country. During Vietnam War every family from North to the South did lose at least one son. One joke flawed around this war time “One day in the military equals to nine days in the jail and one day in the jail equals one thousand autumn season out of jail”. A soldier had no hope to alive. History proved that soldier life is as a bird feather. In China Vuong Han (王 翰) wrote a poem “A song of Liangzhou”:
Raise a cup of wine in a
bright night
He wants to drink but the
sound of music push him to get up on horseback
Who laugh you when you drunk
on the battlefield?
From the past until present
how many soldiers ever comes home?
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涼 州 詞 葡 萄 美 酒 夜 光 杯 欲 飲 琵 琶 馬 上 催 醉 臥 沙 場 君 莫 笑 古 來 征 戰 幾 人 回
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Lương Châu Từ Bồ đào mỹ
tửu dạ quang bôi Dục ẩm tì bà mã thượng khôi Túy ngọa sa trường quân mạc
tiếu Cổ lai chinh chiến kỷ
nhân hồi |
Bài hát Lương Châu
(Lương Châu là một vùng ở
tĩnh Cam Túc bênTrung Hoa)
Nâng chén rượu bồ đào trong đêm sáng
Muốn uống nhưng tiếng tì bà
đã dục lên lưng ngưạ
Say mà nằm nơi sa trường có
ai cười đâu
Từ xưa đến nay mấy ngư ời trở
lại từ nơi chiến trường
The first three lines of this song:
I know my mom and my brothers are waiting and looking
for me
When they saw the yellow plum flowers bloom at the
gate
Last year I promised I will be home at a new year
Trịnh Lâm Ngân described
a soldier sentiment. The work “yellow plum flowers” indicated the New Year
season (two weeks on the winter, December, and a month on the spring, January).
This plum has a yellow flower; each flower has five wings and only blooms on
New Year season. This flower is always looks fresh even when it falls down to
the ground. The South Vietnam military used this flower symbol to present the
officer ranking from Lieutenant to Colonel.
The South Vietnam president, Ngô đình Diệm, wanted his officers having
the courage as this flower, always happy to serve for country until the last
minute on their life.
The name of flowers, trees, and birds are used in Asian literature to indicate the seasons, time passing by. Each flower, tree or bird indicates a different season because people only see theses flowers, trees or birds once a year. In Vietnam literature the author of the famous poem “Song of Soldier Wife” used these ideas while a soldier said goodbye to his wife:
When you departed the orioles did not come on the
willows
And you said you will be home when cuckoos sang a son
The cuckoos started to push the orioles grown old
And the swallows darted and chirp on the front gate
When you leave the yellow plum flower was still shy
with the wind
And you promised to come back when the blossom bloomed
Blossom started to play with the east wind
And the lotus bloomed beside the river
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柳
條 猶 未 囀 黃 鸝 問
君 何 日 歸 君
約 杜 鵑 啼 杜
鵑 已 逐 黄 鸝 老 青
柳 樓 前 語 鷾 鴯 憶
昔 與 君 相 別 中 雪
梅 猶 未 識 東 風 老
梅 江 上 又 芙 蓉 |
Liễu điều do vị chuyển
hoàng ly Vấn quân hà nhật quy Quân ước đỗ quyên đề Đỗ quyên dĩ trục hoàng
ly lão Thanh liễu lâu tiền ngữ ý nhi Ức tích dữ quân tương biệt trung Tuyết mai do vị thức đông
phong Lão mai giang thượng hựu phù dung |
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Thuở lâm hành oanh chưa bén liễu,
Hỏi
ngày về, ước nẻo quyên ca.
Nay
quyên đã giục oanh già,
Ý nhi lại gáy trước nhà líu
lo.
Thuở
đăng đồ, mai chưa dạn gió,
Hỏi
ngày về, chỉ độ đào bông.
Nay
đào đã quyến gió đông,
Phù dung lại nở bên sông bơ sờ.
Notes:
Orioles:
winter
Cuckoos:
summer
Swallows:
spring
Yellow
plum flower: winter
Rose:
spring
East
wind: spring. On the spring the wind comes from the east.
Lotus: summer
Now swallows are darting through the gate
And the information of my son still far away
The fourth and fifth lines of the first part described the worries of a soldier’s Mom. Her son left on the winter and promised with her to come home on the spring. Now the time passed by and the swallows warned the spring came but his mom was still waited for his information on vacation.
Oh! Remember one time with no war
Listen to the fire crackers any where
Sat beside the cake boiler and waited for the sun rose
And our faces are turned red
On the second part author
reminded every one how peacefully during the time without war. Every one was
happy to celebrate a new year with fire crackers. On the New Year Eve, every
body did not want to go to bed, children sat around the cake boiler and wait for
the New Near to receive gifts. The flame of boiler cooking reflected to their
face and they looked like to make up with red powder.
