Top 10 Best Songs to Celebrate Vietnam People's Army Day on December 22

In the midst of the 1979 Northern Border War, poet Dương Soái penned powerful verses born from the flames of battle. In 1980, composer Thuận Yến set these words to music, retaining the original title. The work 'To You at the End of the Red River' has become a legendary fusion of poetry and song, both stirring and romantic. Thuận Yến adapted the poem, adding new verses and ideas, transforming it into a male-female duet while keeping the soul of the poem intact. Dương Soái expressed his deep gratitude to Thuận Yến for breathing life into the song, expanding the term 'Lào Cai' from the poem to 'borderlands,' broadening its meaning and reach.

In 1999, twenty years after its creation, the song was honored by the Border Guard Command as the most beloved song, chosen by the soldiers themselves. It has become an anthem alongside other iconic songs, continuing to resonate with the soldiers of the Vietnam People's Army.

More than forty years after its inception, the emotional power of both the poem and the song remains undeniable, an enduring piece of history. We thank poet Dương Soái and the talented composer Thuận Yến for crafting a masterpiece that combines the strength of battle with the beauty of romantic nostalgia.

The final years of the resistance against French colonialism left a deep mark on Đỗ Nhuận's creative career. 'Marching Far' (1953) was inspired by a command given to a military unit marching toward the Northwest: 'If there are no enemies, we just keep marching.'

Đỗ Nhuận recalled the song’s origins: 'In the autumn of 1953, I was a young soldier marching from Đại Từ with a mortar unit of Division 308. After a briefing about the Trần Đình Campaign, confusion arose among the soldiers—there was no place called 'Trần Đình' on the map. One soldier speculated it might be a deceptive maneuver, others dismissed it as impractical. Then, one voice rang out, 'Enough with the questions! If there are no enemies, we just keep marching!' That strategic phrase struck me like a bolt of lightning, and I quickly jotted it down in my notebook, later incorporating it into the final verse of the song.'

When 'Marching Far' was first released, it was praised by many composers as a model of modern military march music, perfectly capturing the spirit of the Vietnamese people.

Colonel and composer Doãn Nho, born on August 1, 1933, in Hanoi, is one of the most renowned musicians in Vietnam, honored with the Ho Chi Minh Prize by the State. His song 'Marching Forward Under the Military Flag' is considered a classic, chosen by the General Political Department of the Vietnam People's Army as one of the top ten traditional military anthems.

Doãn Nho shared the story of the song’s creation with friends: 'In 1958, the General Political Department's Art Troupe (now the Vietnam Military Arts Troupe) visited Điện Biên Phủ to perform for our troops and people. Our first task was to pay respects at the graves of comrades who had fallen in the fight for national liberation. I clearly remember, on Hill A1—the highest and most fortified position protecting General De Castries’ command post in Mường Thanh—I climbed up the slope to the cemetery, feeling as though my steps were weighed down by stones. It felt as if I was walking behind the coffins of my fallen comrades. From this profound feeling came the inspiration for the lyrics: 'The spirits of the heroes burn bright in our hearts, with unwavering faith through the storms, adding color to the flag...' This moment stayed with me.'

For several days, the composer visited Hill A1 to observe the entire Điện Biên valley. At the base of Him Lam Hill was a newly established military camp. Every morning, young soldiers in perfect formation marched out to training grounds, led by the military flag—red with a yellow star, embroidered with the words 'Victory' on it. The sight moved him to create the melody and lyrics: 'The eastern sky begins to brighten, the mountains stretch endlessly, our homeland vast and peaceful...'. Doãn Nho recalls that President Hồ Chí Minh once said when visiting the Hùng Kings’ Temple: 'The Hùng Kings established the nation; now, it is up to us, their descendants, to protect it.' In our time, we have the leadership of the Communist Party and the great Hồ Chí Minh, guiding the people to defeat the French colonialists, the Japanese fascists, and reclaim power for the people. Thus, I repeated the melody with the lyric: 'Deep in our hearts, we march forward, ever steadfast, with the Party leading the way.'

East Trường Sơn, West Trường Sơn is one of Phạm Tiến Duật's most notable poems, created during the struggle against American forces, along the legendary Trường Sơn route. The poem serves as both a stirring military anthem and a romantic ballad. In 1971, composer Hoàng Hiệp set it to music, and it has since become a beloved song, continuing to be popular today.

The poet Phạm Tiến Duật recalled: 'I wrote the poem 'East Trường Sơn, West Trường Sơn' in late 1969, in a small village on the Son River in Quảng Bình Province, called Cổ Giang. It was a poor yet traditional village, located near the entrance of Route 20, running through the Trường Sơn mountains. Time has passed—almost thirty years—and both the land and people have grown, just as the poem, like any work of art, matures over time.'

The poem tells the story of love between two Trường Sơn soldiers, each stationed on different sides of the mountain range—one in the West, the other in the East. But the poem is more than just a love story. It also paints a vivid picture of the heroic grandeur of the 'armies marching to battle.' This combination of romance and patriotism helped 'East Trường Sơn, West Trường Sơn' succeed in blending a love song with a heroic anthem, making it a poem cherished by soldiers during the war.

