Lý Qua Đèo

Spacey.  That description fits me to a tee these days.  I haven’t had much luck getting any new posts out because I am in the middle of working on all the intricate details of my book.  Much apologies for having been MIA for these last few days.  I only wish my brain was better equipped to multi-task and deal with all the various situations thrown at me.

I won’t bore you with the details of my ongoing research and writing so I’ll share instead, another slice of my culture with you.  This song is called Lý Qua Đèo, Across the Mountain Pass.

http://khoctham.us/862162-bai-hat/ly-qua-deo-hoang-oanh.html

 

As a child, I grew up hearing this specific song played quite often in my home and I always wondered how my father could understand what the singer is saying because this song is just as foreign-sounding to me as it sounds to you.

The reason is that although seventy-five percent of the words are basic Vietnamese words which I could understand, the rest was composed of very regional and dialectic aboriginal vocabulary.

If I was asked to translate this song, I would have a tough time translating it because I cannot understand many of the words.

 

 

 

I do have the lyrics, however, and I can roughly translate them:

Chiều chiều dắt mẹ, dắt mẹ tà là đèo qua đèo             Evenings walking Mother across the mountain pass
Tà là đèo qua đèo                                                    the mountain pass, over the mountain pass
Chim kêu, chim kêu tình như bên nớ                          Birds calling, birds calling    
Ủy – oả – chi rứa – chi rứa                                         Hey there!  What’s up?  What’s going on?
Ơi hỡi vượn trèo,                                                     Oh hey, monkeys swing
Vượn trèo tà là kia bên kia, tà là kia bên kia                Monkeys swing on the other side, the other side
Ơi hỡi vượn trèo tà là kia bên kia                               Monkeys swing, other side of the mountain pass

Chiều chiều dắt mẹ…, dắt mẹ tà là đèo qua đèo                   (The rest of the lyrics repeat)
Tà là đèo qua đèo                                                    
Chim kêu, chim kêu tình như bên nớ
Ủy – oả – chi rửa – chi rửa
Ơi hỡi vượn trèo,
Vượn trèo tà là kia bên kia, tà là kia bên kia
Ơi hỡi vượn trèo tà là kia bên kia

Chiều chiều dắt mẹ, dắt mẹ tà là đèo qua đèo
Tà là đèo qua đèo
Chim kêu, chim kêu tình như bên nớ
Ủy – oả – chi rửa – chi rửa
Ơi hỡi vượn trèo,
Vượn trèo tà là kia bên kia, tà là kia bên kia
Ơi hỡi vượn trèo tà là kia bên kia

Chiều chiều… qua đèo – chiều chiều… qua đèo
chiều chiều… qua đèo – chiều chiều… qua đèo

The song itself is very simple.  This is because it is an ancient poem which has been in existence before written history.  Nobody knows who wrote it or when.  We just know that it exists within our cultural inheritance.

Enjoy.

About these ads