A Life Completed - Phi Nhung

From: Hue-Tam Tai <hhtai@fas.harvard.edu>

Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2021 8:11 AM

To: Eric Henry <henryhme@bellsouth.net>

Cc: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>

Subject: Re: [Vsg] a life completed

Thank you for sharing this sad news. I used to love "Mua Rung" But when we went to stay at my aunt's in Vinh Long one summer, we met a boy who also loved that song but could not pronounce "r". From his mouth came out "Mua gung". "Raining ginger".

My nostalgia is thus tinged with remembered laughter.

Hue-Tam Ho Tai

Harvard University emerita

On Wed, Sep 29, 2021 at 10:55 AM Eric Henry <henryhme@bellsouth.net> wrote:

Dear list,

For those of you who may be aficionados of tân nhạc, I wish to announce that Phi Nhung 飛茸, a singer for whose work I had a great admiration, died a few days ago of Covid-19 in the course of pursuing charitable projects in Saigon. She was 49.

One reason that I listen a lot to tân nhạc is that many singers in that tradition (now mostly of former generations, alas) have the ability to fluently and precisely adorn melodies with microtonally altered notes that cannot be written on a five-line staff. Phi Nhung was a top-tier performer in this style.

I often think of a performance she made of “Mưa Rừng” by Huỳnh Anh (1932 – 2013). The song comes from a 1961 film of the same name. I am tempted to post a sound document of her performance here, but since this is a semi-public forum, I fear that this might be some kind of copyright infringement. If any of you are not familiar with this performance and would like to hear it, you are welcome to write me personally and request an MP3.

I will paste in below a text of the lyrics with translation. The lyrics address the rain as if it were a sentient entity. These lyrics are not spectacularly fine in themselves, but they fit Huỳnh Anh’s melody beautifully:

“Mưa Rừng”

composer: Huỳnh Anh

Mưa rừng ơi mưa rừng,

Jungle rain, oh jungle rain,

Hạt mưa nhớ ai mưa triền miên?

Who do the mourning, ceaseless drops remember?

Phải chăng mưa buồn vì tình đời,

Could the rain be sad because of mortal love—

Mưa sầu vì lòng người duyên kiếp không lâu. Gloomy that romantic destinies don’t last?

• • •

Mưa từ đâu mưa về,

The rain comes back again from somewhere, making

Làm muôn lá hoa rơi tả tơi,

All the leaves and flowers tumble to the earth.

Tiếng mưa gió lạnh lùa ngoài rừng,

The sound of frigid windy rain sweeps through the jungle;

Lá vàng rời lìa cánh gợi ta nỗi niềm riêng.

Yellow leaves leave branches bare, provoking pensive thoughts...

Ôi ta mong ước xa xôi,

Oh I yearn for distant things

Những đêm ai cô đơn gởi tâm tư về đâu.

On nights when lonely people send their feelings far.

Mưa thương ai, mưa nhớ ai,

Who moves the rain to pity, moves it to remembrance?

Mưa rơi như nức nở,

The rain falls with a sound like sobbing;

Mưa rơi trong lòng tôi.

The rain is falling in my heart.

Mưa rừng ơi mưa rừng,

Jungle rain, oh jungle rain,

Tìm đâu hỡi ơi, bóng người xưa,

Where can you seek, oh rain, the image of a person past?

Mỗi khi mưa rừng về muộn màng,

Each time the jungle rain returns near end of day,

Bóng chiều vàng dần tàn

And day’s end’s shafts of gold recede in stages,

Lòng thương nhớ nào nguôi.

My nostalgia stays and never lessens.

Best wishes to all,

Eric Henry

(Formerly of UNC, Department of Asian Studies, now retired)