Natalie Merchant sings old poems to life

翻译人员: Elaine Yin 校对人员: Jenny Yang

(Music)

（音乐）

♫ My age is three hundred ♫

我 372

♫ and seventy-two ♫

岁了。

♫ I think with the deepest regret ♫

带着深深的惆怅想起

♫ How I used to pick up

我曾如何结识

and voraciously chew ♫

并贪婪地咀嚼

♫ the dear little boys

我遇见的

that I met ♫

可爱的小男孩们。

♫ I've eaten them raw

连带着他们假日的套装，

in their holiday suits, ♫

我把他们生吃了。

♫ Eaten them

还是伴着咖喱饭

curried with rice, ♫

吃的他们。

♫ I've eaten them baked

我吃着在夹克衫和靴子里

in their jackets and boots, ♫

烘焙过的他们

♫ And found them exceedingly nice. ♫

还发现他们好吃极了。

♫ But now that my jaws

但是现在我的咽喉

are too weak for such fare, ♫

吃这种食物太吃力了。

♫ I think it's increasingly rude ♫

我觉得做这种事是

♫ To do such a thing

越来越粗鲁了。

when I'm quite well aware ♫

当我十分清醒的时候，

♫ Little boys do not like

小男孩们不喜欢

being chewed. ♫

被咀嚼

♫ Little boys do not like

小男孩们不喜欢

being chewed. ♫

被咀嚼。

(Music)

（音乐）

♫ So now I contentedly live upon eels, ♫

所以我现在心满意足地以鳗鱼为生

♫ And try to do nothing amiss ♫

并尽量不犯错

♫ And pass all the time

来度过所有的时间

I can spare from my meals ♫

我可以把花在吃饭上的时间省出来

♫ In innocent slumber like this, ♫

在这无罪的睡眠中

♫ Innocent slumber

像这

like this. ♫

无罪的睡眠

(Applause)

（掌声）

I suppose I owe you an explanation.

我觉得我应该给你们解释一下，

I've been working on a project for the last six years

在过去的六年里我一直从事于一项工作，

adapting children's poetry to music.

就是使孩子们的诗词与音乐相融合。

And that's a poem by Charles Edward Carryl,

这首诗是查尔斯-卡里尔写的，

who was a stockbroker in New York City

他在纽约当股票经纪人

for 45 years,

已有45年了，

but in the evenings, he wrote nonsense for his children.

但是到了晚上，他给他的孩子们写荒谬的东西。

And this book was one of the most famous books in America

这是美国的一本名著

for about 35 years.

已大约有35年了。

"The Sleepy Giant," which is the song that I just sang,

我刚刚唱的那首歌——《嗜睡的巨人》，

is one of his poems.

便是他其中的一首诗。

Now, we're going to do

现在我们将为你们

other poems for you,

吟唱一些其他的诗词。

and here's a preview of some of the poets.

这里有一些诗人的前述，

This is Rachel Field,

这是苪歇尔·菲尔徳，

Robert Graves --

罗伯特·格雷夫斯，

a very young Robert Graves --

一个非常年轻的Robert Graves,

Christina Rossetti.

克里斯蒂娜·罗塞蒂。

Ghosts, right?

嗯，幽灵，

Have nothing to say to us,

对我们没有什么可说的。

obsolete,

过时了。

gone --

无可挽回了。

not so.

事实却非如此。

What I really enjoyed about this project

这项工作真正让我沉醉的是

is reviving these people's words.

帮助复活这些人的言语，

Taking them off the dead, flat pages.

使他们离开腐朽的，单调的书页，

Bringing them to life,

给予他们生命，

bringing them to light.

给予他们光明。

So, what we're going to do next

那么，接下来的一首诗

is a poem that was written by Nathalia Crane.

是那他利亚·可蕾茵写的，

Nathalia Crane was a little girl from Brooklyn.

她是来自布鲁克林的一个小女孩。

When she was 10 years old in 1927,

1927年，她十岁时，

she published her first book of poems

出版了第一本诗集，

called "The Janitor's Boy."

叫扎尼特的男孩。

Here she is.

这是她，

And here's her poem.

