“Sơn once said, ‘No one can understand the helplessness of this life the way we do.’” Researcher Nguyễn Đắc Xuân (1937–) recalls a late-night conversation with Father Nguyễn Ngọc Lan and musician Trịnh Công Sơn on April 30, 1966, in Đà Lạt. Although it was not his first time meeting Trịnh Công Sơn, the exchange left a deep impression on Nguyễn Đắc Xuân, who at the time was a young man involved in the peace movements initiated by Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh.

In Episode 2 of the podcast series “My Trịnh Công Sơn & Ours,” writer, journalist, and researcher Nguyễn Đắc Xuân recounts his encounters with the evolving thought and music of Trịnh Công Sơn, especially from the mid-1960s onward. Recorded at his private home in Huế—surrounded on all sides by bookshelves and archival materials he has collected and compiled over decades, along with portraits of Trịnh Công Sơn painted by contemporary intellectuals and friends—the episode is steeped in the atmosphere of a bygone era, filled with anxieties and uncertainties about the human condition, as well as aspirations and urgent calls for peace amid wartime.

What makes the conversation particularly engaging is the way it weaves together the overlapping paths that individuals chose to walk during those turbulent years. The story of Trịnh Công Sơn cannot be separated from the social context of the time—from the influence of musicians like Phạm Duy, Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh, poet Ngô Kha, and others. Researcher Nguyễn Đắc Xuân also reflects on certain differences between the peace movement he participated in and Trịnh Công Sơn’s own anti-war philosophy.

Episode 2 of the podcast series, titled “The Peace Movement and the Songs That Uplift Humanity,’” offers the public a fresh perspective on Trịnh Công Sơn and on the personal journeys of the intellectuals who lived through and witnessed the tragedies of war, yet continued to yearn for the rebuilding of compassion and humanity.

🎧 Listen to the podcast here.