“Hò kéo pháo” (The Chant of Pulling Artillery) by Hoàng Vân is an immortal epic song composed in 1954 during the fiery days of the Điện Biên Phủ Campaign — the decisive battle that forced the French colonialists to end their rule in Vietnam. Musician Hoàng Vân personally witnessed the extreme hardships endured by soldiers as they hauled heavy artillery over towering mountains and treacherous terrain. Stories of soldiers sacrificing their bodies to hold the cannons, images of scraped feet and backs soaked with night dew, became the powerful inspiration that compelled him to compose the piece.
The work carries the rhythm of a collective chant – strong and intense – capturing the urgent and grueling labor of the battlefield. Each verse seems to blend with the soldiers’ footsteps and breaths. The song ignited passion, courage, and belief in a not-too-far peaceful future.

Hòa bình đến với chúng ta (Peace is coming to us) carries the familiar melody of “Rice drummer” – a well-known Quan họ folk melody in Vietnam presented by Mai Khanh (Peace Choir). In the days when North Vietnam had just regained independence, the reconstruction and building of a socialist society became an urgent and essential task, not only in economics and politics but also in music. By using a folk melody that was familiar across generations, the author changed the original lyrics – which were about a separated romantic love – into lyrics celebrating unity among social classes working together to build a new life and honoring Uncle Hồ (Hồ Chí Minh). With this “old melody – new lyrics” strategy, political messages were strategically woven into post-war life through music.

Mừng hòa bình (Celebrating our peace) is actually a version with altered lyrics from the song “Celebrating the victory of the Northwest” by composer Đặng Đình Hưng. The Northwest here refers to a region in the northern part of Vietnam, where the Northwest Campaign in 1952 successfully destroyed the enemy’s forces and thwarted the French military’s plans. After the victory over the French colonialists in 1955, the composer Lưu Hữu Phước changed the lyrics and name it “Celebrating our peace”. In this new version, alongside the scene of joy and fluttering flags, Lưu Hữu Phước added a brief section about the contributions and leadership of the pioneering Party, which led to this overall victory.

With its evocative imagery of "bitter cold," the song vividly captures farmers – particularly Vietnamese women – braving freezing temperatures and wartime adversity to plant the spring rice harvest on time, both for Tet celebrations and the war effort. In the midst of brutal warfare, food production was far more than an economic concern as it became a critical battlefront in the resistance. The principle of "full stomachs" was essential to achieving victory: it meant a stable home front, a well-fed army, and a population strong enough to sustain a long struggle. Despite relentless bombing, drought, and severe shortages, the North Vietnamese people persevered in their agricultural work, transforming rice paddies into a "quiet battlefield," as captured in the slogan: "Eat well to defeat the American aggressors" (Nhan Dan Newspaper, Issue 4665, January 15, 1967).

"Hái rau" (Gathering Vegetables) borrows the traditional folk melody of the Thai people – an ethnic minority living in Northern Vietnam – and sets it to new lyrics. The song vividly depicts a cheerful and optimistic scene of agricultural labor, where men's and women's voices interweave, inviting each other to the rice and vegetable fields. By using a familiar, accessible folk melody, "Hái rau" conveys not only messages about farming and the spirit of collective cultivation, but also represents the harmony among different ethnic communities in building a new life together. Notably, against the backdrop of ongoing fierce warfare, the song opens up a bright and optimistic vision of a peaceful future where people can work in peace. As is the nature of folk melodies with multiple variants, composer Hoàng Lân used this same folk melody and wrote new lyrics under the title "Ngày mùa vui" (Joyful harvest day), which was incorporated into the elementary school music program. Additionally, there is another version by composer Phạm Duy titled "Ngày mùa" (Harvest Day).

“The Church Bell” is an outstanding musical work by composer Nguyễn Xuân Khoát, written in 1946 during the early days of the resistance war against the French. After the night of December 19, 1946, when he followed the resistance forces retreating to Việt Bắc, the composer witnessed churches devastated along the way. Deeply moved by what he saw and heard, he composed this song upon arriving in Việt Trì — a unique piece bearing semi-classical (semi-classique) influences and demonstrating high compositional technique. The song vividly portrays the solemn sanctuaries violated by war, intertwined with sorrowful scenes and nostalgic memories of bygone days when the church bells gently rang to mark the rhythm of community life – calling for the blessings, celebrating weddings, baptizing newborns, and bidding farewell to departed souls on their journey to heaven.
“The Church Bell” stands as one of the resistance songs that express the spirit of national unity beyond religious boundaries. It is a call for all people – regardless of faith – to unite against foreign invaders, bound by a shared hope and belief in a peaceful future.