Son grew up with war. His father fought the French
in the first Indochina War, and by the time Son
was a young man, the bloodiest fighting of the
American War ravaged the central provinces of
Vietnam. After the Tet offensive of 1968, which
decimated Hue, Son began to speak out for all
those in Vietnam who deplored war.
Vietnam's Bob Dylan:
Songwriter Trinh Cong Son was born in Hue, the
3,000-year-old imperial capital of Vietnam. His
father had fought the French in the first Indochina
War, and by the time Son was a young man, the
bloodiest fighting of the American War was ravaging
Vietnam's central provinces. The 1968 Tet offensive
decimated Hue, and Son began to "sing"
out for all those in Vietnam who deplored war.
He soon became known as the "Bob Dylan of
Vietnam." He expressed his beliefs in lyrics
like those of "The Love
Song of a Madwoman":
The one I loved is dead
at Plei Me;
The one I loved, somewhere in Zone D, is dead
at Dong Xoai;
Dead in Hanoi, quite suddenly at Chu Prong;
The one I loved is dead, his body carried off
by swift currents
Dead in the rice paddies, in the fields;
Dead in the dark forest;
Dead, cold, burned,
Vietnam, how I would love you!
Son speaks out:
Son was one of the only artists who dared to
protest against the war and its alarming death
toll -over 3 million Vietnamese from both sides
would die. Students thronged to his concerts
at universities. Soldiers from the North carried
tapes of his songs on the Ho Chi Minh Trail
to Hanoi. Son's popularity grew and soon exceeded
any South Vietnamese military or political figure.
His anthems to peace could no longer be ignored.
Both the South and North Vietnamese governments
banned the sale or broadcast of his music, but
black market tapes of his songs flourished.
To avoid being arrested, Son often had to hide.
Peace for some, imprisonment
Son's dream of peace was finally realized in
1975. Most of his family and friends fled Saigon
in the final days of the war, but Son stayed.
"If I leave my land, I am nothing,"
he said. He penned a song as NVA forces entered
Saigon, "Joining Great Arms" that was
(and is) repeatedly played on the radio. Son,
however, was condemned. His lyrics had too often
suggested that "the American War" was
a civil war between North and South Vietnam. This
idea clashed with the official Communist line
which maintained that the war had been a fight
of the Vietnamese people against American imperialism.
As punishment for this verbal treachery, Son was
sent to a reeducation camp. He was ordered to
plant cassava and sweet potatoes in landmine-strewn
Son abandons protest music:
In 1979, Son was allowed to return to Saigon-now
renamed Ho Chi Minh City. When he began writing
songs again, he stayed away from the controversial
music that had previously defined his career and
composed love songs devoid of any political content.
"I had a painful choice - I chose tranquility
of peace and soul. I am another now; I hide my
treasure," he said. Son's love songs brought
him renewed recognition and a whole new generation
of Vietnamese grew up listening to his ballads
of love and loss. Once again Son was Vietnam's
most popular songwriter.
Ironically Son, who had been condemned for his
outspokenness, was criticized by many Vietnamese
who had fled Vietnam and settled abroad for not
speaking out against the the current Vietnamese
government. He was called "a communist stooge"
and "a traitor." The harsh criticism
affected him. Son's health was always fragile
and after his release from re-education he began
to drink heavily. "If I don't drink, I can't
sleep," he said.
Vietnam mourns Son's death
Trinh Cong Son died on April 1, 2001, before
filming of Vietnam Passage: Journeys from
War to Peace was completed. Tens of thousands
of grief-stricken fans lined the streets of Ho
Chi Minh City to pay homage to the man who once
served as conscience to the nation at a great
personal risk to himself. His obituary ran on
front pages all over Vietnam. Even the state-owned
media, which had once condemned his songs, recognized
Son as Vietnam's finest poet.