We, the Militiawomen of Sai Gon (Em là nữ tự vệ Sài Gòn)

Annotation — North Vietnamese Songs

Released on the Dihavina record label (# 7202) in 1972, originally the state label of North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) before reunification in 1975. This LP very much focuses on the battle front and the soldiers, as seen in the title "Gủri anh chiển sĩ pháo binh" ("To Our Brothers, the Gunners"), and of course the South Vietnamese capital, as seen in the title track "Sài Gòn tiền quân" ("Saigon on the March"). Also note the focus on the female soldier, not just the role of men, in the song "Em là nữ tự vệ Sài Gòn" ("We, the Militiawomen of Saigon"). This is also seen in the artistic front cover, which appears to show a woman holding a gun, ready for battle. Two songs focus on the famous Vietnamese highway, National Route 9 (Quốc lộ 9 or Đường 9) which runs along the West-East 17th parallel. During the war, this was alongside the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The US and the South Vietnamese Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) build-up bases along the DMZ, including the well-known Khe Sahn.1 The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) was able to cut and ambush Route 9. The two relevant pieces are the song "Bài ca gủri ra Đường 9" ("Song of the Fighters on Highway 9"), and the song "Chào Đường 9 anh hùng" ("Hail the Heroic Fighters on Highway 9"). The track "Tiểng hát cùa ngưi chiể sĩ hành lang" ("Song of the Border-Area Fighters") is also of a similar theme.Sources1Wikipedia: National Route 9 (Vietnam)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Notes

Dihavina 7202 (sleeve "7202 - 33/30"), 33 rpm, olive-green labels; "Songs presented by the South Viet Nam Liberation Radio"; distributor Xunhasaba, 32 Hai Ba Trung Street, Hanoi, D.R. Viet Nam. Side I: "Sai Gon on the March" (Sài Gòn tiến quân; Nguyễn Đồng Nai; Male Vocal Group and Orchestra of South Viet Nam Liberation Radio, conductor Hoàng Bội Phương), "To Our Brothers, the Gunners" (Gửi anh chiến sĩ pháo binh; Trí Thanh; Female Vocal Group and Orchestra), "Song of the Border-Area Fighters" (Tiếng hát của người chiến sĩ hành lang; Nam Hồng; solo Ngọc Ánh, conductor Lê Hồ Luân), "We, the Militiawomen of Sai Gon" (Em là nữ tự vệ Sài Gòn; music Phạm Minh Tuấn, words from a poem of Lê Anh Xuân; solo Mỹ An, conductor Hoàng Bội Phương), "Song for the Fighters on Highway 9" (Bài ca gửi ra Đường 9; Huy Quang; Choir and Orchestra, conductor Lê Hồ Luân), "Hail the Heroic Fighters on Highway 9"…

About the artist

"Bài ca người nữ tự vệ Sài Gòn" ("Song of the Sai Gon Militiawomen") was composed in 1968 by Phạm Minh Tuấn to words adapted from the poet Lê Anh Xuân, and was performed by the vocalist Mỹ An with orchestral accompaniment credited to South Viet Nam Liberation Radio, the clandestine broadcast service of the National Liberation Front. This is a wartime NLF broadcast recording rather than a post-1975 diaspora (hải ngoại) production. No independent biography of the vocalist was found. [Source: bcdcnt.net composition credit; general documentation of Liberation Radio]

Themes

Vietnamese Perspective · Vietnamese Patriotic · Ho Chi Minh · Saigon · Tanks · Air War

In collections

North Vietnamese Songs