这是她的诗。

(Music)

（音乐）

♫ Oh, I'm in love

哦，我爱上了

with the janitor's boy, ♫

扎尼特的男孩

♫ And the janitor's boy

扎尼特的男孩

is in love with me. ♫

也爱上了我

♫ Oh, I'm in love

哦，我爱上了

with the janitor's boy, ♫

扎尼特的男孩

♫ And the janitor's boy

扎尼特的男孩

is in love with me. ♫

也爱上了我

♫ He's going to hunt for a desert isle ♫

他要去寻找我们地形上的

♫ In our geography. ♫

一个荒岛

♫ A desert isle

一个长满芳香树木的

with spicy trees ♫

荒岛

♫ Somewhere in Sheepshead Bay; ♫

它在羊头湾的某一个地方

♫ A right nice place,

一个十分优美的地方

just fit for two ♫

只适合我们俩

♫ Where we can live always. ♫

永远生活的地方

♫ Oh, I'm in love

哦，我爱上了

with the janitor's boy, ♫

扎尼特的男孩

♫ And the janitor's boy, ♫

扎尼特的男孩

he's busy as can be; ♫

忙得不得了

♫ Down in the cellar he's making a raft ♫

在地窖下，他正在用长沙发椅

♫ Out of an old settee. ♫

做一个木筏

♫ He'll carry me off,

他将带我离开

I know that he will, ♫

我知道他会的，

♫ For his hair is exceedingly red; ♫

因为他的头发非常的红

♫ And the only thing

我能想到的

that occurs to me ♫

唯一的事情

♫ Is to dutifully shiver in bed. ♫

是在床上顺从的颤栗

♫ And on the day that we sail,

在我们离开的那天

I will leave a little note ♫

我将给我的父母留下一个便条

♫ For my parents I hate to annoy: ♫

我讨厌烦扰

♫ "I have flown to an island

我已飘向港湾中的

in the bay ♫

一个岛屿

♫ With my janitor's

和我扎尼特的

red haired-boy." ♫

有红头发的男孩一起

♫ The janitor's red-haired boy ♫

扎尼特红头发的男孩

♫ The janitor's red-haired boy ♫

扎尼特红头发的男孩

♫ The janitor's red-haired boy ♫

扎尼特红头发的男孩

♫ The janitor's red-haired boy ♫

扎尼特红头发的男孩

♫ I'm going to sail away ♫

我将和我扎尼特红头发的男孩

♫ Gone to Sheepshead Bay ♫

一起离开

♫ With my janitor's red-haired boy. ♫

驶向羊头湾

♫ On an old settee ♫

红头发的男孩和我

♫ My red-haired boy and me ♫

在一个古老的长沙发椅上

♫ The janitor's red-haired boy. ♫

扎尼特红头发的男孩

♫ The janitor's red-haired boy ♫

扎尼特红头发的男孩

♫ The janitor's red-haired boy ♫

扎尼特红头发的男孩，

♫ The janitor's red-haired boy ♫

扎尼特红头发的男孩

♫ The janitor's red-haired boy ♫

扎尼特红头发的男孩

(Applause)

（掌声）

The next poem is by E.E. Cummings,

下一首诗是肯明斯的

"Maggie and Milly and Molly and May."

玛姬蜜莉茉俐与玫

(Music)

（音乐）

♫ Maggie and Milly,

玛姬蜜莉

Molly and May ♫

茉莉与玫

♫ They went down to the beach

一天

one day to play ♫

他们去沙滩玩

♫ And Maggie discovered

玛姬发现了

a shell that sang ♫

一个唱甜美歌曲的贝壳

♫ So sweetly she couldn't remember

她忘记了

her troubles ♫

她的烦恼

♫ Maggie and Milly,

玛姬蜜莉

Molly and May ♫

茉莉与玫

♫ Maggie and Milly,

玛姬蜜莉

Molly and May ♫

茉莉与玫

♫ Milly befriended

蜜莉对一个无助的明星

a stranded star ♫

很友好

♫ Whose rays,

明星的目光

whose rays ♫

明星的目光

♫ Five languid fingers

五个无力的手指，

were ♫

是

(Music)

（音乐）

♫ Maggie and Milly,

玛姬蜜莉

Molly and May ♫

茉莉与玫

♫ Maggie and Milly,

玛姬蜜莉

Molly and May ♫

茉莉与玫

(Music)

（音乐）

♫ Molly was chased

茉莉被一个恐怖的东西

by a horrible thing ♫

追逐着

♫ Which raced

那个东西在旁边跑着

sideways blowing ♫

呼啸着

♫ Blowing ♫

呼啸着

♫ Blowing ♫

呼啸着

♫ May came home

玫带着一块圆圆的滑滑的石头

with a smooth, round stone ♫

回家了

♫ Small as a world

像世界一样小

and as large as alone ♫

又像孤独一样大

(Music)

（音乐）

♫ For whatever we lose

我们所丢失的所有东西

like a you or a me ♫

像你或者像我

♫ Always ourselves

而我们

that we find

在海上找到的通常是

at the sea ♫

我们自己

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you.

