The Soul Is a Bird(Live) - Laurie Anderson

The Soul Is a Bird (Live) - Laurie Anderson
以下歌词翻译由文曲大模型提供
In 1984 as part of the press for the tour I was doing in Japan

I was asked to go to Bali and speak
我受邀前往巴厘岛
About the future with the prince of Ouboud
与乌布王子畅谈未来
Now the idea was that I would
原本设想的是
Represent the Western world
我代表西方世界
The prince the Southern world
王子代表南方世界
And the Japanese press representative
而日本媒体代表
Would represent whatever was left
将代表其余的一切
The conversations would be published in a large book
这些对话将被收录成册
Scheduled for release one year after the concert tour
原定在巡演结束后一年发行
Now as press this didn't really
当时媒体并不认为
Seem like a great way
这是个好主意
To advertise concerts but it sounded
虽然这听起来
Like far anyway
像是遥远的往事
And I stayed at the palace in one of the
我下榻在宫殿里
Former king's harem houses
曾是先王的后宫居所
Each of the king's wives had had
每位王妃都曾拥有
Her own house guarded
她的宅邸有生灵守护
By a pair of animals a bear and a fox for example
譬如一对异兽 熊与狐相伴左右
By the time I got there years later
待我多年后造访之时
The menagerie had dwindled a bit
这珍禽苑已略显寂寥
My house was guarded by two tropical fish
唯剩两尾热带鱼驻守我的门庭
Bali was extremely hot in the afternoons
巴厘岛的午后灼热难耐
And the conversations
而与王子的对谈
With the prince drifted along
如热带溪流般漫不经心流淌
Randomly from topic to topic
话题漫无边际地跳跃
The prince was a bon vivant trained in Paris
王子是巴黎培养的享乐主义者
And he spoke excellent English and when
他英语流利 当不在宫中时
He wasn't in the palace he was out on the
便在崎岖的乡间小路上飙车
Bumpy back roads racing cars
颠簸着追逐速度的快感
So we talked about cars a subject I know absolutely
我们聊起汽车 这个我一窍不通的话题
Nothing about and I felt that as far as representing
作为西方世界的代表 我深感
The Western world was going
自己实在力不从心
I was failing pretty dismally
我表现得相当糟糕
Then on the second night the prince served an
第二晚 王子设宴款待
Elaborate feast of Balinese dishes
准备了精致的巴厘岛盛宴
At the end of the meal the
宴席将尽时
Conversation slowed to a halt
交谈渐渐陷入沉寂
And after a few minutes of silence he asked:
沉默数分钟后 他开口问道：
Would you like to see the
你可愿意观看
Cremation tapes of my father
我父亲的火化录像
The tapes were several hours long and were a record
录像带长达数小时 完整记录了
Of the elaborate three month
这场历时三个月的盛大仪式
Ceremony shot by the BBC
由BBC全程拍摄
When the king died the whole country went to work
国王驾崩时 举国上下齐心协力
Building an enormous funeral pyre for him
为他建造了宏伟的火葬塔
After months of preparation during which time the
经过数月筹备 在此期间
Corpse continues to reside in the living room they
遗体始终安放在起居室里
Hoisted the body to the top of this rickety
人们将遗体抬上这座摇摇欲坠的塔顶
Extremely flammable structure and lit a match
易燃的建筑结构 被火柴点燃
The delicate tower crumbled almost immediately
精致的火化塔瞬间崩塌
And the king's body fell to the
国王的遗体坠落
Ground with a sickening thud
重重砸向地面
Suddenly everyone began to cheer
突然间 众人开始欢呼
Later I learned that the Balinese believe that the
后来我才明白 巴厘人相信
Soul is a bird and that when the body falls it shakes the
灵魂是飞鸟 当躯体坠落时
Bird loose and gives it a hit start on it's way to heaven
会震醒飞鸟 助它启程飞向天堂