Tuesday, June 6, 2006

The last three "poems" I posted are actually lyrics of Vietnamese songs my mom sung to me, my sisters, and my cousins when we were babes. I'm not for certain about the first two, but the last one, Leaving the Village, was definately a song she sang. All I could remember were the words, "planks" and "bamboo." Actually, I didn't even realize the meaning of the words, just remembered the sounds. I came upon research over these songs a little over a year ago, and listened to some of the recordings to it. It's a little confusing to decipher because she'd sang them so long ago, and they all have similar melodies. Supposedly, these songs have been around some time, but no one had taken the liberty to record them orally or on print until recently.

And I tell you, it makes me sad to listen to them, and even more melancholy to learn what they meant. When I was little, I just knew the sounds and tunes of the songs, and even that by itself made me feel both sad and peaceful. Lullabies I tell you.

The Love Lament was depressing, but what really got to me was when I listened to it, I kept missing the beginning and end, though I kept replaying it to compare it to the english. The translations, they have a different effect. But the beginning and end in both languages still stand out the most to me.

The Second Wife was simply lamentable, and I decided it deserved some space.


I don't mean to be one of those annoying bloggers that post up stupid lyrics and poems no one cares about but them. But I thought these were short and sweet.

=]
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