An Evening of Poetry and Music – Traces of Previous Lives and Love Songs for the Homeland, Part 15 of a Multi-part Series

Once again, we are honored to introduce to you, Lệ Thu, who will sing the song “Sailing Away from Home” by Phạm Duy. “This evening, sending to my homeland All my love and longing From the sky high above descends Immense sadness in this foreign land. In vastness, misty fog rising Weeping willows forlorn by the shore This evening by the open harbor A ship to distant lands sets sail away from home... Turning toward the village of old The Đà River sheds many a tear Elderly mother’s still silhouette Her hair white as snow Her heart withered as she yearns for her children.”

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to invite you to enjoy another piece of music by Phạm Duy: “Humble Village” performed by Duy Khánh. “My village isn’t far from the dazzling capital Pining for dwellers are forlorn thatched huts Who made them dilapidated and desolate? In the quiet of the night, there’s not a single young man Just the sigh of a poor woman wistfully comforting her young child. At dawn, when thick mist envelops the fields Someone is toiling outside on the hill outside Perspiring as he hand-irrigates the crops. On potato beds, when evening faintly descends In the distance, a mother’s joyful laughter Because the pot of rice and corn is full. When will the rice harvest always be bountiful? For the young woman to worry not about the winter wind When will the rice harvest fill up the yard? For the young man to meet the country girl.”

Ladies and gentlemen, we introduce to you our program MCs, Mr. Lê Uyên Phương and Ms. Lê Uyên. “Our Quagmire” performed by Lê Uyên and Phương. “We give each other all the passion We give each other all the bitterness We give each other all of our innocence With lips of passion, With arms embracing On tiptoes walking towards sad love. O nightmare, please pass Melancholy from this love has filled my heart O moments of intoxication, please pass This love of ours is ephemeral... We live in this quagmire Slowly sinking each day And sinking deeper still. In despair, we couldn’t end All the disappointments”