The mother prepared meals for the New Year and boiled pudding cakes (bánh tét, bánh chưng). These special pudding cakes only make once a year on the New Year Eve.
If I do not come home my mom probably is very sad
The roof of our house does not have a person to
decorate
The garden does not have yellow flowers to celebrate a
new year
My young brothers are waiting for their old brother
To bring home for them a new shirt
And they will wear to show the neighbors on three days of a new year
The third part told us that a
soldier knew that his mom will be disappointed and his house will not be
decorated, his garden will not have flowers on the New Year. A war destroyed a
normal life and a New Year day looked like a funeral day. The most influence to
us and broke our heart when we listen to soldier talking about his mom and his
brothers. His younger brothers hoped and waited for him with a new shirt. During the tree days of New Year children
wear new clothes and went to neighbors to show them what they got. This moment
only happened once a year and now his brothers will not have it this year. If
you ever received no gifts on Christmas/New Year or you saw some one did not
have a condition to celebrate Holidays you will understood deeply what the
author tried to tell you.
I know my mom is waiting and my brothers are looking for me
If I come home my comrades will be sad
All of us were celebrated many new years at the
battlefield
I can not be warm at home and leave my friends at the
war zone
Oh! Mommy I will not come home this new year
Although a soldier knew his Mom anxious and his brothers hope for but he decided to stay at the battlefield. Soldier’s life was bonded together. Their friendship was the most important in their life because they shared happiness, sadness, live and die for each other. Soldier put his country priority above his family. On the poem “Song of Soldier Wife” author wrote:
On the foggy morning the country announced a draft
The law was weight more than
a deeply feeling
(Sứ trời sớm giục đường mây
Phép công là trọng niềm tây sá nào)
使 星 天 門 崔 曉 發 Sứ tinh thiên môn thôi hiểu phát
行 人 重 法 輕 離 別 Hành nhân trọng pháp khinh
ly biệt
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Asian philosophies stated that a soldier shall be used horse skin to cover his body and it is better to die on the battlefield than die in a woman hand. Soldier’s life were unpredictable, they used too with danger and they were courage. On the “Song of Soldier Wife” was also influenced by these ideas:
Soldiers
have gone to a war for long time
They knew that their life as a grass
(Những người chinh chiến bấy lâu
Nhẹ xem tính mệnh như màu cỏ cây)
古 來 征戰 人 Cổ lai chinh chiến nhân
性命 輕 如 草 Tính mệnh khinh như thảo
And
A man will cover him with horse skin
Though a great mountain as a goose feather
(Chí làm trai dặm nghìn da ngựa
Gieo Thái Sơn nhẹ tựa hồng mao )
丈 夫 千 里 志 馬 革 Trượng phu thiên lý chí mã cách
泰 山 一 擲 輕 鴻 毛 Thái Sơn nhất trịch khinh hồng mao
On the poem “Violet Flower” Hữu Loan wrote:
Married with a soldier during a war time
How many of them will come
back
(Lấy chồng đời chiến binh
Mấy người đi trở lại)
Many tears ran down on soldier’s face and he felt hurt when he wrote “Mommy I will not come home this year”
Why the author did not mention to a soldier’s father? Was his Mom a single woman?
A man provides a financial
and serves for the country. He is a shadow of his family.
Asian woman has many different responsibilities. She takes care everything for her family: raising children, teaching them moral and a man‘s responsibilities. On Vietnamese proverb it indicated that “A bad child because of his mom, a bad grand child because of his grandma” (Con hư tại mẹ, cháu hư tại bà). A woman also acted as husband during a war time, served mother in law and taught a child to read. One more time the poem “Song of Soldier Wife” emphasized these duties:
Your mom stood by at the door with sadness
Your child was hungry and wait for the rice
I took care your mom as her son
I acted as father to teach your child to read
( Lòng lão thân buồn khi tựa cửa
Miệng hài nhi chờ bữa mớm cơm
Ngọt
bùi thiếp đã hiếu nam
Dạy con đèn
sách thiếp làm phụ thân)
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老
親 兮 倚 門 |
Lão thân hề ỷ môn |
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兒
郎 兮 待 哺 |
Nhi lang hề đãi bộ |
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供
親 餐 兮 妾 爲 男 |
Cung thân xan hề thiếp vi nam |
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課
子 書 兮 妾 爲 父 |
Khóa tử thư hề thiếp vi phụ |
Many Americans do not
understand a war. War brings to human suffering, separation, hopeless. War is evil
genius and some one will lost a love one during a war. That why we call “war”,
not peace.
Now you completely understood the war and soldiers’ duties, you never ever hurt them. You must respect them. Without soldiers you will not have a normal life. You always support our troops and do not protest the war. You protest the war is the same way you stab our troops in their back and support enemies.
Virginia, 04 July 2006
Phat Tran-Lam
School of Pedagogy, University of Saigon
Major: Vietnamese and Chinese literature
Class 1972