Tiếng Gọi Công Dân

Tiếng Gọi Công Dân

English: "Call to the Citizens"
Thanh Niên Hành Khúc
A sheet music notation of "Call to the Citizens", with the South Vietnamese flag in the background (recorded since 1973)
Former national anthem of State of Vietnam  South Vietnam
Also known as	"Sinh Viên Hành Khúc" (English: "Song of the Students") "National Anthem of the Republic of Vietnam"
Lyrics	(original lyric), 1939
Music	Lưu Hữu Phước, 1939
Adopted	1948 (by the State of Vietnam) 1955 (by South Vietnam)
Relinquished	1955 (by the State of Vietnam) 1975 (by South Vietnam)
Preceded by	"La Marseillaise"
Succeeded by	"Giải phóng miền Nam"
Audio sample
Menu 0:00 "Tiếng Gọi Công Dân" (instrumental) file help

Thanh Niên Hành Khúc (Saigon: [tʰan niəŋ hân xúk], Chữ Nôm: 青年行曲, "March of the Youths"), later known as Call to the Citizens (Vietnamese: Tiếng Gọi Công Dân, Chữ Nôm: 㗂噲公民), and originally the March of the Students (Vietnamese: Sinh Viên Hành Khúc, Chữ Nôm: 生員行曲, French: La Marche des Étudiants), was the national anthem of State of Vietnam from 1948 to 1955 and Republic of Vietnam from 1955 to 1975.

After the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, the South Vietnamese state was disbanded and thus its national anthem was discontinued. It was replaced with Giải phóng miền Nam, which was then replaced with Tiến Quân Ca when South Vietnam was annexed by North Vietnam. However, the song is still used by Vietnamese expatriates living in the United States, among those in other countries where South Vietnamese refugees consequently resided after the war, as the "Anthem of Free Vietnam".

History[]

The anthem was originally named March of the Students (La Marche des Étudiants), composed by Lưu Hữu Phước and written by in late 1939, and first adopted by a student club. Phước was a well-known Vietnamese musician and songwriter, who later became a communist and was appointed Minister of Information and Culture of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (National Liberation Front of Southern Viet Nam or Việt Cộng).^[1][2] In 1941, it was became the anthem of the Indochina Students General Association, Phước renamed the anthem as Call to the Youths (Tiếng Gọi Thanh Niên), the lyrics was rewritten in Vietnamese and divided into three verses. The first verse was written by Lưu Hữu Phước and Mai Văn Bộ in 1941, and secretly spread until 1945, the second verse (Tiếng Gọi Sinh Viên, Call to the Students) was written by Lê Khắc Thiều and Đặng Ngọc Tốt in late 1941, and published in 1943, the third verse was written by Hoàng Mai Lưu on April 4, 1945, and published before the August Revolution. In 1945 it became the anthem of the Vanguard Youth, the lyrics were small modified and became known as Tiếng Gọi Thanh Niên or Thanh Hiên Hành Khúc.

In 1948, the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam adopted the song as the national anthem. The song was later modified with the name changed to Call to the Citizens (Tiếng Gọi Công Dân) or March of the Citizens (Công Dân Hành Khúc), and became the official national anthem of South Vietnam.^[3] Another song by Lưu Hữu Phước, Giải Phóng Miền Nam, was chosen by the National Liberation Front as South Vietnam's anthem.

Thanh Niên Hành Khúc (1948–1956)[]

Thanh niên Hành Khúc was first adopted as the national anthem by the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam (Pre-government of the State of Vietnam. 1948–1949) on 14 June 1948, and it was inherited as a national anthem by the State of Vietnam (1949–1955) and the Republic of Vietnam (1955–1975). The lyrics of Thanh Niên Hành Khúc were revised by former President Ngo Dinh Diem in 1956.

Tiếng Gọi Công Dân (1956–1975)[]

Tiếng Gọi Công Dân was used as the third and final official national anthem of South Vietnam from 1956 until the Fall of Saigon in 1975, it was superseded by Giải Phóng Miền Nam soon, but is still sung by many overseas Vietnamese.

Legacy (1975–present)[]

Although Tiếng Gọi Công Dân with the lyrics as revised in 1956 is no longer a national anthem of a country, it is still used by most Vietnamese expatriates residing in the United States, Canada, Australia, western Germany and other countries where South Vietnamese refugees consequently moved to after the Vietnam War, where it is dubbed the "Anthem of Free Vietnam".

