美国国家公共电台 NPR Miranda Lambert Is In It For The Long Haul

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Country music superstar Miranda Lambert has a new album out. It's called "Wildcard," a title that really could fit any of the albums she has released over the last decade and a half. The singer-songwriter has figured out how to please her fans and give the industry what it expects without compromising what she wants. Jewly Hight has more.

JEWLY HIGHT, BYLINE¹: How many of those costumes are you going to wear tonight?

MIRANDA LAMBERT: Both of them are...

HIGHT: On the first day of Miranda Lambert's tour, a brand-new black bodysuit embellished² with sequins, silver stars and fringe hangs on the rack in her dressing³ room.

LAMBERT: Is that not country and western (laughter)? Although I haven't tried on stage yet - I'm just hoping it doesn't bust⁴ anywhere (laughter).

HIGHT: It's Lambert's style to poke⁵ fun at showbiz glitz just hours before she plays an arena⁶ show with an elaborate lighting⁷ rig and three massive video screens.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOCOMOTIVE")

LAMBERT: (Singing) I'm like a locomotive. I don't run out of steam.

HIGHT: Ever since she was growing up in small-town East Texas, Lambert's biggest ambition has been turning three guitar chords into something sturdy and meaningful.

LAMBERT: My favorite song, even when I was, like, 12 was "Desperados Waiting For A Train" by Guy Clark and "Hello In There" by John Prine. And I was kind of listening to music way older than me, and I loved it. Allison Moorer was one that totally changed my life. My first songs weren't very good, but I was already headed in a direction that wanted to be a writer and say something and not just have fluff. And it's from all the music I grew up on, truly.

HIGHT: Lambert brought that youthful conviction to her dealings with the industry. She was wary⁸ of handing her career over to people who might try to mold her into their idea of a marketable performer.

LAMBERT: I just had to tell the whole label in the conference room. I was scared. But I was like, look. I don't dance around in halter tops. I don't cut pop songs. I'm a country singer of Texas. And I'm going to be who I am. I'd rather not be here and waste any of our time. And, I mean, at that moment, my life could've changed completely. They could've said, well, you're not easy to work with. Bye.

HIGHT: But they didn't. They more or less left her alone to record her 2005 debut⁹.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "KEROSENE¹⁰")

LAMBERT: (Singing) Forget your high society. I'm soaking it in kerosene. Light 'em up and watch them burn. Teach them what they need to learn. Ha.

SCOTTY WRAY: I got to be honest with you. When her first record came out and I heard it, I thought, we're going to have a pretty good career.

HIGHT: Scotty Wray has been playing guitar with Lambert since she was 17.

WRAY: But we're going to get to, like, this level, and then we'll just kind of level off 'cause in my experience, people that were trying to break the norm a little bit - that's what you - you have a nice, little career, but you never go up here.

HIGHT: Neither the first album nor the second generated a ton of radio airplay. Even so, Miranda Lambert developed a vivid persona thanks to the characters on her songs, especially when she played women pushed to the point of fighting back.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GUNPOWDER¹¹ AND LEAD")

LAMBERT: (Singing) I'm going home, gonna load my shotgun, wait by the door and light a cigarette. He wants a fight - well, now he's got that one. And he ain't seen me crazy yet. He slapped my face, and he shook me like a ragdoll. Don't that sound like a real man? I'm gonna show him what little girls are made of. Gunpowder and lead.

Yeah, I'm firebrand and fiery¹² - all these words people use to describe me - my early couple of records. That's all people thought of me. And I thought to myself, that's going to get old fast. And I'm going to get older. I can't always be banging my head, screaming at people (laughter), you know what I mean? Like, that's part of it. But...

HIGHT: There were other stories she wanted to tell, other tones she wanted to strike.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DEAD FLOWERS")

LAMBERT: (Singing) I feel like the flowers in this vase. He just brought them home one day. Ain't they beautiful? - he said. They've been here in the kitchen, and the water's turning gray. They're sitting in the vase, but now they're dead - dead flowers.

HIGHT: Lambert adapted to the demands of country stardom at her own pace, finding some co-writers she was comfortable with among the ranks of Music Row pros¹³ and letting a stylist coax¹⁴ her out of T-shirts and jeans. Her longtime manager, Marion Kraft, says Lambert became a savvy¹⁵ partner in her own business.

MARION KRAFT: At this point, she understands she's not just a singer-songwriter. She knows she's a brand. And it's something that we collaborated¹⁶ together. She's not, like, 10% of the equation. She's 50% of what makes this a whole. That's why it's good, and that's why it's authentic¹⁷ because she's all in.

HIGHT: It wasn't until Lambert's 10th single in 2009 that she started scoring big radio hits. She could've kept her focus on repeating that success. Instead, she started a band on the side, the frisky¹⁸ down-home trio Pistol Annies with Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BAD EXAMPLE")

PISTOL ANNIES: (Singing) Somebody had to set a bad example, teach all the prim¹⁹ and propers what not to do. Nobody 'round here wants to ramble²⁰. What the hell? That's what I was born to do.

