美国国家公共电台 NPR A Nobel In Literature For Bob Dylan, Whose Words Transcend Form

A Nobel In Literature For Bob Dylan, Whose Words Transcend¹ Form

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0002:58repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser² to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. SCOTT SIMON, HOST: 

Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature this week. His selection was surprising. He's the first artist to receive the award for a body of work that's almost entirely³ songs. While there were critics, there was also a lot of acclaim⁴, even from outstanding longtime novelists, including Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen King and Salman Rushdie, who called Mr. Dylan the brilliant inheritor of the Bardic⁵ tradition.

Sara Danius of the Swedish Academy, who is a professor of literature, compared Dylan to Homer and Sappho and when asked if the Nobel committee would now include song as literature, she replied, the times, they are a changin', perhaps. Bob Dylan didn't add perhaps when he wrote, "The Times They Are A Changin'" perhaps because perhaps is more difficult to rhyme. Some of us might have preferred Leonard Cohen or Stephen Sondheim as a songwriter to receive the Nobel. But there's no doubt that Bob Dylan's songs are literature that reach into our souls and have become anthems⁶ in the lives of millions.

And his songs have also inspired other performers to deliver their most sensitive interpretation⁷ of his words. For example, William Shatner's "Mr. Tambourine⁸ Man."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MR.TAMBOURINE MAN")

WILLIAM SHATNER: (Singing) In the jingle⁹ jangle morning I'll come following you.

SIMON: And Jeremy Irons' rendition of "To Make You Feel My Love."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAKE YOU FEEL MY LOVE")

JEREMY IRONS: (Singing) My little darling, when the rain is blowing in your face.

SIMON: Or the version Kesha, a truly fine singer, does of "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T THINK TWICE, IT'S ALL RIGHT")

KESHA: (Singing) I ain't saying that you treated me unkind. You could have done better, but I don't mind.

SIMON: And song stylist Sebastian Cabot's unforgettable "It Ain't Me Babe."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IT AIN'T ME BABE")

SEBASTIAN CABOT: (Singing) A love of your life and nothing more. It ain't me, babe. No, no, no, it ain't me, babe. It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe.

SIMON: The words of Nobel laureate Bob Dylan as you've never heard them before.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUBTERRANEAN¹⁰ HOMESICK BLUES")

BOB DYLAN: (Singing) Johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine. I'm on the pavement, thinking about the government. The man in the trench¹¹ coat, badge out, laid off, says he's got bad cough, wants to get it paid off. Look out, kid. It's somethin' you did. God knows when, but you're doing it again. You better duck down the alleyway lookin' for a new friend. The man in the coonskin cap, in the big pen wants $11 bills but you only got 10. Maggie comes fleet foot, face full of black soot¹², talkin' that the heat put plants in the bed but the phone's tapped anyway. Maggie says that many say they must bust¹³ in early May orders from the DA. Look out, kid, don't matter what you did, walk on your tip toes...

SIMON: But BJ Leiderman writes our theme music. You're listening to NPR News.

1 transcend   

vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围

参考例句：

• We can't transcend the limitations of the ego.我们无法超越自我的局限性。
• Everyone knows that the speed of airplanes transcend that of ships.人人都知道飞机的速度快于轮船的速度。

2 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

3 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

4 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

5 bardic   

adj.吟游诗人的

参考例句：

• It encourages the would-be American poet to rely too exclusively on a rapt and bardic intuition. 它鼓励未来的美国诗人完全依靠发狂似的诗人的直觉。 来自辞典例句
• They began to write for record, to help and fix their bardic tradition. 他们开始为记事而书写，助长并固定了他们的诗歌传统。 来自辞典例句

6 anthems   

n.赞美诗( anthem的名词复数 )；圣歌；赞歌；颂歌

参考例句：

• They usually play the national anthems of the teams at the beginning of a big match. 在大型赛事开始前，他们通常演奏参赛国国歌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rise please, rise for the anthems of & . 请全体起立，奏和两国国歌。 来自互联网

7 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

8 tambourine   

n.铃鼓，手鼓

参考例句：

• A stew without an onion is like a dance without a tambourine.烧菜没有洋葱就像跳舞没有手鼓。
• He is really good at playing tambourine.他很擅长演奏铃鼓。

9 jingle   

n.叮当声，韵律简单的诗句；v.使叮当作响，叮当响，押韵

参考例句：

• The key fell on the ground with a jingle.钥匙叮当落地。
• The knives and forks set up their regular jingle.刀叉发出常有的叮当声。

10 subterranean   

adj.地下的，地表下的

参考例句：

• London has 9 miles of such subterranean passages.伦敦像这样的地下通道有9英里长。
• We wandered through subterranean passages.我们漫游地下通道。

11 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

12 soot   

n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟

参考例句：

• Soot is the product of the imperfect combustion of fuel.煤烟是燃料不完全燃烧的产物。
• The chimney was choked with soot.烟囱被煤灰堵塞了。

13 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。