This is a blog dedicated to the sharing of mainly Hmong-related creative fiction, non-fiction, short stories, poetry, and folktales written in either Hmong or English; Hmong or non-Hmong related fan-fiction is welcomed as well. It is also a place for reading enthusiasts to come support, critique, or give suggestions. If you are interested in sharing your writings here (you will receive all the credit) or would like to be a writing editor, please send an e-mail to yhmwriters@gmail.com.
In this post, instead of just sharing music from one artist, I have decided to share music from a couple of different artists. When I get a chance, I will post up the English translation for each song.
This first song is called Hlub Tam Toj Roob Hau Pes by Paj Xia Yaj and Nuj Sua Lis, Hmong Shee Yee's new pra-ek.
I believe Mim Yaj released her sophomore album this past Hmong New Year. She also participated in the Hmong International New Year Beauty Pageant and came out third place.
Nraug Hmoob by Mim Yaj is a nice blend of qeej instrumental music (I can hear Yang Geli in there) with a traditional "kwv txhiaj" from the White Hmong of Paj Taug Lag, Wenshen, Yunnan.
Kub "Qab Kaws" (Qab Kaws means frog) Vaj is a Hmong pop/rock artist. He is one of the few Hmong soloists from Thailand who makes original music, and his songs are filled with good meanings too. He possesses strong vocals and a wide range singing ability.
I like many of his songs, including "Nplooj Siab Vib Nais" and "Thov Hmoob Hlub Hmoob," but "Tsis Nco Yav Tag Los" was the easiest one to sub so I'm sharing this one first. Maybe in the near future, when I feel like it, I'll sub and share the other two favorites as well.
"Tsis Nco Yav Tag Los" tells the story of a man who has overcome a broken heart, meets a new and better woman (and learns to be appreciative of her), and thus makes it clear to his ex-lover/wife that he will never miss her again for leaving him.
This song is called "Xa Lub Siab Nrog Tus Duab Hli" by Ntsim Yaj. He debuted in 2009, but never really made it big and probably didn't produce a sophomore album. With so many new Hmong artists coming out of Laos and Thailand these days, a singer must really learn to stand apart from his/her competitors to grab attention...i.e. Lis Koob Xyooj (whether you like him or not, I'm indifferent).
However, from Ntsim Yaj's debut album, this is probably the single song that I like and so I am sharing it here.
I've decided that when I share Hmong music, I'm going to stop calling it "Song of the Week," because I am not consistent at updating every week and there are some weeks that I might like to share more than one song. So from now onward, the blog post title will just be "Sharing Hmong Music."
Here are two songs.
Note: Some of the Hmong music share on this blog, unless belonging to conventional music genres, are not traditional Hmong music. They're mostly covers of a particular style of music from the country that the Hmong singer is from, and in most of the cases the music will be of Lao/Thai origin, but with lyrics changed and the songs sung in Hmong to reflect the lifestyle of the Hmong. So although the music may not be Hmong in origin, as a listener, you'll still get a glimpse into the values of traditional Hmong folk or modern Hmong lives by paying attention to the meaning of the songs instead.
I was browsing youku (youtube's illegitimate Chinese cousin--that's what
everybody calls it) and found some Hmong music videos by Tub Lwm Hawj, a
Hmong Chinese singer from Yunnan. In the past decade, there has been a
growing interest among the Hmong Chinese in Yunnan and Guangxi, China
in Hmong entertainment from the West. They, in return, have produced a
couple of singers themselves like Yeeb Yaj, Mim Yaj, Lig Vaj, and Leej
Lis to cater music to the Hmong market in the West (which requires
singing in intelligible Far Western Hmong dialect). However, with the exception of Yang Geli, they have all been female singers. So it came as a great surprise to me to finally find a male Hmong Chinese singer who sings pop songs.
Although he does sing in our dialect, I'm assuming that Tub Lwm Hawj's music was produced for the Hmong Chinese community only. This is a fact given that the music videos contain quite a bit of Chinese writing, the cinematography and editing quality is on the poor side (it resembles the way Hmong music videos was shot and edited perhaps 20+ years ago), the instrumental seems to be karaoke versions only, and the music video collection was not sold in the West. Without sponsors in the United States to help out, I believed that the Hmong Chinese singers are just beginning to learn how to make music videos/films on their on so they're in the early developmental stage. On a positive note, I applaud them for singing in our dialect. It makes them seem less foreign when we watch/listen to them and it helps to bring all of us closer together as a people.
