VOA常速英语2014--越南战争的抗议影响了流行乐（在线收听）

Vietnam War Protests Influenced Popular Music 越南战争的抗议影响了流行乐

Today, April 30, marks the anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.  On this date in 1975, Marines evacuated the last Americans from the embassy in Saigon, bringing to a close America’s most divisive foreign conflict - a division expressed in street protests and in song.  

今天，4月30日是越南战争结束的纪念日。在1975年的今天，海军陆战队撤出了在西贡大使馆的最后一个美国人，带来了美国近代的最矛盾冲突的外交问题——街头抗议以及歌谣传唱中的分裂

The Vietnam War took place at an unusual time in United States history.  A record number of U.S. women gave birth in the years 1946 to 1959, and the largest part of that “Baby Boom” was of fighting age when the war began.  The “Baby Boomers” had also created a full-fledged youth culture by that time, a culture based largely on music.  So when public sentiment turned against the war, so did popular songs.

越南战争发生在美国历史上的一个不寻常的时段。据数据记录显示，美国的妇女从1946年到1959年大量地生育婴儿，而这股“婴儿潮”正是从战争爆发开始的。而这些小孩儿也在那时创造了一个成熟完整的青年人的文化——大部分是基于音乐上的。因此当大众都在情感上对战争表示反对时，流行乐的主题也大多如此。

America’s involvement in Vietnam started slowly - only 5,000 soldiers in 1960.  So at first, people in the U.S. weren’t paying very close attention. But the protest movement was starting even then.  

美国一开始参与越南战争并不多——1960年时只有5000名士兵。因此，一开始美国人民并没有密切关注这一战争，但即使是在那时抗议活动也已经开始了。

Within two years of the 1963 song, "Soldier’s Letter,” the number of Americans in Vietnam would increase dramatically.  America didn’t have an all-volunteer army back then. In 1962 the government implemented the Selective Service, or “The Draft.”  

从1963年开始的两年中，在越南的美国人会唱“士兵的信”这首歌的人戏剧性地开始增长。当时美国并没有一支完全自愿的军队回来。在1962年，政府制定了义务兵役制或者说是征兵。

“When you registered for the selective service system, you were assigned a draft number.  And if your number came up, then you were in the Army,” said Leslie Waffen, the retired head of the motion picture, sound, and video branch at the National Archives and also an expert on the music of the Vietnam War.  

“当你注册了义务兵役制的系统，你会分配到一个征兵号。如果你的号码上来了，那么你就在军队里了。”Leslie Waffen说道，他曾是国家档案馆图片、音频部门的领导，同时也是一位越南战争的音乐专家。

“'Draft Dodger Rag’ was a very important, influential song.  And it was recorded by many folk singers and groups.  And the lyrics were filled with ways to dodge the draft,” Waffen added.

“‘Draft Dodger Rag’是一首很重要、颇具影响力的歌。它也被很多民谣歌手与组合翻唱过。而歌词也是充满了躲避征兵的方式。”Waffen补充道。

Draft dodging songs, like "Draft Dodger Rag" or David Crosby’s “Draft Morning,” mostly talked about the unfairness of the draft.

避开征兵的歌，比如“Draft Dodger Rag”或是David Crosby的“Draft Morning”大多是讲述征兵的不公。

“The ‘Fortunate Son’ song had several lines in it that referred to privileged youth who are able to avoid the draft and not have to participate in the war,” Waffen said

“‘Fortunate Son’这首歌里有几行就是讲述青年享有避免征兵以及参与战争的特权。”Waffen说道。

The president and the generals in Vietnam told Americans back home that the U.S. was winning the war.  But in January 1968, North Vietnamese soldiers attacked positions deep inside South Vietnam, including the U.S. embassy.  Though the offensive was soon crushed, it left Americans doubting what they were being told.  

越南的总统和将军们告诉美国人他们赢得了战争，可以回家了。但在1968年的1月，越南北部的士兵攻击了越南南部腹地，其中包括美国大使馆。虽然此次的攻击很快被镇压了，但这致使美国人开始怀疑越南人所说的话。

The song, “Fixin’ To Die Rag,”  was performed by Country Joe and the Fish at Woodstock, a giant music festival that was held in upstate New York in 1969.  According to Les Waffen, “it became extremely popular as a song that said everything about the public’s antagonism against the war and it sort of reflected what public opinion was all about.”

1969年在纽约北部举行的Woodstock音乐节上Country Joe and the Fish演奏了歌曲“Fixin’ To Die Rag”。据Les Waffen说，“它成为了一首讲述公众反对战争以及反映社会舆论的一首流行乐。”

Even more important, Waffen says: The song also became popular with the soldiers who were fighting in Vietnam.  

更重要的是，Waffen说：“这首歌在参与越南战争的士兵中也很流行。”

“There would be DJs in certain zones who would set up their own radio station and begin to broadcast the songs that you were not going to hear on Armed Forces Radio,” he said.

“某些地区的DJ们会建立起他们自己的广播电台开始广播那些在武装部队广播里听不到的歌。”他说。

Of course there were also songs in favor of the war.  In 1965 and 1966 the most popular song in America was “The Ballad of the Green Berets.”  

当然也有倾向战争的歌，自1965年到1966年，美国最流行的歌曲是“The Ballad of the Green Berets”。

And those celebrating soldiers also sang songs mocking those who found ways not to have to fight, as in "The Yellow Beret" by Bob Seeger.

那些庆祝的士兵们还会唱嘲笑不打仗的人的歌，比如Bob Seeger的“The Yellow Beret”。

America is a place of diverse opinions.  It’s also a place that offers citizens the right to express those opinions -- even when they go against the government, even in the middle of a war.

美国是一个言论自由的国家。它同时也是一个让市民自由发表看法的地方——即使他们是反对政府的，即使是在战争中。