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Lemon Jackson
  
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王者传奇
Lemon Jackson
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本帖最后由 『逆天の舞』 于 2012-8-30 16:46 编辑
来自Willa（Michael Jackson's Art of Connection and Defiance 和"Rereading Michael Jackson"的作者）和Joie（MJFC创始人之一）的博文。发表于8.29。两人以对谈的方式解析了Michael一生只演唱一次的歌曲《You Were There》，从表演谈到歌曲本身的意义。
不知道为什么，到最后流着泪翻完他们的对话，觉得受益很多。其实这两人的对谈很多，如果大家有兴趣的话，楼主也可以继续翻下去。
=================正文===================
Willa：今天是Michael Jackson的54岁生日，我很想以一种有意义的方式来纪念这一天。所以我开始想，Michael自己会怎样来纪念他所崇敬之人的生日呢，这让我想起了MJ为Sammy Davis, Jr而创作，并为庆祝他60岁生日所献唱的那首歌：《You Were There》
他一生只演唱过一次，并且很少提起，但这首歌太动人了。它的歌词如此地有力，当MJ唱起那些词时，看Sammy Davis脸上的表情..你就能知道这对他的意义有多么重大。
Joie：确实如此，Willa。他的表情说明他被Michael的语句深深地打动了。而当你去听这首歌的时候，你确实也不难理解他为何如此动容。歌曲里承载着Michael的情感和亲身体会。你真的能够感受到Michael为他的偶像演唱这首特别的歌曲时，那种深沉的情感。每一句唱词显然都对他意义非凡。这实在让人感动。
Willa：的确如此。同时这也是一次风格化的表演，这简直像是另一个时代风格的演出。他不仅是献歌给Sammy Davis，更是通过这些标志性的动作来向他致敬。与此同时，他也加入了一些他自己的经典姿势，而这与那些前人的动作在一起看起来非常和谐。这就像是他在向人们演示，他是如何将自己的动作与传统舞步完美地融为一体。
Joie：你说得太对了。我也认为那场表演中他的动作让人联想起Sammy Davis Jr。所以，你说对了，不仅是歌曲本身，就连他的肢体动作也是在致敬Sammy Davis Jr。
你知道吗，Willa。我已经有一段时间没听过这首歌了，不过，你知道现在我再看这段视频时脑海里闪过了什么吗？我不自觉地突然想到当今的那些年轻艺人们，例如Justin Bieber和Chris Brown等等，他们敬仰Michael，并将他视作对自己影响最深重的人之一。
Willa：我了解你的意思，Joie。这种传统已经在新一代艺人中得到了延续，Michael在推动这种传统中有着举足轻重的地位——在很长一段时间里，他都是引领者。而我也认为Sammy Davis Jr和Michael之间有着一种很奇妙的共通点，他们都冲破了种族的界限，同时也为此付出巨大的代价。
Michael动人地唱道：
You were there, before we came
You took the hurt, you took the shame
They built the walls to block your way
You beat them down, you won the day
It wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair
You taught them all, you made them care
Yes, you were there, and thanks to you,
There’s now a door we all walk through
And we are here, for all to see
To be the best that we can be
Yes, I am here
‘Cause you were there
我认为很明显，他唱的是Sammy Davis, Jr所遭到的种族歧视。就像Michae所唱的：“这不对”，“这不公平”，但他不得不忍受着这一切。“你受到伤害，你受到羞辱”，正因如此：“感谢你/ 那是一道我们都将越过的门”。我想这里的“我们”指的显示是那些生活与事业由于Sammy Davis Jr对于种族界限的突破而变得稍稍顺利些的黑人艺术家。
Joie：是的，我完全认同。同时我也相信如今有很多黑人艺术家也和Michael有着相同的感受。举个例子，如果不是Michael冲破MTV上的种族界限，那么成千上万的黑人艺术家的MV都将无法在MTV上播放。同样地，如果不是Michael的专辑Thriller获得跨越种族的巨大成功，那么可能如今成千上万的黑人艺术家就都得不到类似的成就。
Willa：我觉得这是事实，而且非常重要，Joie，我希望他们能从Michael的生活和事业中汲取力量，就如同Michael从前人的经历中汲取力量一样。当他经历了娈童案指控、和索尼的斗争以及2005年的审判之后，事情变得一团糟，而他想起了前人的奋斗，并且从中得到慰藉与力量。
这让我想起了去年春天我们讨论过“Will You Be There”，之后Kris, Eleanor 和Nina在评论中有一段有趣并且感人的对话，关于“I’ll Be There”和“Will You Be There”之间微妙的联系。
Kris写道：
“在最初的时候，那个小男孩用最纯净的，如同天使般的嗓音对我们说“I’ll Be There’、 ‘just call my name, I’ll be there to comfort you,’等等。然后小男孩长大了，他诚挚地问’will u be there for me’，令人难过的是，看起来通常答案是不。这两首歌就像是一枚硬币的正反面，而它们所讲述的他的生活，让我觉得悲从中来。”
我明白Kris的意思，这也让我感到很悲伤。但是我最近一直在想，也许“You Were There”可以算作这个系列的第3首歌。
我最近一直想着，始终在他身边，在他最需要的时候鼓励着他，给他力量与勇气的那一小群人，这些人中包括Sammy Davis, Jr., James Brown, Chuck Berry, Jack Johnson, Mohammad Ali, Jesse Jackson 和Nelson Mandela。换句话说，是那些经历过相同偏见、迫害与奚落的前人们，那些黑人艺术家，战士与政治人物们。历数这些前辈们，你会惊讶地发现其中有如此多的人都曾被监禁，或威胁被监禁。他们的内心实在太强大了。我认为Michael也从那当中汲取了力量。
