Here I am back again with you after getting sick of playing the “Gone Girl” for the whole year. My blog has been covered by a thick spider’s web. I am here to tell you that I guess the Chinese fortune is right about me that 2018 does seem so wrong to me that even when I crossed the whole ocean to make my way to Australia, the Unlucky God is still able to chase after me and spread misery whenever I go. Forget about that, I will make – this time, I hope not to go back on my promise – another post to conclude my 2018 and begin a new 2019. (According to the fortune, it is better than the previous year but still not good).

So where can you find a good story? From books? From films? True. You can also find it in music. There are actually some songs that tell brilliant stories in their lyrics. From that, you can some clues of the mind and the life of people who wrote them. I think it would be a terrific debut of me after a long time hiatus.

I make it as clear as day that I love Last Kiss (Pearl Jam’s cover) till the day I die but I am not going to include it in my list because I already did before. My readers please refer to my old posts if you want to read my review about the song. The amazing story featured in the song should be on this list but I am not going to repeat myself.    

Noted that this post deals with subjective interpretations which could be either right or wrong. So take it as a grain of salt. But I am very happy if you can share your interpretation as well. 

Is it a coincidence that I always update my posts on this blog around December?

#4. Fast Car – Tracy Chapman

You got a fast car. Guess what is that fast car? Lamborghini? Mercedes? Ferrari? No, you have got all wrong.

It is just a car mentioned in the song which received two Grammy nominations for Record of the year and Song of the year in 1988, a normal car that can function well. In my own interpretation, the car is the metaphor of escaping ways of so-called poverty cycle. Dealing with that matter, when it comes to lyric debates, some say it is depressing but some say it is full of hope and optimism. The folk-rock song tells a story of a woman who gave up academy to take care of her alcohol-abused dad since her mom left. Living in a poor condition like this makes her feel as if anywhere else was better than her current situation, even when she had to start from zero. She worked in a convenience store to save a bit money everyday and dreamed of driving away out of the city with her boyfriend. The fast car was treated a ticket to her new life where she may get a better job, promotion, a bigger house in the suburbs and actually live the life of a person.

I am in favour of the latter argument. It could be because of its typically sad folk melody that people feel heartbroken. According to her narration, the idea that she held high hopes for better things in her life never stops running through my head. Some people lose to the battle of fighting poverty but it never happens to her.

It is just a quick fact that I got emotional outbursts in the middle of listening to the song. It reconnects me with some old memories that my mother used to tell me. Back to 1980s, when my dad just graduated from the medical school and my parents got married. I could never imagine how hard it was for a young couple to settle down in a new place without any clues how life would turn out to be, starting from nothing because everything they had was a just a bicycle. My dad would ride my mom anywhere in town in the bicycle. One day, it got stolen and my mom was sad. They may have got a new one but the stolen bicycle contained sweet memories of their tough beginning.

#3. The Less I know, The Better – Tame Impala

Have you ever loved so much that you blindly choose to ignore the bitter truth about them and love them with your eyes and ears closed? There are many faucets of truth, the one I talk about here is cheating which, without a doubt, drives to break-ups immediately as it is too hard to bear. This is not the first time songs talk about cheating, take Whitney Houston “It is not right but it’s okay” as an example (This song tells a good cheating story and how she catches him lying), but this is one of rare cases I have seen someone call out his rival’s name straightly, which sounds brave enough to me. I give credit for it.

As I skim through comment sections, I find some common ones:

“This song is my theme song now”

“This song is relatable”

“This song makes me sad for no reasons”

The guy, nevertheless, did not go down the must-happen break-up path that many people would expect him to do with his cheating girlfriend. You have a guy who had a girlfriend who had a secret lover whose name was Trevor. The lyrics highlights that their affair went as far as the rumours, from holding hands to living together. His friends told him to move on, forget the cheater and get to see another girl named Heather for his own good. What is the best for him? – The less he knows, the better. Much to people’s surprise, he did not listen to their advice. Rather than that, he desperately tried every single way to get her back. While she was young and unsure about her love, he willingly waited for her for 10 years because to him, late is better than never. He convinced himself that he was better for her than that dumb Trevor who was, in the end, as useless as fantasy Superman using faking charm to say stupid lines to make girls fall for him.

You may get a bit annoyed because firstly, you have to confirm your age before Youtube allows you to watch the music video due to their age restrict law and secondly, you may take it as a typical teenage love sick with explicitly sexual content. I highly appreciate unique art in Tame Impala’s music for their 80s-disco inspirations to different layers of meanings that they deliver, even in their music videos.  There are so many questions left in me after 5.43 minutes of the music video.

#2. Don’t You Want Me – The Human League

The Human League’s super hit was released in 1981 and has remained one of the English synthpop band’s most successful recordings. That is why it comes as no surprise when we have many cover versions of it, for example: Glee, Neon Tree, Atomic Tom, Mandy Smith, etc.; not to mention a thousand of unnamed karaoke versions.

