当 1517 个人向海底下沉

 

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题图 /Narelle Autio

暴风雨

苍白的月亮壮丽地升起
在西部的小镇
她诉说着一个悲伤的故事
关于那艘沉没的巨轮

那是四月十四日
她在海浪里航行
航向未来
航向预言中的黄金时代

星光映亮了夜晚
大海清晰可见
穿过那些阴影
约定的时辰已近

灯光四平八稳
掠过泛起的白沫
所有的贵族与淑女
航向永恒的家园

枝形吊灯开始摇晃
在栏杆的上方
管弦乐队正在演奏
凋谢的爱情之歌

守夜人躺在睡梦中
伴着舞厅里舞者的转动
他梦到泰坦尼克号正在下沉
沉入地下世界

利奥拿起他的素描本
他老想画上几笔
他闭上眼睛画下
他脑海里的风景

丘比特射中了他的心
啪的一声射穿了它
离他最近的女人
他跌倒进她的怀抱

他听到高声喧嚣
听起来很不对劲
他的内心告诉他
此地不宜久留

他踉跄着走上后甲板
现在可没时间睡觉
后甲板上的积水
已经深达三尺

烟囱倒向一边
沉重的脚步咚咚作响
他走进一片纷乱
四周天旋地转

船在沉没
宇宙张开大口
上帝念着进天堂的名单
天使别过头

走廊里的灯光
昏暗模糊地摇曳
死尸已经浮起
在双层底的船体

引擎接着爆炸
螺旋桨无法动弹
锅炉不堪重负
船头分崩离析

乘客被甩得飞起
向后向前,又快又远
他们嘟哝着,摸索着,跌撞着
一个比一个疲倦

面纱被撕得粉碎
在十二点和一点之间
没有改变,没有奇迹
来将覆水收回

守夜人躺在睡梦中
倾斜成四十五度角
他梦到泰坦尼克号正在下沉
沉到她的膝下

惠灵顿正在睡觉
床铺开始滑动
他勇敢的心在跳动
他把桌子推到一旁

破碎的水晶玻璃
洒了一地
他把两把手枪绑在身上
他还能坚持多久?

他的手下和同伴
已不见影踪
他在寂静中等候
时间和空间插手

狭窄的过道
黑暗的天空
他看到各种悲痛
听到四处呼号

警铃鸣响
想阻挡汹涌的浪潮
友人们和恋人们
紧紧依偎彼此依靠

母亲和她们的女儿
走下楼梯
跳进冰冷的海水
爱和怜悯送走了她们的祷告

那个有钱人埃斯特先生
亲吻了他的爱妻
他无从知晓
这是这辈子最后一趟旅程

卡尔文、布莱克和威尔逊
在黑暗中打赌
他们没一个能活下来
讲述上岸的故事

兄弟同室操戈
任何境遇之下
他们互相残杀
跳着死亡之舞

他们从沉没的船上
放下救生艇
那里有变节者和叛徒
摔断的腰和摔断的颈

主教离开客舱
来帮助需要帮助的人
他仰望天堂
说 :“这些穷人归您来养。”

