2005年NPR美国国家公共电台九月-Abigail Washburn: Chinese Lyrics, America

But when Abigail Washburn picks up her old time banjo and starts to sing, she often delivers her lyrics¹ in Chinese. It turns out she was speaking Chinese before she learned to play the banjo. In her early 20s, Abigail Washburn lived in the city of Chengdu. Her immersion² in Chinese culture inspired her to reconnect with the roots of American music. As part of the serious musicians in her own words, Washburn says she is not surprised when people are skeptical³ of what she does.

If I saw somebody else who came out with an album that was part Chinese or part Japanese and there was this American you know that the Chinese said “lao wai”, foreigners you know, I will definitely get her go, who is she to be doing that?

At first I would say I was sort of laughed at and thought of as a bit of novelty for playing the banjo and singing in Chinese, you know, but it’s just me, it’s just me and there is no way around it.

I really enjoyed going to watch the Sichuan opera when I lived in Chengdu. There were the old folks, the retired⁴ folks, generally were the audients makes during the call" ho ho ho", and there were people "ah~~~~~" you know like doing that. I, I don’t know what I am doing, obviously, but it was really a thrill. And there was, uh, compared to what I am used to, there was a really loose sense of rhythm, and it was all about emotive quality and had definitely affected⁵ the way I thought about my music because I want the musical representation of the songs to be felt. Like the song “Red & Blazing”, it `s very much about a flow and the point is about swells⁶— the emotional swells of grief .

The Lost Land was inspired by an experience I had when I was in Vermont, right before I moved to Nashville. I helped to teach English as a second language. And I worked with the seven Chinese guys in town, and all of these guys came to the States, thinking that they could make more money to send back to their families and eventually bring their families with them.

(在那遥远的故乡我失落了一个古老的梦。。。)

There’s one fellow. One night I had him over for dinner. He showed up and he really looked downtrodden and sad. And I said "what’s going on? 你怎么回事呢？” He said," Well, read this letter." He gave it to me and it was from his wife and she was saying, "you’ve been gone for four years now and I don’t know when you are coming back. I’m afraid I’m never going to see you again. So I think your daughter and I need to start a new life without you.” And I didn’t, how do you, what do you do with an experience like that? Using this imagery that you see a lot in, like classic Chinese poetry about missing your home, the ancient home, the true home. It’s just about being at the great stage of loneness really.

1 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

2 immersion   

n.沉浸；专心

参考例句：

• The dirt on the bottom of the bath didn't encourage total immersion.浴缸底有污垢，不宜全身浸泡于其中。
• The wood had become swollen from prolonged immersion.因长时间浸泡，木头发胀了。

3 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 swells   

增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The waters were heaving up in great swells. 河水正在急剧上升。
• A barrel swells in the middle. 水桶中部隆起。