South Vietnam
"Thanh niên Hành Khúc" (Call to the Citizens)

Words by: Luu Huu Phuoc (revised by Ngo Dinh Diem)
Music by: Luu Huu Phuoc
In use: 1948-1975 (lyrics changed in 1955)

During the struggle for independence from the French, the song "Thanh niên Hành Khúc" was used as the unofficial anthem of the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam. This body became the government of South Vietnam after the 1954 Geneva Accord split Vietnam into North and South entities.

The original lyrics were written by Luu Huu Phuoc. A student during World War Two, his anthem caught on with other students, and thus was originally entitled "Call to the Youth" or "Call to the Students". After independence, the lyrics were slightly revised by the first president of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, who made the lyrics most inclusive of the entire population, not just youth.

Luu Huu Phuoc wrote the lyrics in what was later North Vietnam and, interestingly, sometime after he wrote these lyrics, he became a communist and fought against the South Vietnamese government. He wrote many communist songs after he adopted this ideology, including, ironically, the anthem adopted by South Vietnam after the control of the country's government to the communists.

Special thanks to: Ben Cahoon for informing me about this anthem and to Quang Hong, Le Phan Huu Bang, and Huynh Ba Thanh for some of this information.

See also: South Vietnam (1975-1976), Vietnam.