Composed at the beginning of the escalation of the war against the Americans following the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, this song is a particularly striking work because of its musical language: “Hoàng Vân’s music can be highly lyrical, but when necessary, his melodies can become powerful and heroic, as in Song for Land Forces soldiers. This work was composed in the context of the intensification of the destructive war against the North. At that time, Vietnamese forces transported artillery to Vĩnh Linh in order to fire upon the two American bases of Cồn Tiên and Dốc Miếu, which regularly bombarded the North.
The composer created an extremely forceful melody, even to the words ‘fire, fire,’ which are rarely used in a song, and yet here they fit perfectly.”
— (Interview with Phan Ngọc Thạch, from Composer Hoàng Vân – For Eternity, Kim Đồng Publishing House, 2022).
“Bài ca pháo kích” (The Song of Artillery Barrage / Song for Land Forces soldiers) is a brief and compact combat march, squarely structured and solidly constructed, founded upon a deliberately simplified yet highly vigorous harmony. Everything in the piece is centered on rhythmic drive and a collective, almost declaimed diction, within which Hoàng Vân nevertheless deploys remarkably refined descriptive techniques, transforming a wartime command into a vivid and concrete sonic image. This work is especially interesting because it clearly reveals the language of the early Hoàng Vân’s “combat songs”: a style of writing still very close to military declamation and collective singing, inherited from the march and the popular anthem, yet already permeated by a strongly plastic musical thinking, in which every melodic gesture contributes to shaping a precise and expressive sonic representation.
The work reveals a very different facet of Hoàng Vân’s musical writing. While many remember him through lyrical, supple, and deeply poetic melodies, this brief composition instead presents music of an almost mechanical force—sharp, impetuous, and relentless. Composed during the intensification of the destructive war against North Vietnam, this song is not merely a march intended to encourage combat; it also constitutes a direct artistic reaction to the historical reality of its time. From the very first measures, the rhythm is brief, firm, and uninterrupted, like the steady step of troops marching forward; the musical phrases, square and thrusting ahead, create the impression of an artillery unit advancing toward the front line. Most notably, the word “bắn” (“fire!”) is hammered repeatedly with powerful accents, almost evoking the very roar of cannons at the moment of firing. Yet, far from any crude brutality, these repetitions are integrated into a musical architecture of remarkable rigor. It is precisely here that Hoàng Vân’s “signature” emerges: he succeeds in transforming a simple military command into a genuine sonic image. Within a very concise framework, the work unfolds through a clear progression: from the presentation of the forces at hand, it moves into combat action, then broadens into the collective momentum of an entire army and an entire people. Thus, Hoàng Vân elevates his musical language beyond mere descriptive illustration to narrate a much larger story: that of the will and strength of an entire era.
Albums: Album, Songs during the war and the revolution, Works, Songs, Songs for professions, Works during the war, Listening,
Year of composition: 1968
1-
Our army has legs of bronze and shoulders of steel,
Our soldiers fight skillfully and fire with precision,
Our cannons reach every horizon,
Our gun emplacements are these very lands,
Of the Fatherland, radiant with heroic traditions.
Fire! Fire! Fire!
Each salvo crashes like thunder,
Every shell carries so much accumulated hatred within it.
We advance, going everywhere,
Together with all the people, pursuing victory.
2-
We cross passes and mountains,
Long sandy shores and forests,
From the dry season to the rainy season,
Everywhere we achieve feats, ever more victorious,
Our artillery positions are everywhere.
Accurate fire!
Whether in underground shelters or bunkers,
Across plains as well as cities.
Once engaged in battle, we are determined to triumph,
Together with the whole army, marching toward victory.
Voice of Vietnam Men's Choir