So, here are two music videos from Tub Lwm Hawj. The first one is in Chinese and the other is a duet in Hmong. (He also plays the flute as well but I'm having trouble uploading his other music videos so these two will be it for now).
Choj Kub Lauj was at Fresno's Hmong New Year and I didn't even recognize him. While waiting for my sister and sister-in-law to try on some Hmong clothes in a nearby booth (and because it was so cold too), I decided to walk over to his booth to check out what they were selling. I read the name on his second album's DVD cover, came back home and youtubed him. Then, he appeared on the Hmong channel and sang a couple songs too. His voice was pretty good.
I went back to Fresno's New Year on the last day and bought his album to support him. I didn't get a chance to ask him much, if anything, but he has a very nice and soft speaking voice (very different from his singing voice), and he seems like a kind and decent guy.
After scanning Choj Kub's second volume, I have come to the conclusion that "Tsim Kev Hlub Los Ua Chaw Nco" is probably the best song out of the album. It has a nice Lao country music beat and melody, and the lyric is pretty as well.
After browsing youtube, I just found out that the main male protagonist (pra-ek) from the Hmong movie, Hlub Zaum Ob, sings too. In fact, he has been singing many years prior to acting. For me, it's always a plus to see a pra-ek who can both sing and act. So if you are a fan of Meej Vaj, here's two songs for you to enjoy. In both songs, he is singing in the Hmoob ntsuab dialect but we know he speaks Hmong dawb fluently too.
I believed this song was first performed by Voos Yaj called, "Niam Yuav Ncaim Tiag," when he was under Herr's Video Productions. Somchai Yaj later covered the song for Herr's Video Productions' movie, "Ciaj Tuag Los Yuav Hlub." The title and lyrics are changed in this Maiv Lis Thoj and Tsab Yaj version, which I find a little awkward and out of sense. I preferred Somchai's rendition more, but this version is tolerable for the fact that I adore Tsab Yaj and his voice, if the voice in here is really his(and am a fan of Vixay Yaj's voice; yes, that's correct, the male singer of this song is Vixay Yaj--Somchai's younger brother, so Tsab is only lipsynching to Vixay's voice.This is kind of a disappointment for me as I was hoping that Tsab was the original singer. However, I don't mind at all that Vixay is the singer. In fact, I am still hoping that in spite of Vixay being a married man now, I wish that he continues to make music because his voice is REALLY REALLY nice. Perhaps he sang this and the other duet with Maiv Lis Thoj, set to be released in a second album together, but he suddenly got married and had to drop all his singing projects. So in the end, the producer(s) have to resort to someone else to lipsynch Vixay's part?). I first saw him in the movie, "Cia Ua Dab Neeg" with Tsom Xyooj and Xia Yaj, and find him an amiable actor. I believed that he has potential in both acting and singing (we'll have to wait for another time to hear his REAL singing voice).
Oh heaven, my dear Nraug Nab (a name reference to
the handsomest man in Hmong folktales; he’s usually the husband of Nkauj Ntsuab—the
most beautiful woman too)
Cas muab tsiab peb caug nim noj tag nrho lawm tiag
The New Year’s celebration is really over (the literal
translation is: How come the New Year’s celebration has been eaten already)
Es ntshai koj yuav mus tiag
(I’m) afraid you are really leaving
Koj puas kam tso koj me nplooj siab nrog kuv no nyob
Can you leave a little piece of your heart (liver)
to stay with me?
This Hmong Chinese folksong, or more like "kwv txhiaj" with musical accompaniment is called "Tag Kis Twb Yuav Mus" by Laj Tsawb (Chinese: Zhou Xing Lan). She is Hmong from Yunnan Province, China. The only thing I can make out from the beginning is her singing about the sky being bright upon the Hmong homeland, making it a good time to gather hemp (used to make threads to spun into cloth) and then I don't understand a word afterward until she starts singing about a young man courting a young lady. In the lyrics, Laj Tsawb talks about how the young man leaves his doorstep to court the young woman, and they talked so well, but can he bear to leave her behind since he must leave early the next morning (in the old days, guys and girls from the same village usually don't court since they may be related, so the young men would have to travel to nearby villages or to other areas to court young women; thus the lovers don't often get to meet one another except for the New Year's festival).
