My episode artwork here is a painting by Vietnamese artist Hồ Tiệp of Vũ Tiến Lâm, the singer on the track THƯƠNG CA QUÊ TÔI (Heartfelt Nostalgic Song of my Homeland) by Trần Nguyên Hào which is referenced in this episode of my podcast. The painting appears as the thumbnail for the track on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjsHpXDB1P0
Thanks Ant for introducing us to a splendid poem and song. I note that our word ‘Nostalgia’ comes from the Greek for Return Home. The meaning is figurative, ie the return home is in the imaginative yearning rather than being a real event. And I think it is that same figurative sense that the Vietnamese poet has in mind when at the end of his poem he says that today he visited his Homeland.
Interesting points about social mobility. When we lived in a countryside village all the middle class people were incomers, whilst all the working class people and their parents before them were from the village itself or its surrounds. Class is the big divide in these matters.
Thank you, Ant, for introducing my song “Heartfelt Nostalgic Song of My Homeland” – I am truly happy. This not only gives my music a chance to reach listeners in the UK and other countries, but also helps me spread love, nostalgia, and gratitude for my homeland – the place where I and so many others were born, raised, and nurtured our souls.
A lovely poem and a thoughtful Antcast as always.
So many reasons for leaving one’s homeland, but perhaps we’re not actually that far from our nomadic roots – though instead of the impetus being the need to follow the food sources, we now follow education… jobs… and, let’s not forget, that major driver that is the heart. Following loved ones; escaping pain, war, self; familial, often patriarchal, expectations; a need for adventure…
The reasons for not seeking pastures new are equally multifaceted, and, indeed, often similar: a contentment for what one has without the need for more; fear of the unknown; familial, often patriarchal, expectations; and, of course, the heart: loyalty to loved ones, living or dead; the desire to be close to fond memories and places… the nostalgia for what was.
We evolve, places evolve, and we see the places of our past differently; nevertheless, a homeland can leave a haunting (I use that term not necessarily in a negative sense) imprint on the soul.
I always look forward to your thought provoking podcasts.