There Only Was One Choice(LP版) - Harry Chapin

There Only Was One Choice (LP版) - Harry Chapin
以下歌词翻译由文曲大模型提供
There's a kid out on my corner hear him strumming like a fool
街角有个少年 痴迷地拨弄琴弦
Shivering in his dungarees but still he's going to school
工装裤里瑟缩发抖 仍坚持音乐修行
His cheeks are made of peach fuzz his hopes may be the same
稚嫩脸颊绒毛未褪 理想也如此新鲜
But he's signed up as a soldier out to play the music game
却已签下战士契约 投身音乐硝烟
There are fake patches on his jacket
夹克上缝着冒牌徽章
He's used bleach to fade his jeans
漂白剂刻意做旧牛仔裤
With a brand new stay pressed shirt
崭新的免烫衬衫
And some creased and wrinkled dreams
那些褶皱褪色的梦想
His face a blemish garden but his eyes are virgin clear
他脸上布满沧桑 眼神却清澈如初
His voice is Chicken Little's but he's hearing Paul Revere
声音怯懦如小鸡 内心却呐喊着警世钟
When he catches himself giggling
当发现自己傻笑时
He forces up a sneer
便强装出轻蔑表情
Though he'd rather have a milk shake
虽渴望纯真奶昔
He keeps forcing down the beer
却强迫咽下苦涩啤酒
Just another folkie late in coming down the pike
不过是又一个迟来的民谣浪人
Riding his guitar he left Kid brother with his bike
他抱着吉他远行 把单车留给弟弟
And he's got Guthrie running in his bones
格思里的灵魂在他血液里奔涌
He's the hobo kid who's left his home
这个离家流浪的浪子
And his Beatles records and the Rolling Stones
告别了披头士和滚石的唱片
This boy is staying acoustic
他坚持着纯净的民谣
There's Seeger singing in his heart
西格的声音在他心中回荡
He hopes his songs will somehow start
期盼自己的歌声能
To heal the cracks that split apart
弥合这分裂世界的裂缝
America gone plastic
美国已变得虚假浮华
And now there's Dylan dripping from his mouth
如今他口中流淌着迪伦的诗句
He's hitching himself way down south
他一路搭车向南漂泊
To learn a little black and blues
向街头老艺人讨教蓝调真谛
From old street men who paid their dues
那些早已付出代价的前辈们
'Cause they knew they had nothing to lose
因为他们明白已无所失去
They knew it so they just got to it
心知肚明便义无反顾
With cracked old Gibsons and red clay shoes
弹着破旧的吉布森 踏着红土靴
Playing 1 4 5 chords like good news
弹着简单的和弦 如同传递福音
And cursed with skin that calls for blood
却被嗜血的宿命所诅咒
They put their face and feet in mud
他们深陷泥泞 面目模糊
But oh they learned the music from way down there
但啊 他们从深渊里学会了音乐真谛
The real ones learn it somewhere
真正的歌者自有领悟之道
Strum your guitar sing it kid
拨动琴弦吧 唱出来孩子
Just write about your feelings not the things you never did
只需书写真实感受 而非虚构的传奇
Inexperience it once had cursed me
年少无知的诅咒曾笼罩着我
But your youth is no handicap it's what makes you thirsty
但青春并非阻碍 它让你充满渴望
Hey kid you know you can hear your footsteps
嘿小子 你听得到自己的脚步声吧
As you're kicking up the dust
当你扬起尘土时
And the rustling in the shadows tells you secrets you can trust
阴影中的沙沙声 诉说着可信的秘密
The capturing of whispers is the way to write a song
捕捉耳语私语 正是写歌的诀窍
It's when you get to microphones the music can go wrong
可当你靠近麦克风 音乐却容易走调
You can't see the audience with spotlights in your eyes
聚光灯刺眼时 你看不清台下观众
Your feet can't feel the highway from where the Lear jet flies
坐在豪华客机里 双脚感受不到公路的震动
When you glide in silent splendor in your padded limousines
当你乘着豪华轿车无声滑行
Only you are crying there behind the silver screen
只有你在银幕后独自哭泣
Now you battle dragons but they'll all turn into frogs
如今你与恶龙搏斗 它们终将化为蟾蜍
When you grab the wheel of fortune you get caught up in the cog
当你握住命运之轮 却被齿轮无情绞入
First your art turns into craft then the yahoos start to laugh
先是艺术沦为技艺 接着庸众哄笑四起
Then you'll hear the jackals howl 'cause they love to watch the fall
豺狼开始嚎叫 它们最爱看人坠落
They're the lost ones out there feeding
那些迷失者在荒野游荡
On the wounded and the bleeding
