It was very cold, suddenly that day, the sun shone warmly. It seemed that Doan Bong was calling Spring back. But it was too late, he had left the temporary realm, and Spring was coming.
A few things about Doan Bong
Poet and musician Doan Bong sees life, sees people "Starting from the eyes". With a keen eye for life, with a sensitive heart, he writes poetry and composes music through those eyes, through that heart, so he has left for life poems, unforgettable songs. In his poetry, there is music, in his music, there is a rich poetic quality. In December 2021, he wrote a poem praising famous musicians "Five Golden Pens". Perhaps only he dared to write: "Doan Bong/ Nguyen Cuong/ Duong Thu/ Tran Tien/ Phu Quang/ Five Golden Pens/ The sharper the lighter... / Five Golden Pens/ Full of vitality...".
Poet and musician Doan Bong has stopped his vitality. We are in so much pain!
In 2016, Dan Tri Publishing House released the publication "Doan Bong". This can be considered a literary and musical compilation of his. This work can be divided into 3 parts: "Portrait sketch", "Some love poems", "Song that lasts forever". That is his life and poetic career.
Poet Tran Dang Khoa once wrote about Doan Bong using metaphorical comparison, writing about others but aiming to praise Doan Bong: A famous musician, his lyrics are very good, but they are only good when in music. When separated, it loses a lot of soul and it is no longer it. Doan Bong is not only a musician but also a poet... A poet in his style. Reading Doan Bong's poetry, I see that it is not just poetry but complete lyrics.
Musician Doan Bong
Not only high-class music critics praised Doan Bong, but also ordinary readers praised the respected musician of their hearts: "Full of enthusiasm, full of vastness / Cultural poetry and music humming in my heart / Respectfully loving a pink heart / Blowing the soul of the nation through time" (Phan Thu Hang - Vietnamese expatriate in Poland). Writer Phung Van Khai worships: "Doan Bong is now like my parents / Raising me to grow up in every line of song / Leading me through thorny challenges / Passing on to me pink lotus dishes".
A student of the Faculty of Literature, K41, University of Social Sciences and Humanities wrote a line of emotions to Doan Bong on his birthday: "Mr. Bong's birthday is not only a memory of a lifetime but the birth of melodies that have passed through the years, anchored in the hearts of generations. His music is not noisy, not ostentatious but has a silent but persistent moving power, like the whispers of the earth, like the breath of his homeland... He is a symbol of a noble, humble artist's soul and always looks towards beauty... He is a "National asset".
I have dozens of poems set to music by musicians Pham Quang Hien and Tran Tuan Nghia. When the poem "Uncle Ho's teachings will be passed down to posterity", I sent it to musician Quang Hien to set to music as a cover song for the song series "Stone of July". After reading the poem, he immediately called me, this song must be set to music by musician Doan Bong.
I immediately sent it to Doan Bong, the next day he called back and said the poem was a bit long, to write it shorter. I immediately cut out the introductory sentences and sent it back. A few days after the song was completed, when some television stations broadcast the program "Tram Thang Bay Music", musician Tran Huu Nghia admired: Talent is real, admiring the boss. The sentence "The Government and compatriots must repay appropriately..." is a prose, a political essay that Doan Bong breathed into, becoming such a smooth, smooth and shimmering song!
The poems "People's Love", "Returning to the old school", "Dear 6" were breathed into by the musician and made a strong impression on listeners. Especially the poem "Dear D6" has become the soul of our Security University class every time we meet.
His songs can be divided into topical groups: Love between men and women, love for homeland and country, love for Uncle Ho...
Regarding his love for his homeland, he left behind his favorite songs "Dong song que anh, dong song que em", "Ve Ha Tay di em". He proudly said "Ha Tay people are our homeland, a source of poetry resources". Perhaps he is the only musician who recognizes the true value of his homeland like that. When Ha Tay merged into Hanoi, he proudly said "Hanoi of mine", "Hanoi memories in me", "Thousand-year-old civilized city".
Writing songs about Uncle Ho, that is the main and consistent source of emotions throughout Doan Bong's music writing career. He is proud of "Singing about Him", "From the lotus village singing the name of Him", "Ho Chi Minh, the flag of peace", "Ho Chi Minh, a poet not just for himself"... He deeply immersed himself in this topic and discovered "Motherland of Him" in Van Noi, Hung Yen. Thanks to this song, I learned about Uncle Ho's maternal homeland.
Although he is over eighty years old, the composing power of the poet and musician is still abundant and energetic. He still regularly follows international and domestic current affairs, so he actively participates in songwriting competitions when the whole country supports Cuba. His song "Hạt gạo nghĩa tình" won a prize. In October 2025 alone, he composed 3 songs. Every time he completed a song, he would pass it to me to listen to, whether it was early or late at night.
The last song he transferred to me was at 11 pm on December 27, 2025, which is the song "Xin gọi chú bằng anh". Perhaps this song was inspired by the poem "Hạ bệ" that he composed before. The content of the poem is humorous and witty: "When I was twenty years old / You just turned ten / You called me uncle / Xoa đầu em anh cười / Năm em tròn hai mươi / Anh hình như vẫn thế / Em chả còn kiêng nể / Hạ bệ chú thành anh...". Poet and musician Doan Bong always worships and honors women: "In this world / If women are depleted / I throw my pen right into the trash / No longer write poetry and music...".
The day we heard the bad news about him, we sadly informed each other. The day we followed the flow of people seeing him off, looking at the gray hairs on the hairs of musicians Pham Quang Hien and Tran Tuan Nghia shimmering under the golden sunlight, I suddenly remembered the song "The song waiting for Spring to return". The song waiting for Spring to return is a song from the heart, the song calling Spring to return is a song of love... This Spring is without poet and musician Doan Bong, the song stops halfway.
At the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long, the Rouen Symphony Orchestra of the French Republic selected 3 works: "My Hanoi", "Hanoi Memories in My Heart", "The City of a Thousand Years of Civilization" by musician Doan Bong to perform at the grand ceremony. They only selected 1 author and 3 works to perform at this grand ceremony. At the end of the program, the French orchestra conductor - Claude Brendel wrote a letter to the leaders of Hanoi City. He wrote: "The works of musician Doan Bong are full of poetry and musical feelings that have helped our work to be carried out smoothly".
I borrowed the content of this letter excerpt to close the article.