This is the song that drives me crazy for choosing the best version (original or re-works) as itself is exceptionally, remarkably brilliant and also, this is the song that we can hear from both his and her perspectives.

He started his story first…

He met her when she was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar. It never said it so frankly in the lyric and that made me come to my own conclusion that he could be an agent in an entertainment company looking for potential singers or actresses, or at least, he was someone significant with powerful shields behind (*coughing* mafia). He played an important part in turning the small-town waitress’ poor life into a new chapter, bringing her success that she could have never imagined she would have without him. Now she wanted to leave him after spending 5 years with him and using him as a stepping stone. I feel like the guy is bit arrogant and dominant and it quite shocks him when someone who he took for granted now felt so suffocating when he was round that running away from him was her last option. His love for her seemed quite selfish and possessive as he counted his credits on her life. He did not mind repeating that she owed him the world and let him repeat one last time: ”I made you what you are now and can put you back to where you began”.

Before it is too late, change your mind now – This is his last warning before he makes his move. How did she respond?

Then she stroke back…

She never denied the fact that she had worked as a waitress before she met him. We all think that the Cinderella finally can get her prince and live happily ever after with him, but it did not happen that way. Opposite to his intimidation, she said 5 years spending her life with him was a happy time and she acknowledged that he mattered to her. And the most important thing is “she still loved him”. But I think the confident woman made it very clear that if she had not even met him and still worked as waitress, her life would have been turned better, so 5 years in the relationship was a bit long, I suppose.

So “Don’t you want me?” – he asks. I would bet a penny for a “No” from her. With his background like that, her life could be at risk. You’d better run, girl! Now, it starts to get disturbing.

#1. The Chinese Francolin’s Chirp – Quang Linh

Down to the earth, I am only a human being who is proud of my country.

There are two matters concerning with this Vietnamese song. First, it is regarded as “golden music” which is also known as “cheesy music” in me and Cheese’s language (I hope you my readers will not forget Cheese – it is not because Cheese has been not mentioned in my blog recently, it does not mean she stops being a significant part of it). Suddenly, there is an inner voice in me that wants Cheese to be here, even though she would tease me until I ran away in embarrassment, locking my door. Those old sweet memories!

Second, I have zero idea about that species of bird – Chinese Francolin. My poor biology knowledge only allows me to distinguish owls from the rest of bird kingdom. Anyways, it is not the purpose of this post to supply some biology knowledge to you and I am not biologist either. I, as a result, will not respond to any questions regarding this two-legged animal.

Oh, by the way, I know peacocks and I know they can fly.

The music video and lyrics highlights the means of transportation – “boat” so I guess the background takes place in the Mekong delta – the South-Western region in Vietnam where boats are frequently used. Back then, this area was under-developed dealing much with low literacy and restrictive customs.  There was a teenage girl, aged around 15, and a guy, perhaps a couple of years her senior. The guy played the guitar so well and the girl usually came to hear. That repeated too many times that in my own interpretation, it became their accustomation. I guess, without words, deep down, they were in love with each other.

Then one day, that girl stopped showing up in the boat to listen to his guitar. Left with much confusion about her disappearance, he blamed her for her changing and tried to move on with an excuse: “She is a free cloud the sky that I cannot catch”. Several years later, they encountered in a small boat and drove through lanes of old memories. Devastatingly, he learned that she had got married to another guy in a different far-away town. As it was a forced marriage, her wedding day seemingly happened on a blue day. The lullaby also intensified her dead-inside sadness when she could not even say goodbye to her real love before getting on the red boat to her husband’s house.  All to their realisation was that what they just once had no longer existed. They parted their own destiny; only the chirp of the Chinese Francolin remained there, crying for her.

The sentimental singing voice of the Quang Tri province – born singer made this song a sad love story ever. We feel so sorry for the love that failed to have a happy ending but for the life of a young girl that could have had a brighter future if it had not been for her marriage at a very immature age.  In a wider perspective, the song deals with concerning social issues at that time which many songs fail to do it. That enables it to go beyond my definition of a “cheesy” song and makes me come back to listen to it countless times.

What are yours? Share now.

It’s time to show your support to the nation’s music industry *waving Vietnamese flag*

#1. Trua Vang – My Linh (Empty Afternoon)

My Linh rose to public prominence as one of 4 divas in Vietnam (besides Hong Nhung, Tran Thu Ha and Thanh Lam) so there is nothing we doubt about her technique skills. What I like the most about this Hanoian singer is her effortless balance between singing technique and ability to deliver the song’s sentiment. When she goes high note, it does not sound so stretched. It is apparently proven in her music works and you can see it in Trua Vang – which was featured in her album Toc Ngan (2000). I do not know if it is because My Linh has built her image as top diva, I see unmistakable classiness in her singing, which somehow sets her apart from mainstream singers.