啃噬着流血受伤的灵魂
They always are the first to see the cracks upon the walls
他们总是最先察觉墙上的裂缝
When I started this song I was still thirty-three
当我开始这首歌时 才三十三岁
The age that Mozart died and sweet Jesus was set free
莫扎特逝去的年纪 耶稣获救的年纪
Keats and Shelley too soon finished Charley Parker would be
济慈与雪莱英年早逝 查理·帕克亦如是
And I fantasized some tragedy'd be soon curtailing me
我曾幻想悲剧很快会降临我身
Well just today I had my birthday I made it thirty-four
而今天刚过完生日 我已活到三十四岁
Mere mortal not immortal not star-crossed anymore
凡胎肉体 不再是不朽的受难者
I've got this problem with my aging I no longer can ignore
这个关于衰老的问题 我再也无法逃避
A tame and toothless tabby can't produce a lion's roar
温顺无牙的家猫 永远发不出雄狮的怒吼
And I can't help being frightened on these midnight afternoons
在这午夜的黄昏里 我总忍不住心生恐惧
When I ask the loaded questions
当我问出那些沉重的问题
Why does winter come so soon
为何寒冬总是来得太急
And where are all the golden girls that I was singing for
那些我曾为之歌唱的金发姑娘 如今都在哪里
The daybreak chorus of my dreams serenades no more
黎明时分的梦想合唱 再无人应和
Yeah the minute man is going soft the mirror's on the shelf
是啊 时刻准备的人开始软弱 镜子被束之高阁
Only when the truth's up there can you fool yourself
唯有当真相高悬头顶 你才能欺骗自我
I am the aged jester who won't gracefully retire
我是那不肯优雅谢幕的老丑角
A clumsy clown without a net caught staggering on the high wire
笨拙的小丑无网可依 在高空钢索上踉跄
Yesterday's a collar that has settled round my waist
昨日如衣领 已滑落腰间缠绕
Today keeps slipping by me it leaves no aftertaste
今日匆匆掠过 不留半分味道
Tomorrow is a daydream the future's never true
明日是场幻梦 未来从未真实
Am I just a fading fire or a breeze passing through
我究竟是渐熄的篝火 还是穿堂的清风
Hello my Country I once came to tell everyone your story
祖国啊 我曾想向世人诉说你的传奇
Your passion was my poetry
你的热血曾是我的诗行
And your past my most potent glory
你的过往是我最耀眼的荣光
Your promise was my prayer
你的承诺曾是我的信仰
Your hypocrisy my nightmare
你的虚伪化作我的梦魇
And your problems fill my present
你的困境填满我的现在
Are we both going somewhere
我们是否都在追寻远方
Step right up young lady
来吧 年轻的女士
Your two hundred birthdays make you old if not senile
两百岁诞辰让你垂垂老矣
And we see the symptoms there in your rigor mortise smile
你那僵硬的微笑中 我们看到了征兆
With your old folks eating dog food and your children eating paint
老人们啃着狗粮 孩子们舔食油漆
While the pirates own the flag and sell us sermons on restraint
海盗们高举旗帜 却向我们贩卖克制的说教
And while blood's the only language
当鲜血成为唯一语言
That your deaf old ears can hear
你那失聪的耳朵才能听见
And still you will not answer with that message coming clear
可你仍不愿回应 任凭讯息清晰传来
Does it mean there's no more ripples in your tired old glory stream
是否意味着 你疲惫的荣光之河再无波澜
And the buzzards own the carcass of your dream
而秃鹫正啃食着你梦想的残骸
Oh B U Y Centennial
噢 百年纪念品
Sell 'em pre-canned laughter
兜售预制笑声
America Perennial
永恒的美国梦
Sing happy ever after
唱着从此幸福美满
There's a dance band on the Titanic
泰坦尼克号上乐队仍在演奏
Singing nearer my God to thee
吟唱着更近我主
And the iceberg's on the starboard bow
冰山已迫近右舷
Won't you dance with me
可愿与我共舞
Yes I read it in the New York Times
我在《纽约时报》上读到
That was on the stands today
今天刚出的那期报纸
It said that dreams were out of fashion
上面说梦想已经过时
We'll hear no more empty promises
我们不再听信空头承诺
There'll be no more wasted passions
不再浪费炽热情感
To clutter up our play
来扰乱我们的生活
It really was a good sign
这确实是个好兆头
The words went on to say
文章继续这样写道
It shows that we are growing up
这昭示着我们正在成长
In oh so many healthy ways
以无数健康的方式蜕变
And I told myself this is exactly where I'm at
我告诉自己这就是我的现状