谢谢

(Applause)

（掌声）

The next poem is "If No One Ever Marries Me."

下一首诗是《要是没有人娶我》，

It was written by Laurence Alma-Tadema.

是劳伦斯·阿尔玛—塔德玛写的，

She was the daughter of a very, very famous Dutch painter

她是荷兰一个非常非常有名的画家的女儿

who had made his fame in England.

那个画家在英国已经出名了，

He went there after the death

当他的妻子死于天花病后，

of his wife of smallpox

他便带着他的两个小孩

and brought his two young children.

来到了英国。

One was his daughter, Laurence.

一个是女儿，劳伦斯，

She wrote this poem when she was

1888年，当她18岁时

18 years old in 1888,

写了这首诗。

and I look at it as kind of a

我认为这首诗是

very sweet feminist manifesto

一个非常悦耳的妇女宣言，

tinged with a little bit of defiance

带着一点蔑视，

and a little bit of resignation and regret.

带着些许无可奈何还有一丝惋惜。

(Music)

（音乐）

♫ Well, if no one ever marries me ♫

咳！要是没有人娶我

♫ And I don't see why they should, ♫

而我也不知道他们为什么不肯娶我

♫ Nurse says I'm not pretty, ♫

奶妈说是因为我不漂亮

♫ And you know I'm seldom good,

可你知道我是少有的好人

seldom good -- ♫

少有的好人

♫ Well, if no one ever marries me ♫

咳！要是没有人娶我

♫ I shan't mind very much; ♫

我也不会太介意

♫ Buy a squirrel in a cage ♫

买一只松鼠放在笼子里

♫ And a little rabbit-hutch. ♫

再买一个小兔笼

♫ If no one marries me ♫

要是没有人娶我

♫ If no one marries me ♫

要是没有人娶我

♫ If no one marries me ♫

没有人娶我

♫ If no one marries me ♫

要是没有人娶我

♫ If no one marries me ♫

要是没有人娶我

♫ I'll have a cottage near a wood ♫

我会在一片森林附近搭一个小屋

♫ And a pony all my own ♫

再弄一匹完全属于自己的小马

♫ A little lamb quite clean and tame ♫

一只干净温顺的小羊

♫ That I can take to town. ♫

我可以带它们到镇上去

♫ And when I'm really getting old -- ♫

而当我真得变老时

♫ And 28 or nine -- ♫

二十八九岁的样子时，

♫ Buy myself a little orphan girl ♫

给自己买一个小孤儿

♫ And bring her up as mine. ♫

并把她当成自己亲生的一样养大

♫ If no one marries me ♫

要是没有人娶我

♫ If no one marries me ♫

要是没有人娶我

♫ If no one marries me ♫

没有人娶我

♫ If no one marries me ♫

没有人娶我

♫ Well, if no one marries me ♫

咳！要是没有人娶我

♫ Marries me ♫

娶我

♫ Well, if no one marries me ♫

咳！要是没有人娶我

♫ Marries me ♫

娶我

♫ Well, if no one marries me ♫

咳！要是没有人娶我

Thank you.

谢谢

(Applause) Thank you.

（掌声）

I became very curious about the poets

和诗人一起相处六年后，

after spending six years with them,

我对他们感到非常好奇，

and started to research their lives,

从而开始研究他们的生活

and then decided to write a book about it.

接着就决定写一本关于他们生活的书。

And the burning question about Alma-Tadema

对Alma-Tadema 争论最热烈的问题是，

was: Did she marry?

她结婚了没有？

And the answer was no,

答案是没有，这是

which I found in the London Times archive.

这是我从伦敦时报档案馆找到的答案

She died alone in 1940

1940年，她孤独的死去，

in the company of her books and her dear friends.

伴随她的只有她的书和她亲密的朋友

Gerard Manley Hopkins,

圣人——

a saintly man.

杰拉尔德·曼利·霍普金斯。

He became a Jesuit.

他成了一个耶稣会会士，

He converted from his Anglican faith.

而不再信仰圣公会。

He was moved to by the Tractarian Movement,

他之所以改变信仰是因为牛津运动

the Oxford Movement, otherwise known as --

亦叫牛津大学运动，

and he became a Jesuit priest.

然后他成了耶稣会的牧师。

He burned all his poetry at the age of 24

24岁时，他把他所有的诗都烧了，

and then did not write another poem for at least seven years

然后至少有七年没有写过诗，

because he couldn't rectify the life of a poet

因为他无法用一个牧师的生活

with the life of a priest.

