A leader in his field

"When I was a child, we had winter fallow period, which allowed the farmland to rest. Though we had no income during that period of time, people would spend the day singing, dancing and enjoying themselves," says Ba Nong. "However, now farmers seem to be like people living in urban areas. They work hard and keep their land busy throughout the whole year."

One day, after harvesting vegetables with his parents, Ba Nong went to bed. The next morning, he was surprised to see that his parents had already sold the vegetables and planted new seeds.

"Soon, the lyrics hit me: 'my land, you cannot rest because of me'," recalls Ba Nong, who later developed it into the song, Song of the Land.

He mentions that he listened to lots of songs by musicians which portray their hometowns, inspiring him to think about his own.