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Ngạc (right), posed with classmates and Trịnh Công Sơn (middle left) in Hue
On April 1st, 2001, thousands across Vietnam mourned the death of beloved icon Trinh Cong Son. Widely accepted as the best Vietnamese songwriter and nicknamed “Vietnamese Bob Dylan”, Trinh Cong Son was far more than just a musician. Composing over 600 songs throughout his career, his ballads explored anti-war themes that defined a war-torn Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s, capturing the mourning and suffering of Vietnamese citizens during a chaotic time of change. His pacifist lyrics drew the attention of both the Republic of Vietnam Government in the South, which feared his music’s potential effect on the war effort, and the Northern Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which disagreed with reconciliation efforts after the war. Even to this day, Trinh Cong Son is still celebrated, with his songs often played in street-side cafes and covered by professional and amateur musicians alike. However, to my grandfather, Son was more than just a cultural icon. He was a lifelong friend. Over the years, my grandfather's relationship with Trinh Cong Son was shared only within the family. Now, 78 years after they first met, I hope to bring the story into the public record.
In 1949, my grandfather, Tran Viet Ngac, met Trinh Cong Son in the 5th grade at Thanh Long Elementary School in Hue.
“Tới giờ ông vẫn nhớ là năm lớp năm ông có hai người bạn mà tên bốn chữ: Hoàng Phủ Ngọc Tường, and Trinh Xuan Cong Son”
"Till this day, I still remember that in my 5th grade year, I had two friends with four-letter names: Hoàng Phủ Ngọc Tường and Trịnh Xuân Công Sơn.”
After that fateful classroom, both went their separate ways. Trinh Cong Son enrolled at the French Lycée Français Alexandre Yersin, while Tran Viet Ngac continued schooling in Hue, eventually moving to Saigon, now (Ho Chi Minh City) for university.
It wasn’t until the summer of 1966 that my grandfather returned to Hue that he reunited with his 5th-grade classmates, Tường and Sơn. During that summer, Trịnh Công Sơn crossed the Phu Cam bridge every day to strum his guitar for my grandfather. During this time, Sơn began playing songs from his new album, Ca Khúc Da Vàng (Ballad of Yellow Skin).
“Bây giờ thì ông Sơn không con nói về tình ca nữa mà bắt đầu nói về đất nước, về chiến tranh, và tư tưởng phản chiến”
“Now, Son did not only write love ballads, but talked about the nation, the brutality of war, and anti-war ideology”
Struck by these melodies, Ngac brought back handwritten copies of several of the new songs to share amongst members of the Student Youth Movement, who requested that Sơn come down and personally play his songs and paid for all travel costs to Saigon. Using colored card paper, Ngac created posters that became the first promotional materials for Trịnh Công Sơn in Saigon, pasting them around university campuses across the city. For a few weeks, my grandfather organized shows while Trinh Cong Song gained popularity among universities in Saigon, taking on the role of Son’s first promoter.
After a successful stint in Saigon, Ngạc and Sơn travelled to the mountain town of Dalat. During the first performance, students at Viet Anh school gathered in such large numbers that speakers had to be placed outside the school for those who could not get in. Following this performance, Trinh Cong Son was invited to play at the University of Dalat.
A poster of Trịnh Công Sơn made by my grandfather. While this is not the original , it is reminiscent of the actual posters which would have been printed and decorated with colored paper and paint.
Trinh Cong Son, armed with a simple acoustic guitar, began to incorporate his new, anti-war songs alongside his repertoire of love ballads. Halfway through the performance, Ngac used the excuse of an intermission for a chance to speak to the audience. In front of hundreds of students, he began to explain some of the lyrics from Ca Khúc Da Vàng, explaining the motif of a yellow-skinned slave.
“Người nô lệ da vàng ngủ quên Ngủ quên trong căn nhà nhỏ Đèn thắp thì mờ”
“The yellow-skinned slave drifts into sleep, asleep inside a small, fragile home where the lamp burns dim”
In total, Trinh Cong Son played around 30 songs that night, filling the room with anti-war lyrics. Yet, at the end of the show, the crowd refused to leave, demanding the love ballads that Sơn was originally known for.
“Sau này ông nội mới thấy thế này, tức là có những người họ chưa thích cái nhạc mà chống chiến tranh. Họ thích tình ca thì cứ làm thỏa mãn cho họ, rồi từ cái chỗ mà họ thỏa mãn cái việc tình ca thì họ đến với cái nhạc chống chiến tranh”
“Later on, I realized something: there were people who didn’t initially like music that opposed the war. They preferred love songs, so he sang to satisfy that desire. And once they were drawn in by the love songs, they would then come to the anti-war music”
While the crowd was absorbed in the performance, my grandfather, dressed in a borrowed suit that hung slightly too big on his shoulders, sold copies of the song lyrics to fund their dinner that night. As they continued to travel and perform, they kept the same structure. Son would perform 15 or so songs. Then Ngac would spend around ten minutes explaining the lyrics, and the performance continued. Eventually, at the end of the summer, Ngac and Son returned to their respective lives. Yet, Son would only gain more and more popularity as he rose to become one of the most beloved Vietnamese musicians of all time.
Yet, up until Son’s death, the pair maintained an intimate friendship. At gatherings, Son would introduce Ngac as a longtime friend, but also his first promoter. When Son was hospitalized due to a long battle with diabetes, my grandfather was one of the few people who were allowed to visit him in the hospital. On the night of April 1st, 2001, while thousands paid their respects across the streets of Vietnam, Tran Viet Ngac, along with close friends and family, stood vigil at Son’s house.
“(Trịnh Công Sơn và Hoàng Phủ Ngọc Tường) Có lẽ là hai cái mối tình bạn mà lâu nhất, từ năm lớp năm cho đến những năm ông qua đời”
“(Trịnh Công Sơn and Hoàng Phủ Ngọc Tường) were my two longest friendships, lasting from that fifth-grade classroom all the way to when they passed away.”
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