来调整一个诗人的生活。

He died typhoid fever

44岁时，

at the age of 44, I believe,

他死于伤寒症。我认为，

43 or 44.

是43或是44岁。

At the time, he was teaching classics

那时，

at Trinity College in Dublin.

他正在都柏林三一学院教古典文学。

A few years before he died,

在他去世几年前，

after he had resumed writing poetry,

他就又开始写诗了，

but in secret,

但只是秘密地写。

he confessed to a friend in a letter

我做研究时发现的一封他写给一个朋友的信中，

that I found when I was doing my research:

他承认了这一点。

"I've written a verse.

“我已写了一首诗，

It is to explain death to a child,

是关于向一个孩子解释死亡的。

and it deserves a piece of plain-song music."

而且它值得配上一点音乐。”

And my blood froze when I read that

当我读到这封信的时候，我的血液都凝固了，

because I had written the plain-song music

因为在他写这封信130年之后，我就作了这首淡淡的乐曲。

130 years after he'd written the letter.

我作了这首淡淡的乐曲。

And the poem is called, "Spring and Fall."

他所做的这首诗的名字叫《春天和秋天》。

♫ Margaret,

玛格丽特

are you grieving ♫

不久后，

♫ Over Goldengrove

你是否会为金树城树叶的凋零

unleaving, by and by? ♫

而悲伤？

♫ Leaves, like the things

用你那全新的思想，

of man, you ♫

来关心树叶，

♫ With your fresh thoughts care for,

就像关心男人的事情一样，

can you? ♫

你会吗?

♫ But as the heart grows older ♫

但是，随着心灵的成熟，

♫ It will come to such sights

将会出现这种

much colder ♫

更冷的场景。

♫ By and by,

渐渐地，

nor spare a sigh ♫

你不再叹息，

♫ Though worlds of

尽管所有的森林，

wanwood leafmeal lie; ♫

都在一个凌乱光秃秃的世界里。

♫ And yet you will weep

尽管你会哭泣，

and you'll know why. ♫

可你知道那是为了什么。

♫ No matter child, the name: ♫

不管是哪个孩子，叫什么名字，

♫ Sorrow's springs are all the same ♫

他们春天的忧伤却是相同的。

♫ They're all the same. ♫

是相同的。

♫ Nor mouth had

没有什么言语，

nor no mind expressed ♫

也没有什么思想可以表达，

♫ What heart heard of,

心听到了什么，

ghost had guessed: ♫

幽灵却已猜到：

♫ It's the blight

男人生下来

man was born for, ♫

就是为了让人失望，

♫ It is Margaret

而你所忧伤的

that you mourn for ♫

却是玛格丽特。

Thank you so much.

谢谢！

(Applause)

（掌声）

(Music)

（音乐）

I'd like to thank everybody,

我想感谢所有的人，

all the scientists, the philosophers,

科学家，哲学家，

the architects, the inventors,

建筑学家，发明家，

the biologists,

生物学家，

the botanists, the artists ...

植物学家，艺术家，

everyone that blew my mind this week.

感谢所有在这周启发我的人。

Thank you.

谢谢你们。

(Applause)

（掌声）

♫ Oh, a li la li la la la ♫

喔，啦哩啦哩啦啦啦

♫ La li la la li la la la la la la ♫ (Applause)

啦哩啦啦哩啦啦啦啦啦啦

♫ La li la la la ♫

啦哩啦啦啦

♫ La li la la la la ♫

啦哩啦啦啦啦

♫ La li la la la la la la ♫

啦哩啦啦啦啦啦啦

♫ La la la li la la la la la ♫

啦啦啦哩啦啦啦啦啦

♫ You've been so kind and

你们是那么的友好

generous ♫

慷慨，

♫ I don't know how you keep on giving. ♫

我不知道你们是怎么一直付出的。

♫ And for your kindness,

我有愧于

I'm in debt to you. ♫

你们的友好。

♫ And for your selflessness,

我敬佩

my admiration. ♫

你们的无私。

♫ And for everything you've done,

你们知道，

you know I'm bound; ♫

我一定要，

♫ I'm bound to thank for it ♫

一定要感谢你们所做的一切。

♫ La li la li la la la ♫

啦哩啦哩啦啦啦

♫ La li la la li la li la la la ♫ (Clapping)

啦哩啦啦哩啦哩啦啦啦

♫ La li la la la ♫

啦哩啦啦啦

♫ La li la la la la ♫

啦哩啦啦啦啦

♫ La li la li la la la ♫

啦哩啦哩啦啦啦

♫ La li la la li la li la la ♫

啦哩啦啦哩啦哩啦啦

♫ And you ♫

谢谢你们

♫ Now you've been so kind and ... ♫

你们一直如此友好，

Curb the enthusiasm, just a little bit.