Joie：嗯。这是种有趣的想法，Willa。将这首歌和Kris, Eleanor，Nina之前所讨论的那两首组合成三部曲，很有趣。事实上，我很想知道她们会对你的假设发表什么看法。
Willa，我认为这首歌里最出色的是他的诚挚,发自内心的情感。这真的是一首甜美的歌，你觉得呢？据我所知，它从未被录音，未被出售，也没有被下载过。但尽管Michael只演唱过一次，我还是认为大多数他的歌迷，哪怕是新歌迷，也已经注意这首歌很长时间了。我相信它一直都是“歌迷最爱”之一，它也由此被歌迷口口相传。就像有些消息，有时候口口相传比普通推广的传播效应更好。我认为这个原理对这首歌也非常适用。
Willa：我同意，它太美了，尽管这是一首明确的批判种族主义的歌曲，把它称作一首“甜美的歌”看上去似乎让人吃惊。但通过他的众多作品，我们能够解释这种说法，并且从不同的层面进行回应。
Joie：如你所言，这首歌“很明确的批判种族主义”。但是它同时也甜美而真挚，是他献给他的偶像的，一首充满感激与谢意的歌。而不论你从哪个角度看待它，它都是一首强大又谦逊的歌曲。
Willa：这也是他送给偶像的最棒的生日礼物。
=====================英文原文=====================
Willa: So today would have been Michael Jackson’s 54th birthday and I was trying to think of a meaningful way to commemorate that. So I started wondering what Michael Jackson himself would do to remember the birthday of a person he admired, and that reminded me of the song he wrote and performed for Sammy Davis, Jr., for his 60th birthday:
He only performed it that one time and it rarely gets mentioned, but it’s so moving. The lyrics are really powerful, and the look on Sammy Davis’ face as watches Michael Jackson sing those words … You can tell how much it means to him.
Joie: That’s true, Willa; from the look on his face, you can tell he is just so moved by Michael’s words. And really, when you listen to it, it’s not difficult to understand why. It is a very emotional and personal message Michael is conveying in this song. And you can really feel his depth of emotion as he’s performing this special song for one of his idols. Those words he’s singing obviously mean a lot to him. It’s quite moving.
Willa: It really is, and it’s also a very stylized performance, if that makes sense – it almost seems like a performance from another era. It’s like he isn’t just paying tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr., through his lyrics, but through these very stylized gestures as well. He also incorporates iconic poses that are distinctively his own, but they seems perfectly in sync with what’s gone before, so it’s like he’s demonstrating through his performance how his movements fit within this tradition of dance and gesture that’s gone before him.
Joie: Oh, I agree with you; I think a lot of his movements during this performance are very reminiscent of Sammy Davis Jr. So, you’re right, it’s like he’s paying tribute through the song itself, but also through his movements.
You know, Willa, I haven’t listened to this song in a while but, do you know what strikes me as I watch that clip now? I can’t help but think about all the young artists out there now who are suddenly looking to Michael and citing him as one of their greatest influences. Artists like Justin Bieber and Chris Brown and others. They all look to Michael as one of their heroes just like Michael looked to Sammy Davis and James Brown and Jackie Wilson.
