Robert Johnson: King of the Country Blues 罗伯琼森：乡村蓝调之王
- 详细资料
- 创建于 2004年11月18日
- 最后更新于 2024年5月25日
- 发布于 2011年8月07日
- 作者：Mike Lee
- 点击数：535
课文朗读
课文讲解
No musician has had such a greatimpact on American music with so few songs as the great bluesman Robert Johnson. Legends surrounding his guitar prowess and his untimely death are varied, contradictory, and – like his meager twenty-nine recorded songs – the stuff of legend. Johnson’s music was at the crossroads of country blues and the electric sounds of Chicago blues and rock’n’roll which followed.
美国音乐史上没有其他音乐家像蓝调歌王罗伯琼森一样，以那么少的几首曲子，产生这么大的影响力。关于他在吉他上的造诣和骤然辞世的传闻众说纷纭，而且──就像他录下来极少的那29首曲子──充满传奇。罗伯琼森的音乐恰好身处在乡村蓝调、芝加哥电音蓝调，和随之而来摇滚乐的十字路口上。
Mississippi where Robert was born in 1911, was a poor, racist state in the early 1900s. As a black man, he faced the limited prospects of sharecropping, menial labor, or playing music. He took to music early and was, by reputation, a good harmonica player.
罗伯1911年出生于密西西比州，那儿二十世纪初期既穷困，种族歧视又很严重。身为黑人，他未来的选择有限，不是当佃农、做苦工，就是从事音乐。他很早就选择了音乐，而且口琴吹得棒，口碑很好。
Following the tragic death of his teenage bride, Robert took up guitar seriously, emulating older bluesman like Son House. House vividly described this awkward transition: “Such another racket, you’d never heard!”
他十几岁的老婆因为难产不幸过世之后，罗伯开始认真重拾吉他，模仿豪斯这一类的前辈蓝调乐手。豪斯生动地描述了这段尴尬的过渡期：「你绝对不可能再听见另外一个人，像他这样子！」【注】
In 1931, Robert set off for southern Mississippi to seek his fortune and learn guitar properly. He cut his teeth playing juke joints, lumber camps, and studying with an older musician named Ike Zinnerman. Heading home several years later, Johnson astounded people with his progress. Rumor spread that he’d sold his soul to the Devil for his virtuosity. So began his legend.
1931年罗伯起程前往密西西比的南部打天下，而且吉他学得一级棒。他辛辛苦苦在小酒馆、伐木场各处表演，还跟着一位年长的名师爱克辛纳曼学习。几年后罗伯返乡，众人对他的进步神速都大感吃惊。传闻说他把灵魂卖给了魔鬼以交换娴熟的弹奏技术。他的传奇就此展开。
【注】这句话引述的原文是美国南方乡村的方言，一般标准英语说法应该是“You had never heard such a racket before!”
Vocabulary
单词发音
prowess [ˋpraʊɪs] n. 非凡的能力；高超的本领
untimely [ʌnˋtaɪmlɪ] adj. 过早的；不适时的
contradictory [͵kɑntrəˋdɪktərɪ] adj. 不一致的，前后矛盾的 inconsistent
meager [ˋmigɚ] adj. 不足的；贫乏的
racist [ˋresɪst] adj. 持种族偏见的; 种族主义的
prospect [ˋprɑspɛkt] n. 前景，前途
sharecropping 佃农制度
sharecrop [ˋʃɛr͵krɑp] v.【美】作佃农耕种
menial [ˋmɪnɪəl] adj. 奴颜婢膝的；卑贱的
harmonica [hɑrˋmɑnɪkə] n. 口琴
take up 开始学 to develop an interest in or devotion to
emulate [ˋɛmjə͵let] v. 效仿﹐模仿
set off 出发 to start on a journey
properly [ˋprɑpɚlɪ] adv.【尤英﹐非正式】完全地﹐彻底地
cut one’s teeth 初获经验，初试牛刀 to get one’s first experience of a particular type of work and learn the basic skills
juke[dʒuk] joint 备有点唱机的小酒吧或舞厅
astound [əˋstaʊnd] v. 使震惊；使大惊
virtuosity [͵vɝtʃʊˋɑsətɪ] n.【正式】〔表演方面的〕精湛技巧﹐高超技艺
Sentence of the Day
Sharecroppers slaved away all year and still usually owed money to white farmers at the end of the year.
