Liberating the South (Giải phóng miền Nam)

Annotation

Released on the Dihavina record label (# 6603), originally the state label of North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) before reunification in 1975. The title track is the well-known famous song "Giải phóng miền Nam" ("Liberating the South"), composed by the trio Lưu Hữu Phước, Mai Văn Bộ and Huỳnh Văn Tiểng, under the pseudonym Huỳnh Minh Siêng, in 1961, the national anthem of Provisional South Vietnam government.1 The song appears on many record releases in Vietnam, Asia, Europe, and the US. Targeting a South Vietnamese audience, it calls for an uprising: "advance to kill the enemy... arise.. brave people of the South". It notes that Vietnam had been divided: "country has been separated for so long", and that it was time to "build up our nation". It referred to the US as "imperialists". Also on this album: the song "Giờ hành động" ("Time for Action"), the song "Qua sông" ("Crossing the River"), and song "Bài hát Giải phóng quân" ("Song of the Liberation Army").Sources1Wikipedia: Giải phóng miền Nam↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Notes

Dihavina 6603 (Đĩa Hát Việt Nam), four-track 45 rpm EP, sides CK 5 and CK 6. Side CK 5: "Liberating the South" by H. M. Siêng, "Hymn of the NFL of South Vietnam", the "Voice of Vietnam"'s Choir and Orchestra, conductor Hoang Van; "Time for Action" by Luu Nguyen and Long Hung, Male Chorus and Symphonic Orchestra, conductor Tran Quy. Side CK 6: "Crossing the River" by P. M. Tuan, Vietnamese Opera, Ballet and Music Theatre's female vocal group; "Song of the Liberation Army" by Long Hung, Chorus and Orchestra of the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Vietnamese People's Army; conductor Trong Mai. The front cover shows a bayoneted rifle tied with a red and blue ribbon bearing a yellow star, rising among spikes against a dark blue sky, titled "liberating the South" and "Giải phóng miền Nam". The back cover lists the four titles in English and Vietnamese and gives the distributor as Xunhasaba, 32…

About the artist

The ensemble of the Voice of Vietnam, the North Vietnamese state broadcaster, performing "Giai phong mien Nam" ("Liberating The South") - the anthem of the National Liberation Front, composed July 1961 by Luu Huu Phuoc with lyricists Mai Van Bo and Huynh Van Tieng under the collective pseudonym "Huynh Minh Sieng", commissioned by Pham Hung of COSVN; it served as the PRG's national anthem from 1969 to 1976 and spread via Liberation Radio and NLF troupes. Composition facts documented. [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

Vietnamese Perspective · Vietnamese Patriotic · Ho Chi Minh Trail · Mekong Delta · Anti-Imperialism · K.I.A.

In collections

North Vietnamese Songs