VOA慢速英语2014 Songs of Spring Describe Her Many Moods 关于春天的歌曲

 

Songs of Spring Describe Her Many Moods 关于春天的歌曲

From VOA Learning English, welcome to This Is America. I’m Steve Ember.

If you’ve checked your calendar lately, you know - at least in the northern part of the world – it’s spring. And, after a long winter, it’s time to celebrate.

Hey, buds below

Up is where to grow

Up, from which below can’t compare with…

Now, your English teacher might have had a problem with that phrase, but let’s keep listening, shall we?

Life down a hole takes an awful toll¹,

What with not a soul there to share with

If you’re wondering what those words are all about, she is singing to her flower pots.

Hurry, it’s lovely up here

Wake up, bestir yourself

It’s time that you disinter yourself…

Actress Barbara Harris in the musical “On a Clear Day, You Can See Forever” by Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane.

And what a gift package of showers, sun and love

You'll be met above everywhere with

Fondled and sniffed² by millions who drift by…

And spring being the season of new growth, I hope that song, and all the others we’re going to play for you, will paint a musical picture of this lovely season. Come along with us!

Come poke³ your head out!

Open up and spread out!

Hurry, it's lovely here!

She sometimes is slow to arrive…

 

Sometimes spring comes slowly – that was certainly the case this year.  It seems like we wear our winter clothes for a long, long time.  The weather stays cold…snow stays on the ground.  Trees still look bare. Everything is changing, but we may not see the changes from day to day. 

And then suddenly, warmth seems to jump up from the earth overnight.  Snow becomes a memory.  Tree branches fill out. The gray and brown colors of winter give way to the green of spring. That’s the spirit expressed here by the New Christy Minstrels.

Springtime, change of scenery, won’t that be fine

Springtime, the grass is greener 

And the berry grows redder on the vine

Into each life, there will come sunshine, sometime after the rain

Don’t be downhearted, before tears get started,

Let Springtime make you smile again.

You know that Springtime, change of scenery, won’t that be fine

Springtime, the grass is greener 

And the berry grows redder on the vine.

Springtime, change of scenery…Spring is a wonderful season to celebrate rebirth and new life. The sun is out again, the daylight stays around longer…the flowers are blooming. The season represents hope, joy and beauty.

However, not all songs about spring are happy. This song by K.D. Lang is about dreaming of spring in cold dark places. She recorded "I Dream of Spring" in two thousand eight.

She arrives like autumn in a rainstorm

The threat of thunder above

I'll return from the streets of Melbourne

I'll return my love

This world is filled with frozen lovers

The sheets of their beds are frightfully cold

And I've slept there in the snow with others

Yet loved no others before

These cold dark places

Places I've been

In cold dark places

I dream of spring

Springtime inspires lasting⁴ popular song…

Unlike the other seasons, there are not many rock songs about spring. Most of the songs about this season were written in the nineteen thirties and forties by famous American composers writing for the Broadway stage or Hollywood films or popular vocalists. The songs became "standards," popular songs recorded by many singers over the years.

If you’re a young person, this may surprise you, but this was the popular music of its day.

Have you ever had “Spring Fever?”

Here is one example, "It Might as Well Be Spring." Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein wrote the song for the movie "State Fair" in 1945. Frank Sinatra sings about having "spring fever." This is not a real sickness. It is a feeling of restlessness or excitement brought on by the coming of spring.

I'm as restless as a willow⁵ in a windstorm,

I'm as jumpy as a puppet on a string,

I'd say that I had spring fever,

But I know it isn't spring.

I am starry⁶ eyed and vaguely⁷ discontented,

Like a nightingale without a song to sing.

Oh, why should I have spring fever,

When it isn't even spring?

I keep wishing I were somewhere else,

Walking down a strange new street,

Hearing words I have never heard,

From a girl I've yet to meet.

I'm as busy as a spider, spinning daydreams⁸,

I'm as giddy as a baby on a swing,

I haven't seen a crocus or a rosebud⁹,

Or a robin¹⁰ or a bluebird on the wing,

But I feel so gay in a melancholy¹¹ way,

That it might as well be spring,

It might as well be, might as well be,

It might as well be spring.

A sad side to Spring…

Richard Rodgers also wrote "Spring Is Here." But this time, the words were by lyricist Lorenz Hart. They were tender…but sad. The singer wants to feel happy in the new season, but can’t, because something very important in life…is missing. Ella Fitzgerald had one of the loveliest versions of this classic Rodgers and Hart song.

Once there was a thing called spring 

When the world was writing verses like yours and mine. 

All the lads and girls would sing 

When we sat at little tables and drank May wine. 

Now April May and June are sadly out of tune 

Life has stuck the pin in the balloon.

Spring is here!

Why doesn’t my heart go dancing?

Spring is here!

Why isn’t the waltz entrancing?

No desire, no ambition leads me,

Maybe it’s because nobody needs me.

Spring is here…

New York has inspired so many wonderful – and timeless – songs, including those about the vibrant¹² city in the various seasons of the year. My favorite is Vernon Duke’s “Autumn in New York.”  And if you’ll write a note on your calendar to join us in September when autumn arrives, we have a date to listen to it together. But, for now, here’s Tony Bennett.

Spring in Manhattan starts after dark

After a lazy afternoon in Central Park

Washington Square may be where you’ll feel her first warm touch

Down in the Village, you’ll find she may be much too much

Spring in Manhattan never stays long

Still, if you fall in love, she’ll bless you with a song

And if you listen to every word the song she’ll sing will bring

Spring in Manhattan to stay all winter long.

