(一) 悠悠地杀罢

　　　第一次去 Washington D.C 是来美国后第一个独立节。刘姥爷一进大观院，到处
透着新鲜。

　　　回到家，一老美问俺的感想，俺连说："高，高。那个华盛顿记念碑真高，"抬头
看，草帽都戴不住。"

　　　"国会大厦露天大戏台上唱大戏的小娘子嗓门儿更高，黑乎乎可真有劲儿。她一
唱俺后脖颈子直冒冷气，还要悠悠地杀倪。"

　　　解释老半天，这老美唱上了：

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly with his song 。。。

还问："是不是这个?"
"对，对。怎么你也会悠悠地杀呀？"

　　　也是从这老美嘴里，俺第一次听道了Don McLean这个名字。原来是个叫Roberta 
Flack 的老兄，听了Don McLean的一首歌，深受感染，因此写了这首《悠悠地杀我》
[Killing Me Softly]的歌。瞧，这土老冒土的。

（二）车祸

　　　接下来就得说说俺的第一部车。那是个七、八年旧的尼桑200SX，内装一套挺神
气的音响。问题可也就出在音响上。

　　　当时也是个阴冷深秋，开着车，喇叭里正飘出 Don McLean。那歌可真长，慢腾
腾的，八、九分钟呢。象童话似地开了头："很久很久以前。。。 "悠悠的，好象在唱
失恋曲，又象在讲故事。十几岁的报童， 在滴水成冰的一个早晨去分发一份登载着伤
心事的早报。

　　　飞机载着报童的偶像，落下来、消失了。二月的一个早晨， 一段没有了偶像的
童年，音乐在那个早晨死掉了！

　　　一直无法形容当时听这首歌的心境。 鸡皮疙瘩从脊椎骨慢慢地爬上来，悲从中
来，悠悠地，心里凉个透。

　　　节奏快起来了，居然唱起了美国派。 探身去调大音量，猛然车身一振，捅上了
前面的新雷诺。到现在我也搞不明白为啥那个阿根廷佬停在黄灯前不走， 等我去撞。
妈了八子，失恋了？还是想吃美国派呀？

(三) 美国派

　　　此曲的大名堂是后来知道的，大概是车祸后十年左右的光景。NPR电台上有人提
及此曲。『American Pie』是Don McLean的处女作，发表于一九七０年初。歌曲标明
是献给 Buddy Holly 的。当时 Don　McLean是一个默默无闻来自纽约上州的小子，而
Buddy Holly是五十年代末红极一时的摇滚新星，五九年二月，二十二岁死于飞机失事。
同机遇难的还有另二位摇滚巨星Big Bopper和Richie Vallens。

　　　中兴摇滚乐的希望也随之而去。其间，摇滚乐涨落起浮，到了七０年代，大势已
去。同时，美国的社会变革接连不断。冷战对峙，苏俄的卫星悠悠然悬荡在美国上空。
共产正盛，越战正炽。JFK倒下了、RFK逝了、MLK暗杀了、John Lennon没了。人权运动
的去从未知，嘻皮、吸毒问题成堆、经济复兴遥遥无期。『American Pie』的出台就很
映时景了。

　　　对此曲的解释有多种版本，而Don McLean对它们皆不置可否。直至今天人们仍对
其争论不休。但无人能否认此曲在摇滚史上的地位。事实上，它本身已成为研究摇滚史
的一份史料。

　　　废话少说，胡子依据自己的理解称其为【魂断摇滚梦】，注释的是否合理你
自己判断。胡子是饭后茶余乱侃，大家就当个万花筒看西洋景罢！

2000年11月19日


　　　　　　『American Pie』
　　　　　　　by Don McLean

(1)
A long long time ago [注1]
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance [注2]
And maybe they'd be happy for a while. 
But February made me shiver [注3]
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step 
I can't remember if I cried 
When I read about his widowed bride [注：Holly当时怀孕的太太]
But something touched me deep inside 
The day the music died [注：飞机失事的当天]