那个妓院老板戴维
出来遣散了他的姑娘们
他看到水越来越深
他的世界正在变更

吉姆·丹迪面含微笑
他从没学过游泳
他看到一个跛脚的孩童
就把座位让给了他

他看到星光闪耀
从东方照来
死神暴跳如雷
但他心若止水

他们封住舱口
但舱门顶不住
他们溺毙身亡
在黄铜镀金楼梯上

利奥对克利奥说
“我想我快疯了。”
他已经失去了心智
不管他有什么样的心智

他努力堵住门口
让大家免受伤害
血从伤口涌出
顺着胳膊倾注

花瓣纷纷落下
直到一片不剩
时间漫长而可怕
巫师的诅咒还在应验

主人在倒白兰地
他慢慢沉入海里
他坚守到最后
最后一个走

还有好多、好多人
在这儿默默无闻,直至永远
他们从未驶上海洋
从未离开家乡

守夜人躺在睡梦中
灾难已经铸成
他梦到泰坦尼克号正在下沉
他试图告知别人

船长难以呼吸
跪在舵轮旁
在他上方和下方
是五万吨的钢

他看了看罗盘
凝视着它的表面
指针指向下方
他明白他已经败北

昏暗的光亮里
他回忆起过去的年岁
他读过《启示录》
将杯中填满泪水

当死神的任务完成
一千六百人已经安息
好人、坏人、富人和穷人
最可爱的和最优秀的

他们在岸上等待
他们试图弄明白
但没什么可弄明白的
一切都在上帝手中

电报传来消息
多么致命的打击
爱失去了激情
一切听其自然

守夜人躺在睡梦中
梦着一切可能
他梦到泰坦尼克号正在下沉
沉入深蓝色的海底

作者 / [美国] 鲍勃·迪伦
翻译 / 陈震

Tempest

The pale moon rose in its glory
Out on the western town
She told a sad, sad story
Of the great ship that went down

‘Twas the fourteen day of April
Over the waves she rode
Sailing into tomorrow
To a golden age foretold

The night was bright with starlight
The seas were sharp and clear
Moving through the shadows
The promised hour was near

Lights were holding steady
Gliding over the foam
All the lords and ladies
Heading for their eternal home

The chandeliers were swaying
From the balustrades above
The orchestra was playing
Songs of faded love

The watchman he lay dreaming
As the ballroom dancers twirled
He dreamed the Titanic was sinking
Into the underworld

Leo took his sketchbook
He was often so inclined
He closed his eyes and painted
The scenery in his mind

Cupid struck his bosom
And broke it with a snap
The closest woman to him
He fell into her lap

He heard a loud commotion
Something sounded wrong
His inner spirit was saying
That he couldn’t stand here long

He staggered to the quarterdeck
No time now to sleep
Water on the quarterdeck
Already three foot deep

Smokestack leaning sideways
Heavy feet began to pound
He walked into the whirlwind
Sky spinning all around

The ship was going under
The universe opened wide
The roll was called up yonder
The angels turned aside

Lights down in the hallway
Flickering dim and dull
Dead bodies already floating
In the double bottomed hull

The engines then exploded
Propellers they failed to start
The boilers overloaded
The ship’s bow split apart

Passengers were flying
Backward, forward, far and fast
They mumbled, fumbled, tumbled
Each one more weary than the last

The veil was torn asunder
‘Tween the hours of twelve and one
No change, no sudden wonder
Could undo what had been done

The watchman lay there dreaming
At fourty-five degrees
He dreamed the Titanic was sinking
Dropping to her knees

Wellington, he was sleeping
His bed began to slide
His valiant heart was beating
He pushed the tables aside

Glass of shattered crystal
Lay scattered ‘round about
He strapped on both his pistols
How long could he hold out?

His men and his companions
Were nowhere to be seen
In silence there he waited for
Time and space to intervene

The passageway was narrow
There was blackness in the air
He saw every kind of sorrow
Heard voices everywhere

Alarm bells were ringing
To hold back the swelling tide
Friends and lovers clinging
To each other side by side

Mothers and their daughters
Descending down the stairs
Jumped into the icy waters
Love and pity sent their prayers

The rich man, Mr. Astor
Kissed his darling wife
He had no way of knowing
Be the last trip of his life

Calvin, Blake and Wilson
Gambled in the dark
Not one of them would ever live to
Tell the tale of disembark

Brother rose up against brother
In every circumstance
They fought and slaughtered each other
In a deadly dance

They lowered down the lifeboats
From the sinking wreck
There were traitors, there were turncoats
Broken backs and broken necks

The bishop left his cabin
To help all those in need
Turned his eyes up to the heavens
Said, “The poor are yours to feed.”