Leave alone My Linh’s golden vocal, the success of Trua Vang lies in the song itself. My Linh’s hit is composed by Huy Tuan and its lyrics is written by Duong Thu- two respectful figures in Vietnamese music industry, a music work of high quality in terms of melody and meaning is expected consequently. Huy Tuan is close to My Linh and her husband – composer Anh Quan. Knowing his friend’s vocal range, he created music tailoring for her. We are Vietnamese, we understand that Trua Vang has sad lyrics about a break up couple: He fails to fulfill his promise to her and walks away. She chooses to wait for the one she loves but when she looks at the beach they would spend time together in every afternoon, it is a bitter fact that it is not the same anymore without him. But with all ingredients created the song, I feel like having “faith” and so much relief inside of me. I guess that 10 years later, this song is still able to captivate me.

I know that most women do not like to tell their age but I have no hesitation in revealing mine. I was born in 1991 and that means that I will turn 30 years old 4 years later (*cry*). But I never feel happy enough that I was born in a generation when there was no interfere of technology, when people paid more focus on music quality rather than MV visual effect. That all results in my decision to put My Linh’s original Trua Vang MV here. It contains so many beautiful memories of my childhood. But if you want, you can youtube her new acoustic version of it released last year.

#2. Chan Tinh – Le Quyen (True Love)

Chan Tinh and Trua Vang share one similarity and one difference. The former is that I listened to both songs when I was a kid and the latter is I never liked Chan Tinh back then – really HATED. This song was first recorded by Van Truong but back in 2000s, there was a trend that many singers had the same name “Truong”, notably we had Lam Truong and Dan Truong. It ultimately led to me thinking it was just another version of these two top singers, I refused to hear more songs from any singers named “Truong”. That’s why Chan Tinh never got my attention at first.

It was until my mother introduced me Le Quyen’s version that I gave this song a place it deserved. The song is composed by Tran Le Quynh, a music composer that not too many people know. As a former graduate of University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, the 1978 liner composer undoubtedly has a great language skill and his word usage in Chan Tinh made it an unforgettable power ballad song. I even appreciate Chan Tinh’s lyrics more than Trua Vang’s one. In Vietnamese music industry, we do not feel strange when a music composer uses a poem for lyrics of his song and Chan Tinh never needs to base on any poems to have poetic lyrics nevertheless. You my loyal readers all know even when I am not quite patriotic, this song made me so proud of my mother language. I have to be a Vietnamese to understand what the song wants to say. Let take the name as an example: Chan Tinh is roughly translated into English as “True Love”, but when we take True Love to Google translate in reverse, we have “Tinh Yeu Chan That”, not something elegant like “Chan Tinh”. Similarly, we are able to easily find in Tran Le Quynh’s work impressive words, e.g. “trong ngan mat em” (your innocent eyes) and “hoang tan lang quen” (forgotten ruins),etc.

Le Quyen is known for a special voice full of emotion. With this typical 90’s ballad song, along with instrument, Le Quyen has brought to us a beautiful piece of music – emotional, classy yet not cheesy.

Bonus my favourite line in Chan Tinh:

“…Nhung con duong anh di roi cung dua anh ve ben em”

“Every path I take eventually leads me to you”

-You are my guiding star when I am lost.

#3. Can Gac Trong – Lil Knight (Empty Rooftop)

Can Gac Trong is Ung Hoang Phuc’s official come back single after his long time vanishing out of the music industry for his injury. Lil Knight composes this song but it is his version that makes me insanely in love with the song.

People in Vietnamese underground music call Lil Knight “god of rap”. As one of first people who created foundation base for Vietnamese rap genre, the Hanoian rapper has brought to public purely high quality music and contributed to success of many singers. Can Gac Trong’s Ung Hoang Phuc version is a dance one while Lil Knight’s is a slow RnB. Actually Lil Knight has a nice and warm voice, making it so fit with RnB slow jams.

A sad vocal, depressing lyrics and slow melody, Can Gac Trong is definitely not a song for a sad raining day as it can kill your mood instantly. It is no secret that memories hurt us and sweet ones do it faster. Imagine we are alone in a room full with sweet memories with the one we used to love but now they are nowhere to be seen. That makes our heart bleed.

I am not good at translating but I might give partly it a try to Can Gac Trong’ lyrics.

 “…Anh khong muon thay mot ngay mai

Tung trang giay trang da xoa nhoa mot niem tin

Anh biet se mai chi la mot giac mo

Ton tai song song ben can phong

Cung thoi gian mai buong troi…”

“…I do not want to see a future

When my faith gradually fades away

I know that is just a dream

Existing in this empty room

As time goes by…”

What is your favourite among 3 songs? Please comment

Thank you for reading *bow head*