THE ORIGIN OF THE VONG CO SONG “SẦU VƯƠNG Ý NHẠC”

Mr. Hoang Van Quynh was the founder of the troupe Sao Ngan Noi, whose performers included a young and beautiful actress named My Huong. A high-ranking official in a village took advantage of My Huong when she and her troupe were performing there. After she became pregnant by him, he quickly abandoned her. Feeling deeply for her plight, Mr. Quynh wrote a play called The illegitimate baby to tacitly condemn that unfaithful lover. 
 


On the first night of the play, while the audiences were enjoying the moving story, a terrible explosion occurred. It caused a lot of deaths and injuries. Mr. Quynh could not escape the explosion, either. Tragically, he lost the sight in both of his eyes. His pregnant wife, who was out-of-town on the night of the show, thus unharmed, had left him after turning over their newborn baby to him. Consequently, the only way for a blind man with a newborn baby to survive was to become a beggar. 
 
 Mr. Tran Trung Quan, the author of the book Hau Truong San Khau Cai Luong"(Cai Luong Backstage), recalled: Eight years later, there was a boy holding a bag in his hands and guiding his blind father to beg for spare change from passer-by near the Ben Luc bridge. The sorrowful sight of the blind man and the soulful sound from his guitar deeply touched the audience, one of whom happened to be the famed composer Vien Chau. So moved by Mr. Quynhs plight, composer Vien Chau then penned the famous song Sau Vuong Y Nhac as a gift for his destitute colleague and also to remind the audience about the sad life of a despondent artist living in the war zone. And, of course, this song would later become very famous by the legendary voice of Minh Canh. 
 
 

A young fan of Cai Luong, probably born abroad, wrote on her Website after listening to this song and learning about its origin: "After reading the story above, my heart goes out to Mr. HOÀNG VĂN QUỲNH and the song TÂN CỔ SẦU VƯƠNG  Ý NHẠC của SOẠN GIẢ VIỄN CHÂU, not only helps to advance NGHỆ SĨ MINH CẢNH 's reputation (for it was HIS song), but it also enables us to get the glimpse into the tragic lives of cai luong actors during the war time. 
 
 Written by Tancogiaoduyen, the Administrator of the Website Cailuongvietnam.com. 
 Translated by Khai Nguyen, 
 Michigan, Winter 2007