CON ÐƯỜNG CÁI QUAN (The National Highway, traditionally known as The Mandarin Road) was conceived in 1954, when Vietnam was divided by the world powers into nationalist and communist zones at Geneva. I was then studying music in Paris, and this song cycle was my protest against the partition of my country. The work was completed in 1960.
The whole cycle consists of 19 songs, most in the pentatonic scale and making use of metaboles (modulations). However, I did not hesitate to include a number of songs in the Western diatonic scale.
CON ÐƯỜNG CÁI QUAN
(The Mandarin Road)
(to my companion)
CON ÐƯỜNG CÁI QUAN consists of three parts:
Part One: From The North, with the heroic character of the ancestral
land
Part Two: Through The Central Regions, full of love but with some
bitterness
Part Three: To The South, expressing the joy of a people who overcame
the forces of nature to complete the Vietnamese nation.
The song cycle is composed of several songs with individual titles each of which
could be performed in isolation. The whole cycle forms a musical
scenery which could be performed with people in regional costumes in their appropriate
settings.
TỪ MIỀN BẮC
From The North
YOUNG MAN ON THE HIGHWAY
The Mowing Girl:
Young man on the highway
Stop a while
Stop a while
To listen to my complaint
Where are you rushing so...
I WALKED FROM THE NAM QUAN GATE
The Traveller:
I walked from the Nam Quan Gate,
Thousands of years ago
When a hundred children were divided.
Fifty went up the mountains
To build the frontierlands
Fifty went down the rivers
To reach the ocean
Across the mountains.
O my friends! O my friends!
I followed those who guarded the homeland against the Chinese
But I have yet to visit the Chi Lang gate
O my friends! O my friends!
Spare a thought for those in battle armour in the mountains....
KỲ LỪA STREET IN ÐỒNG ÐĂNG
Tô Thị:
In Ðồng Ðăng there is a street called Kỳ Lừa
Where Tô Thị stands waiting
For he whom she told not to come back
So that she lives on forever as the Awaiting Wife
The traveller walks in the highlands; its people sing a farewell song:
TRAVELLER TO THE PLAINS
The Highland People:
Traveller to the plains, take with you the mountain people's love
Graceful polehouses perching by the empty path see you across the hills
Take this rice with you
Up and up you walk
Leaving the lonely brook
Until you embrace the sky...
The Traveller:
The path to the plains is filled with the smell of mountain rice and firewood
Across the pass, the ricefields smile
The road to the plains, with uncounted ferries and inns,
May be long and hard, o my companion, but is full of joỵ
One day when from a dilapidated bridge we look at the floating water weeds
We shall remember the shiny flowing hair...
Together:
Up and down the road
We shall remember things we talked about
Farewell for now
We shall meet again over the horizon...
O TRAVELLER
The Ferry Woman:
O traveller stopping by the river
You make it worth my while rowing this ferry
Salute to you who have found your love
On the road that unites our people's heart.
The Traveller:
The Thương river may flow in several streams
My heart is faithful to you as I return to Hà Nội
The Thương may be muddy and its people burnt by the sun
I shall not forget you when I go back to the city
I SET OUT WHEN THE MOON WAS YOUNG
The Traveller:
I set out when the moon over the fields was young,
Now the moon is still shining on the city's gate
Holding my breath I listen to the greetings of the Capital's multitude
Emotions well up as I walk in my people's history
The Traveller and The Capital's People:
Beloved dwellings on both side, O my people! O my people!
Many times has green moss covered your tiles
Thăng Long, city of many sad partings
O Turtle tower, o Turtle tower
A breeze brings the traveller home, like a Champasong...
Part Two
QUA MIỀN TRUNG
Through The Central Regions
WHO IS WALKING IN THE WIND AND THE MIST
The Children:
Who is walking there in the wind and the mist
Hurry, hurry! Don't tarry
The road is still long
The road is still long...
COME TO HUẾ, COME
The Mother:
Come to Huế, come
Don't be afraid of the wilds of Nhà Hồ and the rips of Tam Giang
À á ơ a a à á ơi
Towards father's village, the road is so long, the river so wide
Towards mother's village the mountains are so high, the passes so steep
À á ơ a a à á ơi
But sleep well, my child
'cause there's someone
Walking to repair the bridges
À á ơ a a à á ơi.
WHO IS WALKING ON THE ENDLESS ROAD
The Villagers:
Hò hô hò hò ơi hò
Who is walking there on the endless road
Why are you hurrying thus
Hố hô hò khoan
Hò hô hò hò ơi hò
Please join us, my friend
In our celebrations tonight
Hố hô hò khoan.
The Traveller:
That year when spring came
I set out in the footsteps of Princess Huyền Trân
On this road built on bones and full of sorrow
For this land she gave her beauty
I follow in the footsteps of a love
To ensure the peace and prosperity of many
On the hills the wind blows
Bringing her perfume to the capital city.
The People of the Center:
Hò hô hò hò ơi hò
You who walk on the bumpy road
Hurry, the country's task remains to be done
Hố hô hò khoan.
Hò hô hò hò ơi hò
Hurry, or you'll be late
For the love story of yore
Hố hô hò khoan.
SETTING OUT ON THE ENDLESS ROAD
Princess Huyền Trân:
I set out on the endless road
I set out on the endless road
A thousand miles might it run on
And home might tug at my heart
But the road was not as far away as the love between two peoples.