佃农终年劳碌，到头来通常还是欠白人钱，无法偿清。
slave away 辛苦地劳动
课文讲解
In the early twenties, record companies began releasing “race” records of country blues, featuring now-legendary musicians like Charlie Patton and Skip James. Robert Johnson’s songs, recorded in 1936 and 1937, were the pinnacle of this tradition.
二０年代初期，唱片公司开始发行「民族风」【注】的乡村蓝调歌曲，主打当代传奇乐手，像是查理帕顿和史基普詹姆斯。罗伯琼森1936年和1937年录制的歌曲就是这个时期传统的巅峰。
Johnson’s songs balance superb guitar playing with an achingly expressive voice. “Come On In My Kitchen” contrasts the piercing glissando of his slide guitar with moaning and pleading for a woman’s shelter. “Love In Vain” features his soaring falsetto and brilliant imagery like, “When the train/It left the station/With two lights on behind/Well, the blue light was my blues/And the red light was my mind.” In “Me And The Devil Blues” and his trademark “Crossroads Blues” Johnson boasts of his satanic encounters.
罗伯琼森的作品，精湛的吉他技巧和感情丰富的痛楚嗓音，分庭抗礼。「进来我的厨房」用凄厉刺耳的吉他滑奏技巧对比着凄切的呻吟，恳求女子接纳庇护。「虚无的爱」的特色就是他清高的假声和绝妙的意象运用，像是「当火车／驶离站台／两盏明灯抛在后头／蓝灯是我的蓝调／红灯是我的心情」等。而罗伯琼森在「我与蓝调魔鬼」和招牌歌「十字路口蓝调」两支曲子中，则大剌剌地着墨他与魔鬼撒旦的接触。
The strength of these recordings was such that concert promoters were searching for him by 1939. By the sixties, Johnson was legendary, especially in Britain. The fame of these recordings was to last; his life, however, wasn’t.
他的录音作品震撼力十足，所以1939年时音乐会经纪人就一直寻找这号人物。到六０年代，罗伯琼森成了传奇人物，尤其是在英国。他录制的那些歌曲，声誉如日中天持续不衰，但是他的生命，则非如此。
Robert Johnson died in August, 1938. Witnesses claim he was shot, stabbed, or that Satan finally came for him. More likely, he was poisoned by a jealous husband.
罗伯琼森于1938年8月过世。目击者声称他被枪杀、被刺死或是魔鬼撒旦终于来索命。较可靠的说法可能是被某个嫉妒的丈夫给毒死的。
Guitarist Eric Clapton coined Johnson’s finest epitaph, “His music remains the most powerful cry … you can find in the human voice.”
吉他手艾力克莱普顿写下了对罗伯琼森最贴切的墓志铭「至今你所能找到的人类吶喊声中……仍属他的音乐最具震撼力。」
【注】「民族风」是二次世界大战之前唱片界用语，意指当时针对非裔美人市场所录制的歌曲。虽然这个语汇现在认为有种族歧视之嫌，不过仍然沿用于一般讨论美国音乐史上这段非常重要的时期。
Vocabulary
单词发音
now [naʊ] adv. 当时
pinnacle [ˋpɪnək!] n. 顶峰，极点
superb [sʊˋpɝb] adj. 极好的，上乘的，一流的
achingly [ˋekɪŋlɪ] adv. 痛苦地
expressive [ɪkˋsprɛsɪv] adj. 表情丰富的
glissando [glɪˋsɑndo] n. 滑奏法
falsetto [fɔlˋsɛto] n.【音】假声（特指男性）
imagery [ˋɪmɪdʒərɪ] n.〔绘画﹑电影等中表达思想的〕意象﹐ 形象化描述
satanic [seˋtænɪk] adj. 撒旦的
stab [stæb] v. 刺，戳；刺入
epitaph [ˋɛpə͵tæf] n. 墓志铭，碑文
Sentence of the Day
“You can bury my body/By the highway side/So my old evil spirit/Can take a Greyhound bus and ride”
--“Me and The Devil Blues”, Robert Johnson
「你可以埋葬我的尸体/在高速公路旁/那么我的邪恶老鬼魂/就能搭上灰狗巴士扬尘而去」
罗伯琼森「我与蓝调魔鬼」歌词
课文讲解
Stephanie shows Hugh, her boyfriend, a letter she’s just received: 史蒂芬妮拿一封她刚收到的信给男朋友修看：
S: Check out the stamp on this letter from Aunt Mae in San Antonio.