Since I don't understand everything, I won't attempt literal translation. But basically, if I'm correct, she starts out singing by admiring the simple lifestyle of the Hmong people and used that as a transition into talking about courtship of a young couple. It's a kwv txhiaj suitable for this time of the year, especially for young or more mature couples who will have to part ways after the New Year's festival ends.
Many people like this song for its beautiful voices, lyrics, and melody...aspects that speak well and straight the the Hmong heart...
Suab Nag Yaj & Npis Lis Tsab – Kob Nag Tshauv Nag
Tshav Ntuj
Girl:
Cas ntiaj teb yuav dav luaj no Why is the world so vast?
Kuv thiab koj niam sib ncaim lawm You and I have been separated
Lub hnub ploj tav no mam tawm The sun vanished for all this time and has only appear
Ntuj mam rov qaws wb los sib ntsib The heavens has allowed us to meet again
Tus dej ncau ntws sis faib kev The river branches into different paths
Lug toj lug pes mus ntev ua luaj Meandering mountains and hills for many miles
Koj laus tag kuv twb laus dua You have aged and I am older
Mam ntws sib tshuam hnub twg yuav ploj (Like the river we’ve) flowed and merged again
(but) the sun is about to set
This is one of my favorite songs from the Hmong rock band, The Sounders. It conveys a sort of nostalgic, haunting feeling of unfulfilled love between a couple in the old days. So while listening to it about two years ago, it became an inspiration for a subplot to my in-progress story, Nkauj Nog. Keep an eye out for that...
(I thought this was a really nice Hmong Chinese song, to be exact the singer is Ahmao, but it was a bit of a challenge to understand and translate because the singer has an accent. I couldn't really make out some of the words she was singing in the chorus in particular, so I tried my best to translate so that it makes some sense.)
But I don’t have the luck of getting you to be mine
Wb txoj kev hlub
Our love
Kuv yuav muab khaws zoo cia
I will keep it well
Cim koj tseg rau nruab siab
You will be imprinted in my heart (the literal translation is “You will be imprinted in my liver" because for the Hmong people, to love comes from the liver and not the heart; heart in Hmong is "plawv" and the word "plawv" sounds harsh to the ear)
Cim koj cia rau ntsiab muag
You will be imprinted in my eyes (more specifically "the cornea")
While writing The Magnificient Seven, I suddenly felt nostalgic of this old Hmong song by the group Unique 3 because I think the music matches the ambience of The Magnificent Seven very well. Alongside Unique 3's version, I decided to post Pov Thoj's cover of the song (I believe his lyrics is slightly altered), Npis Yaj and Christal Vaj's cover, and the instrumental. Enjoy...listen to the music while you read the story...I think it will help put you in the mood...
Unique 3 - Hlub Tsis Yooj Yim
Pov Thoj - Hlub Tsis Yooj Yim
Npis Yaj & Christal Vaj - Hlub Tsis Yooj Yim
Instrumental - Hlub Tsis Yooj Yim
Unique 3 - Hlub Tsis Yooj Yim
Verse 1
Lub Ntuj
Tsaus Nti Muaj Ntau Hnub Qub Ci
(Although)
there are many stars twinkling in the dark (night) sky
The artist this week goes to the well-accomplished Hmong comedian actor and singer, Xab Thoj.
He started out his singing career performing covers from other non-Hmong artists like most other Hmong artists from Thailand/Laos but I think since his sophomore album, Xab has found his place in the Hmong music industry. His subsequent albums have contained more original and unique music with elements inspired upon some aspects of Hmong culture or life. I never knew that music can be comedic until I stumble upon Xab. But besides his rather comedic songs he also produces a couple of more serious and meaningful lyrical pieces (despite the humorous music videos) like the song I've chosen for this week, "Kuv Yuav Nrog Koj Nyob Ua Kev." The song shines some light about being faithful and loving to one's spouse no matter the situation.
Since I don't have time to update my writings all the time, I figure that the best way to keep this blog active is to add songs, my fanfic art i.e. wallpapers, and potentially Hmong film reviews (in the hope of helping the filmmaker for promotional purposes only) in the future.
Enjoy ^_^ Perhaps you can listen to the song while you're reading the stories to keep you in the mood...
Xanaki - Nco Koj Mus Ib Sim
Thov muab lo lus zoo hauv kuv lub siab [I] want to give [you] the good word from my heart Tag nrho lub siab [From] all of my heart Muab qhia rau koj
To tell you Yog vim kuv hlub koj tag sim neej no [That or] Because I love you with all my life