(Chorus)
Bye, bye Miss American Pie [注：摇滚梦？]
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry 
[注：3K党的一段公案？记得电影Mississippi Burning吧？]
Them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing this will be the day that I die, 
This will be the day that I die

(2)
Did you write the Book of Love [注：Monotones 乐队的同名歌曲]
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible Tells You So [注：Don Cornell 的歌曲 If the Bible Tells Me So]
Do you believe in rock 'n roll 
Can music save your mortal soul 
And can you teach me how to dance real slow 
Well, I know that you're in love with him 
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym 
You both kicked off your shoes [注4]
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues 
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck 
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck [注：Marty Robbins' 
A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation)]
But I knew I was out of luck 
The day the music died 
I started singin'

[Chorus]

(3)
Now for ten years we've been on our own [注：飞机失事已十年]
And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone [注：Bob Dylans 走红又消沉]
But that's not how it used to be 
When the jester sang for the King and Queen [注：for 英王室? or JFK？]
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean [注：Bob Dylans 为英王室演出的一段有趣逸事]
And a voice that came from you and me [注：Bob Dylans 民歌味重]
Oh, and while the King was looking down 
The jester stole his thorny crown 
The courtroom was adjourned 
No verdict was returned [注：Lee Harvey Oswald 刺杀JFK的审判]
And while Lennon read a book of Marx [注：暗示John Lennon的Imagine?]
The quartet practiced in the park [注：in Candlestick Park ? Beatles last concert]
And we sang dirges in the dark [注：Dirges - 葬曲，此处指New Rock]
The day the music died

[Chorus]

(4)
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter [注：by Charles Manson]
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter 
Eight Miles High and falling fast [注：The Byrds的曲]
It landed foul out on the grass [注：The Byrds之一吸毒被捕]
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast 
Now the half-time air was sweet perfume [注：1968民主党全国代表会场外的摧泪弹？]
While the Sergeants played a marching tune [注：Beatles的一曲]
We all got up to dance [注：可能指反越战运动]
Oh, but we never got the chance 
'Cause the players tried to take the field 
The marching band refused to yield 
Do you recall what was revealed [注：John Lennon和小野洋子的唱片裸照？]
The day the music died 
We started singing

[Chorus]

(5)
Oh, and there we were all in one place [注：Woodstock？]
A generation Lost in Space [注：嘻皮士(颓废的一代) or Apollo 11？]
With no time left to start again
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick 
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick [注："Jumping Jack Flash" by The Rolling Stones]
'Cause fire is the Devil's only friend [注："Sympathy for the Devil" by 
The Rolling Stones]
Oh, and as I watched him on the stage 
My hands were clenched in fists of rage 
No angel born in hell 
Could break that Satan's Spell [注：Hells Angels - 受雇于Rolling Stones的
警卫，因攻击一名黑人致死而臭名糟着]
And as the planes climbed high into the night 
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight 
The day the music died

[Chorus]
(6)
I met a girl who sang the blues [注：Blues歌星Janis Joplin]
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away [注：死于海洛因]
I went down to the sacred store [注：唱片行]
Where I'd heard the music years before 
But the man there said the music woudn't play 
And in the streets the children screamed 
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed [注：越战脚注，记得那张越南小女孩
裸身狂奔的著名照片吗？还有嘻皮士]
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken 
And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost [注：JFK，RFK 和MLK？or 
Holly/Bopper/Valens。 不应该是宗教的]
They caught the last train for the coast 
The day the music died

[Chorus twice]

注1-3：始于50年代末，Buddy Holly 飞机失事在59年2月，同机遇难的还有摇滚歌
星Big Bopper，Richie Vallens。当时的McLean 作过 paperboy。当时的摇滚曲子多
用来跳舞。 此曲写于70年代初。
注4：50年代男女跳舞是很浪漫而严肃的事，不会随便对跳。GYM里跳也很流行，
脱掉鞋子跳就是很自然了。 

11/19/2001