I stepped into my people's heart
I stepped into my people's heart
Carrying a dream in my virgin's soul
Carrying my passion
A wish to bring peace with my love.
Among the gleaming golden towers
A cinnamon tree in the forest I was.
But when the season of mourning came and my beauty was gone
Gone also was love.
As the seeds of hatred were sown.
This land burned with the fire of the funeral pyre.
Love is as fragile as a thread of silk
Love is as fragile as a thread of silk.
On this frontier a tenuous dream
Could not stop the tidal wave.
In the night a soul returns to the ghostly tower
THE WIND BENDS THE BAMBOOS
Huế Girl:
Ớ ơi hò ! Ớ hò ơi
The wind is bending the bamboos
The bell of Thiên Mụ tolls in the misty morning
Hardly has he stopped by the Hương river
That the road is already calling
Leave quickly if you must to restore old loves
And strengthen old relationships
Ớ ơi hò ! Ớ hò ơi
I'M LEAVING THE POOR VILLAGE AND THE ARID FIELDS
The Traveller:
Hò hô hò hò ơi hò
Ím leaving the poor villages and the arid fields Climbing sand dunes, crossing the Hải Vân Pass Hố hô hò khoan.
Hò hô hò hò ơi hò
I look at the swallows flying I call at the flocks of bird Hố hô hò khoan.
People Of The Center:
The Lê king is leading his troops to the Center
Following the Nguyễn lord, you are crossing the Cù Mông pass.
The mountains look forlorn
The crimson towers are missing you.
Your feet have worn out the stone
Never tiring, your heart is full of passion.
The sea sings a neverending song
The breeze follows in your footsteps.
The Traveller:
Hò hô hò hò ơi hò
The deep sea hugs the land
I smell the fragrance of the rich southern soil.
Hố hô hò khoan
Hò hô hò hò ơi hò
The rich sea hugs the land
A bridge joins the old lovers.
Hố hô hò khoan...
Part Three
VÀO MIỀN NAM
Arriving In The South
YOUNG MAN ON THE LONG EMPTY ROAD
Young Southern Woman:
Hò ơ ơ ớ ơ... hò
O young man on the long empty road
Stop awhile
Hò ơ ơ ớ ơ... hò
And listen to my song
Evening is falling on the Ðồng Nai plains
I am waiting for someone to build the future..
LET THE WIND BRING
The Traveller:
Let the wind bring to these breezy plains
The smell of good silt
A glorious sunshine warms the road
As we come to the land of rivers
To fight against the marshes
To fight the wild beasts
And the mosquitoes thick as clouds
To fight in the mangrove forests.
Like a swarm of bees
We build a new life in the wilds.
Cool and refreshing coconut groves and banana orchards,
Round star apples full of crunch and flavor,
Heady smelling sweet tasting durians,
A head of flowing hair, eyes full of innocence,
Pretty lips and bright teeth,
An attractive shirt and a sensual voice,
So sweet and peaceful she is, like a dream...
LET ME FOLLOW YOU
The southern Girl:
Wherever you go, let me follow
I shall withstand hunger and cold
And if our love should break
I shall take a ferry home
The Traveller:
A strange land this is, yet the people are so close
Please do not laugh at these humble words
Should we fall for each other
Forever I shall return your love..
TALL LIGHT OF CHÂU ÐỐC, BAD WIND OF GÒ CÔNG
People of the South:
Hò lơ hó lơ
Listen to the call of hò lờ
Hò lơ hó lơ
What light is taller than the light of Châu Ðốc
What wind is worse than the wind of Gò Công
The new couple hold a wish
Together they will empty the Eastern sea
Hò lơ hó lơ
Listen to the call of hò lờ
Hò lơ hó lơ.
MEKONG and TO THE SOUTH
The Young Couple:
Mekong, where the wind blows happily on the waves
Mekong, nine winding dragons embracing their child.
From Tiền Giang they have come to this faraway land
At the end of the road the endless plains stretch
Mekong, in your arms you hold this wild land
Fondly like a loving wife.
To Hậu Giang we have come to build our nest
By the ripening ricefield by this river...
The Young Couple and The People:
To the South, the new homeland
To Cần Thơ, we dig canals
To Hà Tiên, we see our king to the islands
To Cà Mâu we light the fires of joy
To the South we follow the wind
In the land of rivers we eat grilled fish
And we bask in the sun
To the South, to the South
We come in the peaceful breeze...
THANKS YOU MORTAR AND PESTLE & TO THE SOUTH
The Young Couple:
Thank you mortar and pestle
Through the night we pound the rice together
Thank you bridge on the pond
In the night together we wash the rice.
The people:
To the South we bring the old wind and mist
To the arid field we bring the cold rain.
We miss the long road
To the Center, to the North where our parents are.
The long road bought us here
The pagoda's bell is tolling over the furrows.
We send our thanks to the four horizons
To the sky we offer our excited soul.
The road leads here. The road leads here...
In the west a wild wind is rising...
WE HAVE REACHED THE END OF THE ROAD
All The People:
We have reached the end of the road
We have united all the people's hearts.
We hope that one day there will be no more frontier
And we shall travel forever
In a tale of love
On an endless road through the world
And in all the people's hearts...
Conceived in 1954.
Interrupted for a number of years.
Completed in 1960.
Back to Overview of PD's Works