Poet Phan Vu, the author of the epic Em ơi! Hà Nội Phố, passed away yesterday at the age of 93 in HCM City after a long battle against illness. — Photo thethaovanhoa.vn

Poet Phan Vu, whose real name is Tran Hong Hai, was born in 1926 in the northern city of Hai Phong. Besides writing poetry, he was also a talented dramatist, a stage director, a film director, and a painter but was best known for the epic poem Em ơi! Hà Nội Phố (Darling! Oh the Streets in Hanoi!).

The poem was composed in 1972 when the north was in the middle of a fierce battle and later turned into a song of the same name by composer Phu Quang.

Em ơi! Hà Nội Phố was first sung on the radio in 1987 by singer Le Thu and then by other famous singers like Ngoc Tan, Thanh Lam and Bang Kieu. The song has become one of the most renowned songs about Hanoi and is familiar to all Hanoians.

VNS