In two places – Chợt nghĩ về hai nơi | Trầm Tử Thiêng

Gioan X. Lộ

Lyric by Trầm Tử Thiêng
Translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

[Happy Birthday and Happy Valentine father Gioan X. Lộ .]

Chợt Nghĩ Về Hai Nơi

Paris or Cali
As far as the eye can see
Sunlight cut short by the rain
Flowers bloom to die much the same
Such as life whether it’s Paris or Cali
A mixture of joy and melancholy

You’re there
And I’m here
Gasping for air
Day after day dreaming of a place where
In front of us were the fading nights of celebrations
Behind us were the sad days of separation

Paris or Cali
They are much the same
The thought of each other’s name
Missing that time we had together…

Trời Paris hay trời Cali,
Trời thì vẫn thế
Phố xá thênh thang nắng dứt mưa sang hoa nở lại tàn
Đời Paris hay đời Cali
Đời thì vẫn thế
Có những hân hoan có những u buồn có đời hợp tan

Anh đứng bên này,
Em đứng bên kia
Thấp thỏm ngày ngày, mơ cùng một phía
Với những đêm vui tàn dần trước mặt
Và những ngày buồn níu mãi sau lưng

Dù Paris hay dù Cali nơi nào vẫn thế
Lúc nhớ tên nhau có thấy rầu rầu nhớ thuở gần nhau…


Trầm Tử Thiêng (October 1, 1937 – January 25, 2000) was a typical Nhạc Vàng musician in South Vietnam before 1975 and later overseas. He also wrote children’s music under the pen name Anh Nam.

Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm, the blogger, poet, and translator, was born in 1971 in Phu Nhuan, Saigon, Vietnam. The pharmacist currently lives and works in Western Sydney, Australia.

NGUYỄN ĐÌNH TOÀN

In Vietnamese by Nguyễn Đình Toàn
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm


Nguyễn Đình Toàn first penned under Tô Hà Vân, was born September 6th, 1936 at Gia Lâm, by the Red River, outside of Hanoi, the poet and musician passed away on November 28th, 2013 at Fountain Valley, California, U.S.A. Left for South Vietnam in 1954, there he became actively involved in the arts, literature, poetry, plays, and music, in association with literary magazines like Văn, Văn học. He collaborated with Trần Phong Giao for many years in the selection of literature for Văn Magazine. He took up the position as the editor of Saigon Radio after that and became known for the Music program in the early seventies. He was captured twice after 1975 and was imprisoned in a re-education camp for nearly six years. He and his wife, Madame Thu Hồng, settled in the United States of America at the end of 1998.

Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm, the blogger, poet, and translator, was born in 1971 in Phu Nhuan, Saigon, Vietnam. The pharmacist currently lives and works in Western Sydney, Australia.