Some Vietnamese expatriates use a version of Tiếng Gọi Công Dân, with the lyrics of the first row slightly altered into using: "Này Công Dân ơi! Ðứng lên đáp lời sông núi." (English: "Oh Citizens! Stand up [and] answer the call [of the] rivers and mountains"), meaning to seek the hope of the homeland.

In Vietnam, the song is occasionally performed under the name Thanh Niên Hành Khúc (or Tiếng Gọi Thanh Niên) and the original lyric as written by Lưu Hữu Phước and Mai Văn Bộ, and it is considered as a revolutionary song.

Lyrics[]

La Marche des Étudiants - March of the Students (1939)[]

(French version)

Étudiants ! Du sol l'appel tenace

Pressant et fort, retentit dans l'espace.

Des côtes d'Annam aux ruines d'Angkor,

À travers les monts, du sud jusqu'au nord,

Une voix monte ravie:

Servir la chère Patrie !

Toujours sans reproche et sans peur

Pour rendre l'avenir meilleur.

La joie, la ferveur, la jeunesse

Sont pleines de fermes promesses.

Chorus.

Te servir, chère Indochine,

Avec cœur et discipline,

C'est notre but, c'est notre loi

Et rien n'ébranle notre foi !

Sinh Viên Hành Khúc - Song of the Students[]

Verse I.

Này sinh viên ơi! Ðứng lên đáp lời sông núi.
Ðồng lòng cùng đi hy sinh mở đường khai lối.
Vì non sông nước xưa, truyền muôn năm chớ quên.
Nào anh em Bắc Nam, cùng nhau ta kết đoàn.
Hồn thanh xuân như gương trong sáng.
Ðừng tiếc máu nóng, tài xin ráng.
Thời khó, thế khó, khó làm yếu ta,
Dầu bao chông gai vững lòng chi sá.
Ðường mới kíp phóng mắt nhìn xa bốn phương.
Tung cánh hồn thiếu niên ai đó can trường.

Chorus

Sinh viên ơi! Ta quyết đi đến cùng.
Sinh viên ơi! Ta thề đem hết lòng.
Tiến lên đồng tiến, vẻ vang đời sống.
Chớ quên rằng ta là giống Lạc Hồng.

Verse II.

Này sinh viên ơi! Dấu xưa vết còn chưa xóa.
Hùng cường trời Nam, ghi trên bản vàng bia đá.
Lùa quân Chiêm nát tan, thành công Nam tiến luôn
Bình bao phen Tống Nguyên, từng ca câu khải hoàn.
Hồ Tây tranh phong oai son phấn.
Lừng tiếng sát thát Trần Quốc Tuấn.
Mài kiếm cứu nước nhớ người núi Lam.
Trừ Thanh, Quang Trung giết hằng bao đám.
Nòi giống có khí phách từ xưa chớ quên.
Mong đến ngày vẻ vang, ta thắp hương nguyền.

Chorus

Sinh viên ơi, ta quyết đi đến cùng.
Sinh viên ơi, ta thề đem hết lòng.
Tiến lên đồng tiến, vẻ vang đời sống.
Chớ quên rằng ta là giống Lạc Hồng.

Verse III.

Này sinh viên ơi, muốn đi đến ngày tươi sáng.
Hành trình còn xa, chúng ta hãy cùng nhau gắng.
Ngày xưa ai biết đem tài cao cho núi sông.
Ngày nay ta cũng đem lòng son cho giống dòng.
Là sinh viên vun cây văn hóa.
Từ trước sẵn có nhiều hoa lá.
Ðời mới kiến thiết đáp lòng những ai.
Hằng mong ta ra vững cầm tay lái.
Bền chí quyết cố gắng làm cho khắp nơi.
Vang tiếng người nước Nam cho đến muôn đời.

Chorus

Sinh viên ơi, ta quyết đi đến cùng.
Sinh viên ơi, ta thề đem hết lòng.
Tiến lên đồng tiến, vẻ vang đời sống.
Chớ quên rằng ta là giống Lạc Hồng.

Thanh Niên Hành Khúc - Song of the Youths (1948–1956)[]

• Source: National Anthems of the World (2nd and revised ed.), 1963.

Tiếng Gọi Công Dân - Call of the Citizens (1956–1975)[]

Menu

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National anthem "Tiếng Gọi Công Dân" on South Vietnamese national radio, Radio Vietnam.

References[]

External links[]

• "Ethnic Music" Room ("Words" is Japanese version only)
• Quốc kỳ, Quốc ca (Vietnamese language only)
• MIDI version
• Tiếng Gọi Công Dân
  • Committee for Protection of the Flag of the Republic of Vietnam