On Behalf Of by Pham Duy
Pham Duy, a very popular poet and folk singer from Vietnam, appeared on American television after the Tet offensive in 1968. One of the songs he chose to present was called “On Behalf Of.” He stated that this song was very popular in Vietnam because it “reflects the feeling of our people.” Strumming his guitar violently he sang:
For my defense I must kill, must kill;
Kill one man, kill one man.
For my place in the sun,
In my defense, I must kill one man.For my family I must kill, must kill;
Kill ten men, kill ten men.
On behalf of posterity,
Because of my family, I must kill ten men.For my village I must kill, must kill;
Kill hundreds of men, kill hundreds of men.
On behalf of freedom,
Because of my village, I must kill hundreds of men.For my nation I must kill, must kill;
Kill thousands of men, kill thousands of men.
On behalf of the fatherland,
Because of my nation, I must kill thousands of men.For my ideology I must kill, must kill;
Kill millions of men, kill millions of men.
On behalf of the liberation of all mankind,
Because of my ideology, I must kill millions of men.For the human race I keep killing, keep killing;
Killing everything else, killing everything else.
On behalf of peace, on behalf of peace,
I must kill even myself.
The final line was sung harshly, out of cadence. After a moment of stunned silence the shocked audience began to applaud. But Pham Duy, master showman, cut off the applause as it approached its peak. Loss and destruction, he told them, are only to be regretted, never applauded nor prized. He then began to sing again, providing a new perspective:
For my defense I must save, must save,
Save one man, save one man.
For my place in the sun,
In my defence, I must save one man.For my family I must save, must save;
Save ten men, save ten men.
On behalf of posterity,
Because of my family, I must save ten men.For my village I must save, must save;
Save hundreds of men, save hundreds of men.
On behalf of freedom,
Because of my village, I must save hundreds of men.For my nation I must save, must save;
Save thousands of men, save thousands of men.
On behalf of the fatherland,
Because of my nation, I must save thousands of men.For my ideology I must save, must save;
Save millions of men, save millions of men.
On behalf of the liberation of all mankind.
Because of my ideology, I must save millions of men.For the human race I must keep saving, must keep saving;
Saving everything else, saving everything else.
On behalf of peace, on behalf of peace,
I must, first of all, save myself.
With this Pham Duy evoked thunderous applause both in Vietnam and the United States. (From Understanding Vietnam by Neil L. Jamieson, p. 322-324)