Just thinking about all the wonderful songs of New York, I realize we could actually do a program of New York songs. If you’d like to hear such a program on “This Is America,” be in touch – let us know!

Have an umbrella handy – After all, it’s Spring…

You know, we have a saying, “April showers bring May flowers.” And, of course, showers happen throughout springtime, and certainly do their part in bringing out the flowers and making the trees turn a beautiful shade of green.

Here is a very gentle song about those springtime showers, from the musical “The Fantasticks.”

Soon it's gonna rain.

I can see it.

Soon it's gonna rain.

I can tell.

Soon it's gonna rain.

What're we gonna do?

Soon it's gonna rain.

I can see it.

Soon it's gonna rain.

I can tell.

Soon it's gonna rain.

What'll we do with you?

We'll find four limbs of a tree.

We'll build four walls and a floor.

We'll bind¹³ it over with leaves,

And run inside to stay.

Then we'll let it rain.

We'll not feel it.

Then we'll let it rain,

Rain pell-mell.

And we'll not complain

If it never stops at all.

We'll live and love

Within our own four walls.

Kenneth Nelson and Rita Gardner…“Soon It’s Gonna Rain” from Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt’s “The Fantasticks.”

When Spring comes late…

Frank Loesser wrote a sad song about spring - "Spring Will be a Little Late This Year." Why has the season been delayed? Because the singer's lover has left her. Sarah Vaughan released her version of the song in 1953.

Spring will be a little late this year

A little late arriving in my lonely world over here

For you have left me and where is our April of old?

You have left me, and winter continues cold

As if to say spring will be a little slow to start

A little slow reviving that music it made in my heart

Yes, time heals all things so I needn't cling to this fear

It's merely that spring will be a little late this year

Yes, time heals all things so I needn't cling to this fear

It's merely that spring will be a little late, a little late this year

Well, by now you may be thinking: "Enough with the sad songs, already!" OK, then how about a cowboy song? Gene¹⁴ Autry was one of America's most famous singing cowboys. In 1937, he recorded "When It's Springtime in the Rockies."

When it's springtime in the Rockies

I'm coming back to you

Little sweetheart of the mountains

With your bonnie eyes of blue

Once again I'll say I love you

While the birds sing all the day

When it's springtime in the Rockies

In the Rockies far away

In most of the United States, spring is a warm and pleasant season. But this is not the case in the northwestern state of Alaska. According to Johnny Cash, it can be extremely cold.

I mushed from Point Barrow through a blizzard¹⁵ of snow

Been out prospectin' for two years or so

Pulled into Fairbanks, the city was a-boom

So I took a little stroll to the Red Dog Sea-loon

When I walked in the door, the music was clear

Purtiest voice I had heard in two years

The song she was singin' would make a man's blood run cold

When it's Springtime in Alaska, it's forty below…

[From Frank Loesser’s “Where’s Charley?”]

‘Twas a bright blue sky, and the lark¹⁶ sang high

On a bough¹⁷ that was blossom laden¹⁸

And I had my eye on a very pretty maiden…

“In the Spring,” Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, “a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love." To that, I would simply add, you don’t have to be a young man…

We heard a sad song about spring by Frank Loesser earlier in the program. But Loesser captured a joyful¹⁹ side of spring – and romance – when two lovers meet after many years…He wrote “Lovelier Than Ever” for his musical “Where’s Charley.” We’ll conclude our “This Is America” Songs of Spring program with Jerry Desmonde and Marion Grimaldi.

Springtime, you’re looking lovelier than ever

Lovelier than ever before

Still irresistible²⁰ in the same old gown of green

Still irresistible as that lilac-scented scene

When I was seventeen.

Springtime, you haven’t changed your way of whisp’ring

Whisp’ring that romance lies in store

Springtime, you’re being devastatingly²¹ clever

And lovelier than ever before… 

This Is America is a production of VOA Learning English. Steve Ember here. Hope you enjoyed the music. We’ll see you next week.

Springtime, you’re being devastatingly clever

And lovelier than ever before.

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

5 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

6 starry   

adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的

参考例句：

• He looked at the starry heavens.他瞧着布满星星的天空。
• I like the starry winter sky.我喜欢这满天星斗的冬夜。

7 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

8 daydreams   

n.白日梦( daydream的名词复数 )v.想入非非，空想( daydream的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Often they gave themselves up to daydreams of escape. 他们常沉溺进这种逃避现实的白日梦。 来自英汉文学
• I would become disgusted with my futile daydreams. 我就讨厌自己那种虚无的梦想。 来自辞典例句

9 rosebud   

n.蔷薇花蕾，妙龄少女

参考例句：

• At West Ham he was thought of as the rosebud that never properly flowered.在西汉姆他被认为是一个尚未开放的花蕾。
• Unlike the Rosebud salve,this stuff is actually worth the money.跟玫瑰花蕾膏不一样，这个更值的买。

10 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

11 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

12 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

13 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

14 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

15 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

16 lark   

n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏

参考例句：

• He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
• She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。

17 bough   

n.大树枝，主枝

参考例句：

• I rested my fishing rod against a pine bough.我把钓鱼竿靠在一棵松树的大树枝上。
• Every bough was swinging in the wind.每条树枝都在风里摇摆。

18 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

19 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

20 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

21 devastatingly   

adv. 破坏性地，毁灭性地，极其

参考例句：

• She was utterly feminine and devastatingly attractive in an unstudied way. 她温存无比，魅力四射而又绝不矫揉造作。
• I refuted him devastatingly from point to point. 我对他逐项痛加驳斥。