美国国家公共电台 NPR What's Your American Anthem?

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The National Memorial Day Concert on the Mall in Washington, D.C., was held last night. And as is always the case when we remember our nation's fallen, we do it with a particular soundtrack.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER")

SPENSHA BAKER¹: (Singing) ...O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly² streaming?

MARTIN: When it comes to expressing our collective emotions, anthems⁴, like "The Star-Spangled Banner," are powerful tools. Anthems, as we've seen with the NFL, can also be divisive. This summer, NPR is going to take a close look at anthems of all kinds - patriotic⁵, civil rights, sports, a whole wide range. Here to talk more about the series is NPR senior producer and arts correspondent Elizabeth Blair.

Hi, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE⁶: Hi, Rachel.

MARTIN: So why anthems?

BLAIR: You know, we're living in a time when people are actively⁷ talking about what it means to be an American. What values do we hold? People are taking to the streets in large numbers to express themselves, and music almost always plays a role. We saw this recently with the teachers' protests in places like Arizona and Kentucky. Here, teachers are singing at a rally in Frankfort, Ky.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Singing) We're not gonna take it. No, we ain't gonna take it. We're not gonna take it anymore.

BLAIR: Sounds pretty different than when Twisted Sister sings it.

MARTIN: Yeah, it doesn't so much sound like Dee Snider there - a little different vibe. But it's still really powerful, right?

BLAIR: That's right. I mean, the sentiment still rings true, even though it's - that's definitely not heavy metal.

MARTIN: How do we define anthem³ for the purposes of this series?

BLAIR: So here's the dictionary definition for you - a rousing or uplifting song identified with a particular group, body or cause. So that's pretty broad.

MARTIN: Right.

BLAIR: Anthems typically tap into the emotions of a community, whether it's anger or grief or pride, and the stories behind them can be quite complicated. Take a song like "Dixie."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DIXIE")

GID TANNER AND HIS SKILLET LICKERS: (Singing) Oh, in the Dixie Land where I was born, the early on one frosty mornin'. Look away, look away, look away, Dixie Land.

MARTIN: A lot of people have a lot of different feelings about that song, right?

BLAIR: That's right. Some see it as a rousing anthem of the South, but to others, it's a painful reminder⁸ of its blackface minstrel beginnings.

MARTIN: All right, let's talk about Beyonce. She did an anthem that got a lot of people talking. This was at her much-regaled performance at Coachella. She did a version of "Lift Every Voice And Sing," often referred to as the black national anthem. Let's listen to some of that.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BEYONCE: (Singing) Lift every voice and sing, till earth and heaven ring.

MARTIN: You're going to look back at the history of the song, Elizabeth?

BLAIR: That's right. We're definitely including "Lift Every Voice And Sing." It's another song with a very long history. And so we'll be looking at the origins of songs - when and why they were written, and how they were used at the time as anthems and how they're used today.

MARTIN: There are so many songs, I imagine, that would qualify as an anthem with American significance. How are you selecting them?

BLAIR: Well, we're still debating that. And we're trying to be inclusive across time periods, genres⁹ and themes. The songs are coming from NPR staff, as well as a panel of outside music scholars and artists. There are so many great songs. For example, the Vietnam era - you know, which ones do we pick? We're actually very eager to hear from the NPR audience about their favorite anthems and memories of singing or hearing an anthem.

MARTIN: Well, it's going to be a remarkable¹⁰ series. I, for one, am very much looking forward to it. NPR senior producer and arts correspondent Elizabeth Blair, thank you so much.

BLAIR: Thank you, Rachel.

MARTIN: And if you would like to suggest a song for NPR's new series American Anthem, go to our website, and you'll find a form with all the details - NPR.org/anthem.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH")

BUFFALO¹¹ SPRINGFIELD: (Singing) There's something happening here...

1 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

2 gallantly   

adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地

参考例句：

• He gallantly offered to carry her cases to the car. 他殷勤地要帮她把箱子拎到车子里去。
• The new fighters behave gallantly under fire. 新战士在炮火下表现得很勇敢。

3 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

4 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

5 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

8 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

9 genres   

（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
• But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

10 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

11 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。