Davey the brothel keeper
Came out, dismissed his girls
Saw the water getting deeper
Saw the changing of his world

Jim Dandy smiled
He’d never learned to swim
Saw the little crippled child
And he gave his seat to him

He saw the starlight shining
Streaming from the East
Death was on the rampage
But his heart was now at peace

They battened down the hatches
But the hatches wouldn’t hold
They drowned upon the staircase
Of brass and polished gold

Leo said to Cleo
“I think I’m going mad.”
But he’d lost his mind already
Whatever mind he had

He tried to block the doorway
To save all those from harm
Blood from an open wound
Pouring down his arm

Petals fell from flowers
‘Til all of them were gone
In the long and dreadful hours
The wizard’s curse played on

The host was pouring brandy
He was going down slow
He stayed right ‘til the end
He was the last to go

There were many, many others
Nameless here forevermore
They’d never sailed the ocean
Or left their homes before

The watchman, he lay dreaming
The damage had been done
He dreamed the Titanic was sinking
And he tried to tell someone

The captain, barely breathing
Kneeling at the wheel
Above him and beneath him
Fifty thousand tons of steel

He looked over at his compass
And he gazed into its face
Needle pointing downward
He knew he lost the race

In the dark illumination
He remembered bygone years
He read the Book of Revelation
And he filled his cup with tears

When the Reaper’s task had ended
Sixteen hundred had gone to rest
The good, the bad, the rich, the poor
The loveliest and the best

They waited at the landing
And they tried to understand
But there is no understanding
On the judgment of God’s hand

News came over the wires
And struck with deadly force
Love had lost its fires
All things had run their course

The watchman he lay dreaming
Of all things that can be
He dreamed the Titanic was sinking
Into the deep blue sea

Bob Dylan

2016 年,鲍勃·迪伦获得了诺贝尔文学奖。我现在仍然清晰记得,当天七点左右,我在图书馆刷新着 nobelprize.org 首页动态,一分钟足足刷新了一百次,直到一张黑白照出现在我面前。出于某些常见的顾虑和想法,我不得不在头脑中反复中确认,一分钟后,我确认无疑,他就是鲍勃·迪伦。

出于我们都熟知的原因,中国文化界一直无法接受迪伦是一个文化意义上的大师。在很多人眼里,迪伦不就是美国版的金庸或者崔健吗?其实,迪伦和通俗文化大咖相去甚远,迪伦在六十年代之后就已经进入了经典文化的生产和消费体系,而后更是与美国文化,以及世界文化的变化相颉相颃、交相辉映。最后,迫使经典文化最终认可和接受迪伦的,不是二战后飞速发展的大学,以及文化研究,也不是对他痴狂的听众、粉丝,而是二十一世纪文化悄然变化。二十一世纪文化没有二十世纪文化那么严肃、有序,但是它普适、广博,恰如迪伦带给我们的感觉。

今天(明尼苏达州、纽约时间也是今天哦)是迪伦 80 岁生日,从明天起,他就要在自己的 81 岁唱下去了。范哥请我写一写迪伦,七十古来稀,八十耄耋,我们一起祝迪伦 Happy Birthday,生命与艺术常青、永驻,May you stay forever young.

迪伦是无限的,是多元的。他是游吟诗人、抗议歌手、有信仰的人、艺术家、普通人、丈夫与父亲、大师……但我最喜欢的还是他前女友苏西·罗托洛(Suze Rotolo)的描述,“舞台上的他很少说话。有时他会飞快地咧嘴一笑或扮个鬼脸,或者骚扰下某个正在忙乎的工作人员。他心里很清楚,等一切就绪,他开始演奏的时候,所有观众的目光都会倾注到他身上。”

