萨特的磨坊
竹子忽然说要听乡村音乐，这个领域我接触很少，我听得多是北美流行朋克。不过音乐无所谓流派，能让人开心就是好音乐。翻出我能想起的寥寥几首乡村音乐，越听越有意思，以前真的没有用心去听，特别是这一首：
轻快的旋律让人舒心，这首歌来自电影《三步杀人曲》，一部拉美风格浓郁的老电影。听这首歌，绝对不能离开歌词，它是叙事类乡村歌曲中的经典之作。整篇歌词就是一段精彩的故事，画面感十足。轻松愉快的小调，演绎一段厚重的历史。很有小茶馆听评书的感觉，让人会心一笑。
虽然这首歌词已经有中文版，而且翻译得相当到位。不过我总有自己心中的哈姆雷特，也斗胆翻译一下，只当自娱自乐：
In the spring of 47
1847年开春
So the story, it is told
故事就此展开
Old John Sutter went to the mill site
老约翰萨特来到他的磨坊
Found a piece of shinin’ gold
发现一块耀眼的金子
Well, he took it to the city
他带着它进了城
Where the word like wildfire spread
流言如野火燎原
And old John Sutter soon came to wish he’d
老约翰萨特很快便后悔万分
Left that stone in the river bed
不如当初将其丢弃在河床上
For they came like herds of locusts
因为人们蜂拥而至
Every woman, child and man
每个男人、女人和孩子
In their lumberin’ Conestogas
乘着他们笨重的大篷车
They left their tracks upon the land
留下遍地车辙
Some would fail and some would prosper
有人一败涂地，有人功成名就
Some would die and some would kill
有人命丧黄泉，有人大开杀戒
Some would thank the Lord for their deliverance
有人获得拯救感谢上苍
And some would curse John Sutter’s Mill
也有人对约翰萨特的磨坊狠下毒咒
Well, they came from New York City
他们来自纽约城
And they came from Alabama
也有些来自阿拉巴马
With their dreams of findin’ fortunes
怀揣发财致富的梦想
In this wild unsettled land
来到这蛮荒之地
Well, some fell prey to hostile arrows
有人试着穿越莽莽平原
As they tried to cross the plains
却丧命于满怀敌意的箭下
And some were lost in the Rocky Mountains
有人迷失在落基山脉中
With their hands froze to the reins
冻死在马背上
Oh, some would fail and some would prosper
噢，有人一败涂地，有人功成名就
Some would die and some would kill
有人命丧黄泉，有人大开杀戒
Some would thank the Lord for their deliverance
有人获得拯救感谢上苍
And some would curse John Sutter’s Mill
也有人对约翰萨特的磨坊狠下毒咒
Well, some pushed on to California
有人推进到加利福尼亚
And others stopped to take their rest
其他人停下脚步休整
And by the Spring of 1860
直到1860年的春天
They had opened up the West
他们开辟了整个西部
And then the railroad came behind them
铁路接踵而至
And the land was plowed and tamed
土地变成良田
When old John Sutter went to meet his maker
老约翰萨特去见造物主的时候
He’d not one penny to his name
两手空空一文不名
Oh, some would fail and some would prosper
噢，有人一败涂地，有人功成名就
Some would die and some would kill
有人命丧黄泉，有人大开杀戒
Some would thank the Lord for their deliverance
有人获得拯救感谢上苍
And some would curse John Sutter’s Mill
也有人对约翰萨特的磨坊狠下毒咒
And some would curse John Sutter’s Mill
也有人对约翰萨特的磨坊狠下毒咒
Some men’s thirsts are never filled
有些人的欲望永远得不到满足
短短6分钟，一场浩浩荡荡的历史，用充满沧桑的声音娓娓道来。凡尘俗世，过眼云烟，乡村音乐的魅力。