American Pie

sohoipan2009

long long time ago

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

And maybe they'd be happy for a while

But February made me shiver

　　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

But something touched me deep inside

The day the music died

So...



*Bye, bye Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry

Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye

Singing this'll be the day that I die

This'll be the day that I die



Did you write the book of love

And do you have faith in God above

If the Bible tells you so?

Now do you believe in rock and 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 dancing in the gym

You both kicked off your shoes

Man, I dig those rhythm and blues

I was a lonely teenage broncing buck

With a pink carnation and a pickup truck

But I knew I was out of luck

The day the music died

I started singing(*)



Now, for ten years we've been on our own

And moss grows fat on a rolling stone

But that's not how it used to be

When the jester sang for the king and queen

In a coat he borrowed from James Dean

And a voice that came from you and me

Oh and while the king was looking down

The jester stole his thorny crown

The courtroom was adjourned

No verdict was returned

And while Lenin read a book on Marx

The quartet practiced in the park

And we sang dirges in the dark

The day the music died

We were singing(*)



Helter skelter in a summer swelter

The birds flew off with a fallout shelter

Eight miles high and falling fast

Landed foul on the grass

The players tried for a forward pass

With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume

While sergeants played a marching tune

We all got up to dance

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

The day the music died?

We started singing(*)



Oh, and there we were all in one place

A generation lost in space

With no time left to start again

So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick

Jack Flash sat on a candlestick

'Cause fire is the devil's only friend

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

And as the flames climbed high into the night

To light the sacrificial rite

I saw Satan laughing with delight

The day the music died

He was singing(*)



I met a girl who sang the blues

And I asked her for some happy news

But she just smiled and turned away

I went down to the sacred store

Where I'd heard the music years before

But the man there said the music wouldn't play

And in the streets the children screamed

The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed

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

They caught the last train for the coast

The day the music died

And they were singing(*)
翻譯

很久很久以前

我依然記得

音樂是如何讓我會心微笑

我知道，如果我有機會

我可以讓人們聞樂起舞

也許他們會快樂好一陣子

但二月使我顫抖

因為我送的每一份報紙

丟在門口的噩耗

使我舉步維艱

我不記得自己有沒有哭

當我讀到他那位新寡妻子的新聞時

某種情緒深深觸動了我

在音樂死亡的那一天

那麼......



再見了，美國派小姐

開著雪佛蘭到河堤上，但河堤已乾涸

老好人們飲著威士忌和麥酒

唱著這會是我死的那一天

這會是我死的那一天



你寫過愛之書嗎？

你相信天上的上帝嗎？

如果聖經是這麼告訴你的

你相信搖滾樂嗎？

音樂可以拯救你的靈魂嗎？

你可以教我如何放慢速度來跳舞嗎？



我知道妳愛上了他

因為我看到你們在體育館裡跳舞

你們踢掉鞋子

老天，我深深感受到節奏與藍調

那時的我是個寂寞的年輕人

別著一朵粉紅色的康乃馨，有一輛小貨車

但我明白自己並不走運

在音樂死亡的那一天

我開始唱著......(*)



如今十年了，我們全靠自己熬過來了

滾動的石頭上長滿了青苔

但，它原來不是這個樣子的

當弄臣（註）為國王與皇后歌唱

穿著向詹姆斯狄恩借來的外套

用來自你我的聲音

當國王低頭

弄臣偷走了荊棘桂冠

法庭當時休會

沒有任何判決宣判

當藍尼讀著馬克思主義的書

四重奏在公園裡排練

我們在黑暗中唱著輓歌

在音樂死去的那天

我們唱著......(*)



在酷暑中手忙腳亂

鳥群飛過輻射塵防護罩

高度為八英哩，急速下降

錯誤的降落在草地上

球員嘗試把球向前傳

靠著邊線上弄臣的幫忙

在中場休息時間，空氣中充滿著大麻的香味

當士官們奏起了進行曲

我們都起身準備跳舞

但我們始終沒有機會

因為球員們佔據了球場

軍樂隊拒絕讓步

你還記得當時透露了什麼訊息嗎？

在音樂死去的那天

我們開始唱著......(*)



我們都聚集在同一個地方

在太空中迷失的一代

沒有時間可以重振旗鼓

來吧！傑克，快點！

閃電傑克坐在燭臺上

因為火焰是魔鬼唯一的朋友

當我看到他在舞台上

我憤怒的握緊拳頭

誕生在地獄的天使

也無法破除撒旦的咒語

當火焰升高至夜空

照亮了整個祭典

我看見撒旦高興的大笑

在音樂死去的那天

他唱著......(*)



我遇到一個唱藍調的女孩

我向她打聽一些愉快的消息

但她只是笑了笑便轉身而去

我走到一家宗教用品店

在那裡，可以聽到好幾年前的音樂

但是店裡的人說那些音樂不能播放

街頭上的孩子們尖叫著

戀人們在哭泣，詩人們作著夢

卻不發一語

教堂的鐘都殘破不堪

我最景仰的三個人──

　　聖父、聖子與聖靈

他們都搭乘末班車到海邊去了

在音樂死去的那天

他們唱著......(*)

寫作並演唱這首歌曲的唐麥克林，是因為他的偶像 Buddy Holly於一九五九年二月三日飛機失事身亡，有感而發寫下這首長篇鉅作。那場空難使美國歌壇失去了三位搖滾樂的重量級人物，除了前面提及的 Buddy Holly以外，還包括 The Big Bopper和 Ritchie Valens。



歌詞中處處影射當時美國政治、文化的諸多現象，若非親身經歷過那個時代，一般樂迷從歌詞根本瞧不出端倪。