Willa: I see what you mean, Joie. The tradition is continuing on in a powerful way through this new generation of artists, and Michael Jackson played a very important part in furthering that tradition – he carried the baton a long way! But I also think there’s something very special that Sammy Davis, Jr., and Michael Jackson share in common, and that’s how they both broke through racial barriers – and paid a big price for doing that. As Michael Jackson sings so movingly,
You were there, before we came
You took the hurt, you took the shame
They built the walls to block your way
You beat them down, you won the day
It wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair
You taught them all, you made them care
Yes, you were there, and thanks to you,
There’s now a door we all walk through
And we are here, for all to see
To be the best that we can be
Yes, I am here
‘Cause you were there
I think he’s singing pretty explicitly about the racism Sammy Davis, Jr., confronted. “It wasn’t right” and “it wasn’t fair,” as Michael Jackson sings, but he endured it. “You took the hurt, you took the shame.” And because of that, “thanks to you / There’s now a door we all walk through.” I think that “we” he’s talking about in these lines is specifically black artists whose lives and careers were a little bit easier because Sammy Davis, Jr., broke ground for them.
Joie: Yes, I agree with you totally. And I also believe that there are many Black artists out there now who feel the exact same way about Michael Jackson. After all, if it hadn’t been for him and the racial barrier he knocked down at MTV, for example, there would be hundreds of other Black artists who may have never had their videos included in rotation on that station. Likewise, if it hadn’t been for Michael’s amazing cross-over success with the Thriller album, there could be hundreds of Black artists today who may never have tasted similar success.
Willa: I think that’s really true and really important, Joie, and I hope they’re able to draw strength from Michael Jackson’s life and career the way he seemed to draw strength from the stories of those who went before him. You know, when things were so bad for him after the molestation allegations came out and during the battles with Sony and the 2005 trial, he cited the struggles of those who’d gone before him, and seemed to gain comfort and strength from those stories.
And that makes me think about the title of this song. You know, last spring we talked about “Will You Be There” and Kris, Eleanor, and Nina had a very interesting and very moving conversation in the comments section about the special symbolic connection between “I’ll Be There” and “Will You Be There.” As Kris wrote,
we have this child who starts out touching us with the purest, most angelic voice, telling us “I’ll Be There,” “just call my name, I’ll be there to comfort you,” etc. And he grows into this man who finds himself really honestly asking “will you be there for me,” and so sadly, it often seemed the answer was no. The two sides of that coin and the truth they tell about his life are very poignant for me.
I know what Kris means – it’s very poignant for me too. But I’ve been thinking lately that maybe there’s a third song in this series: “You Were There.”
I’ve been thinking lately that there was a small group who was always there to encourage him and give him strength and courage when he needed it, and it included people like Sammy Davis, Jr., James Brown, Chuck Berry, Jack Johnson, Mohammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, and Nelson Mandela – in other words, the black artists and fighters and political figures who had gone before him, who had walked that path before him, and experienced the same kinds of prejudice and persecution and ridicule he faced. Looking at that list, it’s pretty shocking how many were either imprisoned or threatened with imprisonment though no fault of their own – they were simply too powerful to be endured – and I think Michael Jackson drew strength from that knowledge.
Joie: Hmm. That’s an interesting thought, Willa. The idea that this song forms a sort of trilogy with the other two songs Kris, Eleanor, and Nina were discussing. In fact, I’d be really interested to hear their thoughts on your assessment.
You know, Willa, I think the best part about this song is that it’s just so sincere and heartfelt. It really is just a sweet little song, don’t you think? I mean, it was never recorded and never offered for sale or download as far as I know. Michael only performed it that one time that I know of and yet, I think most fans – even a lot of the new fans – have been aware of it for quite some time. I believe that’s because it’s always been sort of a “fan favorite” and so it’s been passed around from fan to fan. Sort of like when news of something really great spreads via word-of-mouth rather than by conventional promotion. I think that says a lot for this sweet little song.
Willa: I agree, it’s beautiful, though I think it’s a pretty pointed critique of racism – which is surprising in such “a sweet little song,” as you say. As with so much of his work, we can interpret it and respond to it on many different levels.
Joie: That’s very true and it is a “pretty pointed critique of racism” – as you say. But it’s also just really sweet and sincere as he sings a love song of appreciation and thanks to one of his idols. Either way you look at it, it is a very powerful, unassuming little song.
Willa: And a wonderful birthday present to one of his idols.
注：坛子里的nickyli22童鞋曾开过专帖http://www.mjjcn.com/mjjcnforum/thread-164729-1-1.html翻译他们的博文，我发了帖之后才注意到，想对她说声不好意思..不过幸好这篇是博主今天新更的，并没有与之前的帖子所翻译的重复...XDDDD 专帖更新到7.7，其实之后还有蛮多篇没翻的，希望nickyli22童鞋不要介意。。。就当我帮你分担点工作量好不好-v-.... |
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