Composer Hoàng Vân has left behind many famous songs for the public, spanning various fields, professions, and regions. Notable examples include: 'Quảng Bình, My Homeland!', 'Singing about Today's Rice Plant', 'The Song of Love for Land and Water', 'The Builder's Anthem', 'I Am a Coal Miner', 'The Love Song of the Highlands', 'The Song of the People's Teacher', 'Hà Nội - Huế - Sài Gòn', 'Two Sisters', and 'Greetings to the Liberation Army - Welcome to the Spring of Great Victory.' Notably, the song 'That Soldier' stands out as a complete anthem, a tribute to the soldier.

In the opening lines of the song, the composer firmly establishes the image of the soldier: 'That soldier, anyone who has met him can never forget him! Never forget!' The image of the soldier is noble, dignified, and grand, yet very simple and close to the people. He represents the revolutionary struggle we all recognize: 'After so many years on the revolutionary path, he continues without stopping.'

The soldier figure that Hoàng Vân constructs in the song 'That Soldier' (written in 1969) reflects the maturation of the Vietnam People's Army after a quarter of a century of building, fighting, and growing, from the battles in Nà Ngần and Phay Khắt to the world-shattering victory at Điện Biên, and culminating in the historic Hồ Chí Minh Campaign that liberated the South and reunified the country. These soldiers of the Vietnam People's Army are the children of the people, imbued with the nation's love for the homeland and the heroic spirit that has endured for four thousand years. Generations of fathers and sons have fought against foreign invaders to reclaim the sovereignty of their land.

'That Soldier' and other songs like 'Quảng Bình, My Homeland!', 'I Am a Coal Miner', 'The Builder's Anthem', and 'The Song of the People's Teacher' earned Hoàng Vân the Hồ Chí Minh Award for Literature and the Arts, granted by the state.

Composer Doãn Quang Khải once shared the background of the song 'For the People, Selflessly': 'I participated in the resistance against the French, fighting on various battlefields: Hà Sơn Bình, Hà Nam Ninh, Việt Bắc, Bình Trị Thiên; later, in the fight against the Americans, I was on the Tây Nguyên and Bình Trị Thiên fronts. In 1950, I was selected to attend a training course for company commanders (which later became the Trần Quốc Tuấn Military Academy). Before we were deployed to the battlefield, the school initiated a campaign for creating poetry, literature, and music to express our resolve to defeat the invading enemy.'

I've always loved music, but I didn't know how to compose. One day, while reading the People's Army newspaper, I had an idea that I found deeply inspiring. The paper, formerly called Vệ Quốc Đoàn, was now named the People's Army (the army is born from the people, of the people, and fights for the people). The paper carried the slogan 'Serving the People.' I found the slogan very moving, so I began singing it aloud, changing a few words along the way, and that's when the phrase 'selflessly' came to mind. It was perfect: 'For the people, selflessly, for the people, sacrificing oneself.'

Over 60 years later, the song 'For the People, Selflessly' continues to resonate with audiences. Fathers, sons, and even grandchildren still sing it today.

The song 'The Red Flower Color' carries a sense of bittersweet nostalgia, yet its true essence is a steadfast belief in victory and a brighter tomorrow. The music was composed by Thuận Yến, based on the poem 'The Time of Red Flowers' by poet Nguyễn Đức Mậu. Thuận Yến once shared the story behind the creation of the song, recalling the time when he and his brother reminisced about their days on the battlefield, thinking of comrades who were still alive and those who had passed. This song has become one of the beloved revolutionary anthems, performed by many generations of artists, including Cẩm Vân, Trọng Tấn, Tùng Dương, and Thanh Lam, the daughter of the late composer Thuận Yến.

Trọng Tấn, reflecting on the song's significance in his career, said: 'This is a song that is not only beautiful in terms of its literary qualities but also musically profound. The song resonates with deep sorrow and earnest emotion, portraying a soldier in a simple yet moving way. Every time I perform 'The Red Flower Color,' I feel the weight of the sacrifices made for the nation's freedom and independence. When I sing the lines: 'Oh Vietnam! Vietnam! The mountains are as high as the love of a mother, with hair turned white from the sorrow of a child,' I cannot contain my emotions—it's both tragic and heroic.'

This is a revolutionary ballad composed by musician Trần Tiến. The song is centered around the theme of war veterans and martyrs, and it has gained widespread popularity. It tells the story of a wounded soldier returning from the battlefield. Though his body is scarred, he continues to walk with crutches every day to teach the village children about the songs of his homeland.

The inspiration for the song came to Trần Tiến in 1981, when he was walking along the beach at Tiền Hải in Thái Bình. He noticed the imprints of crutches in the sand and learned that they belonged to a disabled war veteran who was on his way to teach the village children. Moved by the sight of these round marks in the sand, Trần Tiến composed the song as he walked back to his guesthouse, naming it 'Round Footprints in the Sand.' However, even in a 2009 interview with the Sài Gòn Giải Phóng newspaper, the composer revealed that he had never met the actual war veteran who inspired the song.

Since its creation, 'Round Footprints in the Sand' has been performed by many singers, but perhaps the most beloved version remains that of Trần Tiến himself, singing while playing his guitar.