PBS高端访谈:双目失明的摇滚乐手

Amna Nawaz: Let's end this week with a little inspiration: the unlikely story of Robert Finley. In just over three years, the 64-year-old blues¹ guitarist and singer went from working as a carpenter to performing across the country, including a recent show at Washington, D.C.'s Anthem² theater, where we caught up with him. William Brangham and producer Frank Carlson bring us his remarkable³ story. Let's have a listen.

Robert Finley: I'm a 64-year-old great-grandfather, and I'm just getting ready to rock. My name is Robert Finley. I'm from Bernice, Louisiana. I was born and raised in a little town called Winnsboro. I'm a sharecropper's son. I guess you could say we're one of those sharecroppers that really never got their share. Started playing music. I had an interest in it all my life since I was old enough to remember. I played in the military. I happened to be the leader of the Army band when I was in Germany. But when I started to try to do the civilian⁴ band, they were not as dependable. It's always the drummer is late or the bass⁵ man can't make it and stuff like this. That got frustrating⁶ to me. And it couldn't keep me busy enough to make a decent living.

William Brangham: In the mid⁷ 1970s, Finley stepped away from music. He became a carpenter, like his father, but then, in 2015, he began to lose his sight.

Robert Finley: I got to where I couldn't see well enough to make accurate cuts. And, at the price of lumber⁸, you can't afford to keep making miscuts. So I was forced into retirement⁹ because of my sight on the carpentry. And I just went back to my music.

William Brangham: That same year, in 2015, Finley was discovered playing on the streets of Helena, Arkansas. Before he knew it, he was recording¹⁰ with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and opening for the biggest names in music.

Robert Finley: I'm going from, how do you say, from the sidewalk to Broadway stages in less than three years. It's a whole lot different crawling up on a stage than crawling up on top of a house, I will tell you that.

William Brangham: Finley's second studio album, "Goin' Platinum¹¹!," is now out. And you can catch him live around the country. For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm William Brangham.

Amna Nawaz: That is a great way to start the weekend. And that is the NewsHour for tonight.

阿姆纳·纳瓦兹：在本周即将接近尾声时，我们将带来一些让大家颇为振奋的内容——罗伯特·芬利的传奇人生。在短短3年多的时间里，这位64岁的老人从一名木匠变成了全国巡演的蓝调吉他手和歌手。其中，最近的一次演出是在华盛顿特区圣歌剧院。也是在这里，我们对他进行了采访。我台记者威廉·布朗汉姆、制作人弗兰克卡尔松将为大家带来他的传奇故事，让我们来了解一下吧。

罗伯特·芬利：我今年64岁了，虽然已经儿孙满堂，但我还是有一颗不老的心。我叫罗伯特·芬利，来自路易斯安那州的廖碧儿。我在小镇温斯伯勒出生并长大，我的父亲是一名佃农。我猜大家一定会认为我们家就是那种永远捞不到收益的佃农家庭。说说我玩音乐的经历吧。从我记事起，我就对音乐感兴趣。在军队的时候我就玩音乐。我在德国的时候，有幸成为军乐团的负责人。但当我开始着手民间乐队的时候，我才发现并没有那么好做——不是鼓手迟到，就是男低音唱不下去，诸如此类的问题。这些事情让我感到很有挫败感。而且乐队的顾客也是屈指可数，连温饱都达不到。

威廉·布朗汉姆：上世纪70年代中期，芬利离开了音乐圈。他像父亲一样，做了一名木匠。但2015年的时候，他开始渐渐失明。

罗伯特·芬利：我当时的视力已经到了不能精准切割木材的程度。而且当时木材价格很高，不能总是切错。所以我不得不因为视力问题而退休。然后我就重新拾起了音乐。

威廉·布朗汉姆：同年，也就是2015年的时候，芬利在阿肯色州海伦娜街头上演奏时被人慧眼识珠。他当时还不知道，自己已经跟黑键乐队的丹·奥尔巴赫一起录过音，还跟很多名人一起公开表演过。

罗伯特·芬利：在不到3年的时间里，我就从街头演奏走到了百老汇的舞台上。在舞台上演奏跟在房顶上的感觉大不相同，这个我有体会。

威廉·布朗汉姆：芬利录制的第二张专辑名为《赚大钱！》，现在已经发售了。此外，我们也能看到他在全国各地巡演。感谢收听《新闻一小时》，我是威廉·布朗汉姆。

阿姆纳·纳瓦兹：一个励志的故事给美好的周末开了个头，这是今晚的《新闻一小时》节目。

1 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

2 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。

3 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。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

6 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

8 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

9 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

10 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

11 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。