Rise Up / Thức Dậy Đi

The sun has just risen from the other side of the ocean

Or is it the fire from the East signaling a change in the season

Rise up, O my fellow brothers and sisters, the hour has come

Mother Vietnam has been crying for a long time,

Do you not know?

Rise up, O Mountains and Forests of olden days

Listen to the what the voices from the ancient past have to say

Who’s waiting for who in this leave-falling season

with sleepless nights and a heart burdened.

Who’s crying tonight at the northern border?

Is it from the soul of a lonely woman pining for her husband,

Or is it the tearful words of Phi Khanh

Telling his son to go home and take blood vengeance for his father.

Rise up, O Sacred Spirit of the Mountains and Rivers

The Nam Quan wind rushes waves on the Bach Dang water

This midnight, there’s no human shadow by the mountain stream

Yet, the sound of sword sharpening under the moon is heard, yet unseen.

Rise up, O Infinite Heart in Man

Don’t be afraid of suffering and pain

Even though the country’s situation is still murky

Please have compassion for your fellow Vietnamese

Rise up O Tall Hills and Graveled Slopes

Even rocks will be worn out with the footsteps of man

In silence, the prisoner watches the rain falling

Not knowing that several seasons of Spring

had already come and gone.

Rise up, O The Spirit of the Earth

The color of hope in the eyes of the Viet people

Many years we have heard each other crying

Is it enough to see so much blood had poured?

Rise up, O Each Page of History

The sad, the happy, and the shameful stories

Like Mother’s eyes – a thousand nights without sleep

Feeling compassion for her foolish children

not yet grown-up and still childish.

Translated by Vương Thanh, 2019