HIGHT: Ashley Monroe says it was remarkable²¹ that Lambert would show such solidarity²² with a couple of songwriters who weren't well-known at the time.

ASHLEY MONROE: And it'll never not be odd to me to think about us going out, nobody having a clue who we were. And then it started catching²³ on. And thank God 'cause Miranda really took a big risk. You know, I always felt like, what if we go out there, and everybody's like, get these girls off the stage? You know, we want to hear you.

HIGHT: Lambert took a different kind of risk in 2016 after her high-profile marriage to a fellow country star came to an end. She made an emotionally intricate double album.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TIN MAN")

LAMBERT: (Singing) Hey there, Mr. Tin Man. You don't know how lucky you are. You shouldn't spend your whole life wishing for something bound to fall apart.

HIGHT: She even stopped doing interviews for a while.

LAMBERT: I guess I got selfish and sad. And when you get selfish and sad as an artist, you're going to make a record like "The Weight Of These Wings." That's what you're going to do.

HIGHT: Now Lambert's decided²⁴ it's time for the opposite approach.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IT ALL COMES OUT IN THE WASH")

LAMBERT: (Singing) If you wear a white shirt to a crawfish boil, stone-washed jeans while you're changing the oil. When you find yourself dating the bridesmaid's ex, you accidentally bring him to the wedding. Whoops²⁵.

HIGHT: Miranda Lambert can deliver tunes²⁶ with broad appeal while also giving herself room to explore. She's changed producers for the first time in a decade and a half and mixed in cosmopolitan²⁷ touches that piqued²⁸ her interest when she married a New Yorker in January.

LAMBERT: You say so many things about like, this is what I'm doing. This is who I am. And then you grow. If you don't, there's a problem. I'm still stubborn and hardheaded and believe what I believe. But I also am like, I can calm down because it worked. I have a career. Like, people heard me. I don't have to scream it out anymore. Like, so I'm just more open.

HIGHT: But to be clear, still the one supplying the vision. For NPR News, I'm Jewly Hight in Nashville.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BLUEBIRD")

LAMBERT: (Singing) And if the whole wide world stops singing...

1 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。

2 embellished   

v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色

参考例句：

• The door of the old church was embellished with decorations. 老教堂的门是用雕饰美化的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The stern was embellished with carvings in red and blue. 船尾饰有红色和蓝色的雕刻图案。 来自辞典例句

3 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

4 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。

5 poke   

n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
• Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。

6 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

7 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

8 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

9 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

10 kerosene   

n.(kerosine)煤油，火油

参考例句：

• It is like putting out a fire with kerosene.这就像用煤油灭火。
• Instead of electricity,there were kerosene lanterns.没有电，有煤油灯。

11 gunpowder   

n.火药

参考例句：

• Gunpowder was introduced into Europe during the first half of the 14th century.在14世纪上半叶，火药传入欧洲。
• This statement has a strong smell of gunpowder.这是一篇充满火药味的声明。

12 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

13 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 coax   

v.哄诱，劝诱，用诱哄得到，诱取

参考例句：

• I had to coax the information out of him.我得用好话套出他掌握的情况。
• He tried to coax the secret from me.他试图哄骗我说出秘方。

15 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

16 collaborated   

合作( collaborate的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• We have collaborated on many projects over the years. 这些年来我们合作搞了许多项目。
• We have collaborated closely with the university on this project. 我们与大学在这个专案上紧密合作。

17 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

18 frisky   

adj.活泼的，欢闹的；n.活泼，闹着玩；adv.活泼地，闹着玩地

参考例句：

• I felt frisky,as if I might break into a dance.我感到很欢快，似乎要跳起舞来。
• His horse was feeling frisky,and he had to hold the reins tightly.马儿欢蹦乱跳，他不得不紧勒缰绳。

19 prim   

adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地

参考例句：

• She's too prim to enjoy rude jokes!她太古板，不喜欢听粗野的笑话！
• He is prim and precise in manner.他的态度一本正经而严谨

20 ramble   

v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延

参考例句：

• This is the best season for a ramble in the suburbs.这是去郊区漫游的最好季节。
• I like to ramble about the street after work.我下班后在街上漫步。

21 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。

22 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

23 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

24 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

25 whoops   

int.呼喊声

参考例句：

• Whoops! Careful, you almost spilt coffee everywhere. 哎哟！小心点，你差点把咖啡洒得到处都是。
• We were awakened by the whoops of the sick baby. 生病婴儿的喘息声把我们弄醒了。

26 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 cosmopolitan   

adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的

参考例句：

• New York is a highly cosmopolitan city.纽约是一个高度世界性的城市。
• She has a very cosmopolitan outlook on life.她有四海一家的人生观。

28 piqued   

v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 )；激起（好奇心）

参考例句：

• Their curiosity piqued, they stopped writing. 他们的好奇心被挑起，停下了手中的笔。 来自辞典例句
• This phenomenon piqued Dr Morris' interest. 这一现象激起了莫里斯医生的兴趣。 来自辞典例句