现在请抑制一下你们的兴奋，只是抑制一点点。

Just bring it down a little. (Laughter)

只是减少一丁点儿。（笑）

It's my turn.

轮到我了。

I still have two minutes.

我还有两分钟。

(Laughter)

（笑）

Okay, we're going to start that verse again.

好了，让我再看下一首诗。

♫ Well, you've been so ... ♫

哈哈，你们是这样的……

That's innovative, don't you think?

我很有创意，是不是啊？

Calming the audience down;

让观众们平静下来啊：

I'm supposed to be whipping you into a frenzy, and I,

我觉得应该激起你们的热情来，

"That's enough. Sh." (Laughter)

我喜欢那样，那样就足够了，呵呵

♫ Now, you've been kind and ... ♫

现在，你们是这样的友好……

I'm going to sing this to Bill Gates. (Laughter)

我将为比尔·盖茨唱这首歌。

I have so much admiration for him.

我非常仰慕他。

♫ Now, you've been so kind and

现在，你们是这样的友好

generous, ♫

无私。

♫ I don't know how you keep on giving. ♫

我不知道你们是怎么一直付出的。

♫ And for your kindness

我有愧于

I'm in debt to you. ♫

你们的友好。

♫ And I never could have come

要是没有你们，

this far without you. ♫

我永远不会走这么远。

♫ So for everything you've done,

你们知道，

you know I'm bound ♫

我必定要

♫ I'm bound to thank you for it ♫ (Clapping)

必定要感谢你们。

♫ La li la la li la la la ♫

啦哩啦啦哩啦啦啦，

♫ La li la la li la la la ♫

啦哩啦啦哩啦啦啦

♫ La li la la la ♫

啦哩啦啦啦

♫ La li la la la la ♫

啦哩啦啦啦啦

♫ La li la la li la la la ♫

啦哩啦啦哩啦啦啦

♫ La li la la li la li la la la ♫

啦哩啦啦哩啦哩啦啦啦

♫ La li la la la ♫

啦哩啦啦啦

♫ Oh, I want to thank you for so many gifts ♫

感谢你们给我这么多的礼物，

♫ You gave in love with tenderness ♫

你们给我这么多的柔情与爱。

♫ Thank you ♫

谢谢你们。

♫ I want to thank you

谢谢你们的无私，

for your generosity ♫

谢谢你们给我的

♫ the love and the honesty that you gave me ♫

爱与忠诚。

♫ I want to thank you

谢谢你们，

show my gratitude, ♫ My love

我想表达对你们的

and my respect for you ♫

感激、爱意与尊重。

♫ I want to thank you, thank you ♫

谢谢！谢谢！

♫ Thank you, thank you ♫

谢谢！谢谢！

♫ Thank you, thank you ♫

谢谢！谢谢！

♫ Thank you, thank you ♫

谢谢！谢谢！

♫ I want to thank you, thank you ♫

谢谢！谢谢！

♫ Thank you, thank you ♫

谢谢！谢谢！

You know what?

你们知道吗？

I'll show you how to clap to this song. (Laughter) (Clapping)

我将教你们如何体会这首歌。

♫ I want to thank you, thank you ♫

谢谢！谢谢！

♫ Thank you, thank you ♫

谢谢！谢谢！

♫ Thank you, thank you ♫

谢谢！谢谢！

♫ Thank you, thank you ♫

谢谢！谢谢！

♫ I want to thank you, thank you ♫

谢谢！谢谢！

It works better, right?

这样更好，对吧？

♫ I want to thank you, thank you ♫

谢谢你们!谢谢！

♫ I want to thank you ♫

谢谢！

♫ Ooh hoo ♫

哦哦

♫ Ooh hoo ♫

哦哦

♫ Ooh hoo ♫

喔喔

♫ Ooh hoo ♫

噢噢

Let's bring it down.

让我们低下来。

Decrescendo.

渐降下来。

Gradually, bringing it down,

慢慢地，降下来，

bringing it down.

降下来。

♫ I want to thank you, thank you ♫

谢谢！谢谢！

Finger popping,

手指布偶，

ain't no stopping.

不要停下来。

Thank you so much.

非常感谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）