这首《暴风雨》(Tempest)出自他第 35 张同名录音室专辑,2012 年 9 月11 日发行。《暴风雨》我听了很多很多遍,最喜欢,他的半朗诵半演唱的方式,不知道这是不是迪伦心中的游吟诗人形象呢?在将近 14 分钟的歌唱中,迪伦的顿和韵都别开生面,并不逊色于任何优秀的诗歌。

《暴风雨》借用了莎士比亚的最后一部剧作,这似乎说明,入行 50 年的迪伦非常郑重地致敬了过往。50 年后,迪伦的悲悼、黑暗、恐怖,让所有听众为之一振。在同名歌曲《暴风雨》中,迪伦带我们重温了 100 年前泰坦尼克号(RMS Titanic)沉落大西洋的悲惨故事。

我们都知道,泰坦尼克号的沉落是二十世纪的神话之一。在第一次航行中,这艘巨轮便撞上冰山,海水随之灌入,泰坦尼克号直接裂解成两半,不可挽救地坠入海洋深处。泰坦尼克号沉落的神话,有两个极端。一个极端是人类创造的极端,泰坦尼克号是当时世界上体积最庞大、内部设施最豪华的客运轮船,其背后是白星航运(White Star Line)的技术赶超,以及人类不被满足的欲望。另一个极端是自然力量的极端,泰坦尼克号得到了自然宿命的惩罚,其背后是自然或者神超验的存在。

迪伦不这么想。迪伦当然知道泰坦尼克号的沉落是一个神话,但它对于迪伦来说,更是一场悲剧。在这场悲剧中,有 1517 个生命因之丧生。这首歌曲,正是迪伦献给这 1517 个生命的悲歌,同时也是献给幸存的 706 个生命的赞歌。在哀婉或者礼赞生命的同时,迪伦告诉我们,黄金时代是多么易逝。迪伦一边歌唱,一边装扮成痛苦的预言家:

守夜人躺在睡梦中
梦着一切可能
他梦到泰坦尼克号正在下沉
沉入深蓝色的海底

艺术家利奥、贵族惠灵顿、母女们、有钱人埃斯特、一对兄弟、主教、妓院老板戴维、好心人吉姆·丹迪、船长,他们船番登场,上演着人间一幕幕爱与欲望的悲喜剧。当船下沉时,利奥还准备拿起他的素描本,渴望画下眼前所见的风景,他不久在甲板上陷入了爱情之中。“他听到高声喧嚣/听起来很不对劲/他的内心告诉他/此地不宜久留”。

面对这场灾难,人们陷入了恐慌。母亲们浸没在雨水之中,迷惘地祷告着,祈求着。有的人则争抢着不多的救生艇,相互拉扯,一片狼藉,甚至兄弟之间都发生着背叛。主教向茫茫天空望去,像上帝说,“这些穷人归您来养。”吉姆·丹迪则面带微笑把自己的位置留给了一个孩子,“他看到星光闪耀/从东方照来/死神暴跳如雷/但他心若止水”。

还有好多、好多人
在这儿默默无闻,直至永远
他们从未驶上海洋
从未离开家乡

泰坦尼克号的守护者,船长先生,深知这场灾难无从避免,且将载入人类的黑暗历史。他感到前所未有的败落和负罪,他回想起了《启示录》的故事,流下了悔恨与希望的眼泪。而死神是唯一的胜利者,他带走了将近一千六百个生命,无论贫富。

《暴风雨》是否有确切的意义,我们不得而知,迪伦一向对外界讳莫如深,况且他的音乐变数太多。但《暴风雨》无外乎三种意味:其一,今时今日美国精神的没落;其二,迪伦个人生命的衰弛;其三,人类精神永恒的祭祷。无论是哪一种配方,迪伦所创造的都是一个诗的天堂,他既是那个造物主,又是那个塌缩的灵魂。

电报传来消息
多么致命的打击
爱失去了激情
一切听其自然

两日前,甘肃一山地马拉松赛遭遇极端天气,二十余人已经丧生,为你们祈福~

荐诗 / 后商

第2996夜

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