Q: Thuy Trinh and Khanh Hoang would like to welcome you.

PD: Good morning.

Q: Recently, Khanh Hoang and I, as well as many listeners, have seen you in meetings with poet Supreme Master Ching Hai. I heard that you have recently used Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems in your music. Please explain if your composing style is leaning toward a transition into spirituality. Is this true?

PD: Spiritual music is more exact. You must understand that I started writing pop songs, songs for the country of Vietnam in the midst of its struggle for freedom and independence. Thereafter, I switched to writing love songs; and of course, at an older age, I turned to writing spiritual songs. They are no longer songs that deal with society or romantic love, but rather the inner humanity. Thus, it is called spiritual music; and on the path of searching the right poems for the songs that you've just mentioned, I met poet Supreme Master Ching Hai.

Q: Oh! Was it a coincidence then?

PD: No, no it was not a coincidence at all. I have researched, wanting to find people who are on the same spiritual path as I am, who have poems, paintings or music which could be a perfect match.

Q: Isn't poet Supreme Master Ching Hai the first one whose poems you've put to music?

PD: She is not the first one. If we talk about spiritual poetry, it has been around since the 11th century, over such a long period of time. Even in the 21st century, or 20th to be exact, there have been many poets who wrote spiritual poems. However, since we've always lived in such a state...The country of Vietnam has always lived through chaos. Therefore, no one ever had time to catch a glimpse of these poems which I think are true poems. For instance, the poem " The Cave Of The Golden Flowers " by Pham Thien Thu, or the ten poems which I've composed into ten spiritual songs. Even today, the people back in our country -- the musical artists, writers, poets -- now tired of the war, also turned to spiritual music. I want to refer to even the Communist party members who also have written spiritual poems, Tram Manh Hao for example; or a poet from the south, Nguyen Duc Son, whose pen name is Sao Tren Rung (Star in the Forest), he also writes many good spiritual poems. Then many such poems have been written abroad. In the recent days particularly, I have followed the activities of an organization with many members, Supreme Master Ching Hai's. She has a lot of paintings that I like very much. I have seen the inner beauty in her paintings. And of course, I have read the collection of her poems, and it seems that these poems have also been released in the forms of CDs and cassettes.

Q: So what were your impressions when you used Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems to compose your spiritual music?

PD:I would like to also point out that I am not the only one who uses Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems for their music. My colleagues, Mr. Nhat Ngan, Mr. Phuong Vu, also use her poems to compose music.

Q: From the newspaper, I know that there is also musician Thu Ho.

PD: Yes, not to mention Le Dinh. Myself, I have composed two songs.

Q: What are the names of these two songs?

PD: One is entitled " A Lonesome Night " which I apologize for changing the name to " Lonesome ". The second song is " Existence and Nothingness. " Perhaps you can introduce " A Lonesome Night " to the listeners. This song will be sung by my son, Duy Quang, the music written by myself. There are two songs; it could be Existence and Nothingness, it could be A Lonesome Night or Lonesome. Let's listen to one of them.

Q: We would like to invite you to listen to a spiritual song composed by Pham Duy, lyrics from a poem by Supreme Master Ching Hai...

I felt lonely as I've never been so lonely I felt sad as I've never been so sad Like a bird searching for her cosy nest Lost in the midst of an immense space! My love O my love, please drop by for a visit Hand in hand so the night would not seem long Light up my soul with your eyes so unfamiliar Enliven my life on the morrow. My love O my love, lull me please into a dream With innocent folk songs from the days of my youth Lead me to a journey in the land of myth My sadness ripen and fall like rain in a river Tonight there is only the Muse and I Tomorrow's far away, and the night's so long I lay with my soul hidden in a mass of entangled hair Hearing life falling on my shoulders.

Q: You have just listened to the song " Lonesome". One of Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems composes into music by Pham Duy. Now we would like to come back to Pham Duy. Will you let our listeners know if you are inclining toward composing spiritual songs from now on?

PD: Yes, I think an old man like me should not write love songs anymore. Secondly, as for pop music, I feel that I am fairly incompetent in dealing with the nowadays situations. Politically speaking, I would not dare to write songs with a political nature anymore. It should be left to the youth, the nowadays heroes.

Q: So, is spiritual music reserved only for the elderly or religious people?