But I don't much like thinking about that
却不愿过多思量
Harry are you really so naive
哈利啊 你当真如此天真
You can honestly believe
竟能真诚地相信
That the country's getting better
这个国家正在好转
When all you do is let her alone
而你只是袖手旁观
Harry can you really be surprised
哈利 难道你真的感到惊讶
When it's there before your eyes
当真相就摆在眼前
When you hold the knife that carves her
当你握着伤害她的刀
You live the life that starves her to the bone
你过着让她骨瘦如柴的生活
Good dreams don't come cheap
美好的梦想从不廉价
You've got to pay for them
你必须为之付出代价
If you just dream when you're asleep
若只在梦中幻想
There is no way for them to come alive to survive
它们永远无法存活绽放
It's not enough to listen it's not enough to see
仅仅聆听远远不够 仅仅观望也不足够
When the hurricane is coming on it's not enough to flee
当飓风来袭时 逃避也于事无补
It's not enough to be in love we hide behind that word
以爱为名远远不够 我们躲在虚妄背后
It's not enough to be alive when your future's been deferred
当未来被搁置时 苟活也毫无意义
What I've run through my body what I've run through my mind
流淌在我血液中的 萦绕在我脑海里的
My breath's the only rhythm and the tempo is my time
呼吸是我唯一的节拍 心跳就是我的韵律
My enemy is hopelessness my ally honest doubt
绝望是我的宿敌 而诚实的疑虑才是盟友
The answer is a question that I never will find out
答案永远是个 我终其一生也解不开的谜题
Is music propaganda should I boogie rock and roll
音乐是宣传工具吗 我该摇摆摇滚吗
Or just an early warning system hitched up to my soul
还是灵魂深处的预警系统在作响
Am I observer or participant or huckster of belief
我是旁观者 参与者 还是信仰的贩子
Making too much of a life so mercifully brief
在这短暂仁慈的生命里过分张扬
So I stride down sunny streets and the band plays back my song
我漫步阳光街道 乐队奏响我的歌谣
They're applauding at my shadow long after I am gone
身影远去后 掌声仍在回荡
Should I hold this wistful notion that the journey is worthwhile
该坚持这惆怅信念 相信旅途值得吗
Or tiptoe cross the chasm with a song and a smile
还是带着歌与笑 轻跃过深渊悬崖
Well I got up this morning I don't need to know no more
今晨醒来 我已无需知晓更多
It evaporated nightmares that had boiled the night before
昨夜沸腾的梦魇 已随晨雾消散无踪
With every new day's dawning my kid climbs in my bed
每个黎明时分 孩子爬上我的床榻
And tells the cynics of the board room your language is dead
对着董事会里的世故者说 你们的陈词已死
And as I wander with my music through the jungles of despair
当我带着音乐穿越绝望丛林
My kid will learn guitar and find his street corner somewhere
我的孩子将学会吉他 在某个街角驻足
There he'll make the silence listen to the dream behind the voice
让寂静聆听歌声背后的梦想
And show his minstrel Hamlet daddy that there only was one choice
向吟游诗人父亲证明 我们别无选择
Strum your guitar sing it kid
拨动琴弦吧 唱出来孩子
Just write about your feelings not the things you never did
写下你真实的感受 而非虚构的故事
Inexperience it once had cursed me
年少无知的诅咒曾笼罩着我
But your youth is no handicap it's what makes you thirsty hey kid
但年轻不是缺陷 它让你充满渴望 嘿小子
Strum your guitar sing it kid
拨动琴弦吧 唱出来孩子
Just write about your feelings not the things you never did
写下你真实的感受 而非虚构的故事
Dance band on the Titanic
泰坦尼克上的舞曲乐队
Singing nearer my God to thee
吟唱着更近我主
The iceberg's on the starboard bow
冰山就在右舷前方
Won't you dance with me
可愿与我共舞
The dance band on the Titanic
泰坦尼克上的乐队
Singing nearer my God to thee
吟唱着更近我主
And the iceberg's on the starboard bow
冰山已迫近右舷
Won't you dance with me
可愿与我共舞
Yeah the dance band on the Titanic
泰坦尼克上的乐队
Singing nearer my God to thee
吟唱着更近我主
And the iceberg's on the starboard bow
冰山已迫近右舷
Won't you dance with me
可愿与我共舞
Come on
来吧
Yeah the dance band on the Titanic
泰坦尼克上的乐队
Singing nearer my God to thee
吟唱着更近我主
And the iceberg's on the starboard bow
冰山已迫近右舷