你看这封圣安东尼奥梅阿姨来信上的邮票。
H: It’s Robert Johnson! Hey, why didn’t the U.S. Post Office use a different picture? I’ve seen this one so many times.
那是罗伯琼森！嘿，为什么美国邮政局不用另一张照片？这一张我已经看过不知多少次了。
S: `Cause there are only two known pictures of him. Johnson died right after his recordings made him famous.
因为他的照片较有名的就只有两张。琼森录完他那些成名曲不久后就死了。
H: You can tell by the scratchy, lo-fi recording quality that the record companies didn’t care to spend much money on recording rural musicians.
妳可以从录音的沙沙声和低传真度的音质看出来，唱片公司根本不想多花钱来帮乡村乐手录制。
S: Sadly true. Especially when you compare Johnson’s recordings to jazz the same era. Speaking of scratchy, some say Bob had a relationship with Old Scratch.
不幸被你言中了。尤其是把琼森录的音乐和当代同时期的爵士乐作一比较时，特别明显。讲到「沙沙声」，有些人说罗伯和魔鬼撒旦【注】有关系。
H: That 80s movie Crossroads was all about poor Bob selling his soul to play guitar.
八０年代「十字路口」那部电影，讲的就是可怜的罗伯出卖灵魂以交换弹得一手好吉他这件事。
S: Too bad they didn’t find his mythical thirtieth song in the movie. I’d love to have heard that.
电影中他们结果并没有找到罗伯的第三十首歌，真是太可惜了。我很想听那首歌。
H: Me, too. It’s amazing all the musicians who’ve covered his songs: The Rolling Stones, The Red Hot Chili Peppers –
我也是。竟然有这么多乐手都演奏了他的乐曲，实在很惊人：譬如像滚石与呛辣红椒合唱团──
S: Not to mention ZZ Top and Cassandra Wilson. And Eric Clapton just released an entire album of Robert Johnson songs.
更别提还有ZZ Top和卡珊卓威尔森了。而且艾力克莱普顿刚出版一张专辑，录的全都是罗伯琼森的歌。
H: Hey, let’s head down to the crossroads and play some of his tunes.
嘿，让我们到十字路口去奏几首他的歌吧。
S: Don’t tell me you’re selling your soul, too!
可别告诉我你也把灵魂给卖了哦！
－by Iain Ferguson
Vocabulary
单词发音
known [non] adj. 大家知道的；已知的
scratchy [ˋskrætʃɪ] adj.〔旧唱片﹑录音带等〕发沙沙声的
lo-fi [ˋlo͵faɪ] adj. 低度传真性的
rural [ˋrʊrəl] adj. 农村的﹐乡村的﹐田园的
old scratch 恶魔, 撒旦 Old Scratchor Mr. Scratch is a folk name for The Devil
mythical [ˋmɪθɪkəl] adj. 神话般的; 虚构的
cover [ˋkʌvɚ] v. 翻唱(歌曲)
Sentence of the Day
Robert Johnson has finally been given his due.
罗伯琼森最后终于获得到实至名归的尊崇。
due [dju] n. 应得之物；应得权益
Come On In My Kitchen
Love In Vain
And I followed her to the station
with a suitcase in my hand
And I followed her to the station
with a suitcase in my hand
Well, it's hard to tell, it's hard to tell
when all your love's in vain
All my love's in vain
When the train rolled up to the station
I looked her in the eye
When the train rolled up to the station
and I looked her in the eye
Well, I was lonesome, I felt so lonesome
and I could not help but cry
All my love's in vain
When the train, it left the station
with two lights on behind
When the train, it left the station
with two lights on behind
Well, the blue light was my blues
and the red light was my mind
All my love's in vain
Ou hou ou ou ou
hoo, Willie Mae
Oh oh oh oh oh hey
hoo, Willie Mae
Ou ou ou ou ou ou hee vee oh woe All my love's in vain
Crossroad
Me and the Devil Blues