PD: No, I feel that it is not just for the elderly. Even the younger generation are able to see the inner spiritual beauty. In my time, for example, the younger generation were dragged along by the current of life. If they didn't participate in the resistance, they would not have any ideals. Today's youths are living in a time of peace. In such a materialistic society as America, there are many young people who also want to find something more beautiful than just the society of " Dollars " . I think it is not just for the elderly. When I said elderly, I was only referring to myself.

Q: Oh, no! What I meant was I enjoyed listening to the song very much, but it was difficult to understand. And then the second song which you referred to as " Existence and Nothingness, " truly I did not understand what is meant by " Existence and nothingness " . I don't know if you have time to elaborated on this song?

PD: It would be redundant if I elaborate on its meaning. Just listening to its lyrics we will understand. But I would like to talk more about Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems which I've used to compose music, as a result of which I have been able to see clearly that...for example, the poem only talks of life in front of our eyes. But the poet looks at it in a very spiritual way -- that if we step one step forward, or only one small step backward, then our life would be changed. Now, let's listen to that song. Then I will explain it later, only the musical aspect, not the spiritual one which I would not dare at all.

Q: Yes, before listening to the second song, may I ask you one more question about your opinion of spiritual poetry abroad as opposed to those in the years prior to 1975?

PD: It can be said that spiritual poetry has not changed. The spiritual songs that have been written since the 9th, 10th or 19th, 20th centuries are the same, whether the spiritual poems in those times were sung by the people or only recited by them. For example, in the poem " Existence and Nothingness " by poet Supreme Master Ching Hai, I could see the philosophies of the poets from 5th to the 7th century. Therefore, if after hearing to the song " Existence and Nothingness " which you listen to shortly, you are not moved, then it means that I have succeeded. Listening to music, especially Vietnamese music, one feels sad or frustrated. Therefore, we then have to " Vow to quarter the body and drink the blood of the enemy, " or we have to love each other, to love intimately. But by listening to spiritual songs that have been composed from the poems of a spiritual nature you will not be induced into the emotional tie. It will take us completely into a state of existence-nothingness, nothingness-existence. That's it! Explaining Zen should be like that.

Q: Existence means nothingness, nothingness means existence.

PD: Something like that. Therefore, it can't be explained by logic; nor can its songs be listened by society oriented people. Now, please listen to the following song " Existence and Nothingness."

PD: In my opinion, I am sure that it is not 'in the country' or 'out of the country,' the modern music has had over fifty years to take shape and to evolve already. For other composers, potentially there has always been three trends which I've already mentioned. Whereas the others who compose or not compose spiritual music, I don't know much about them because I myself do not have to research. If I do, it's just for myself without having any information about the other musical works.

Q: You've just listened to the voice of Duy Quang in the song " Existence and Nothingness " with lyrics taken from Supreme Master Ching Hai's poem, composed into music by Pham Duy. We'd like to come back to Pham Duy. Please let us know if the two songs you've just allowed us to listen to, which were " Existence and Nothingness " and " Lonesome, " have already been released in CDs or cassettes?

PD: These two songs have already been recorded along with the songs of other musical artists who also used Supreme Master Ching Hai's poems as lyrics for their songs. I am sure that in about one month, those ten songs, the ten spiritual songs, will be released.

Q: Therefore, in the future the trend of Pham Duy is to transform spiritual poems into music. Hence, we will have a chance to continue listening to poems and spiritual songs in the form of musical creation by Pham Duy. Thank you for coming here and sharing with us the poetic creations of poet Supreme Master Ching Hai as well as the musical creations of Pham Duy. On behalf of the radio station, we'd like to first wish you abundant wealth, a happy and healthy life with your children and grandchildren, and your continuation in creating beautiful music that will always be treasured in the music circle.

PD: Yes, thank you, Thuy Trinh. Thank you, the station, and thank you, all listeners. 。

Note: Musician Phuong Vu, who used eleven poems of Supreme Master Ching Hai to compose his music, was also interviewed by Vietnam Performing Arts Radio.

Brave Blind Dog Saves Drowning Girl Supreme Master Ching Hai: Love And Spiritual Poetry Musician Pham Duy's Impressions On Supreme Master Ching Hai's Poetry An Interview Between Vietnam Performing Arts Radio and Musician Wheel Of Fortune Given A Spin Banana Power Beats The Best