丁宇 | DING Yu

丁宇的流行音乐入门指南-4. Leonard Cohen和他幸福的女人

Leonard Cohen出生于1934年,于33岁时发布首张专辑,到今年(2015)他已经81岁了!然而Leonard最新的一张专辑-第十三张专辑-发布于2014年,可以说是一位相当老当益壮的艺术家。

Leonard Cohen

我之所以称其为“艺术家”而非“歌手”,是因为除了音乐以外,Leonard还是位诗人和小说家!他写过大量的诗歌和小说,迄今为止出版过四本诗集和两本小说。由于他在文学方面的突出贡献,Cohen在2011年被西班牙政府授予了该国最高级别的奖项:阿斯图里亚斯女亲王奖。

大概也正因为如此,Leonard的音乐散发着诗歌的韵味。比如,他一首名为Master Song的歌开头唱道:

I believe that you heard your master sing
when I was sick in bed.
I suppose that he told you everything
that I keep locked away in my head.
Your master took you travelling,
well at least that's what you said.
And now do you come back to bring
your prisoner wine and bread?
You met him at some temple, where
they take your clothes at the door.
He was just a numberless man in a chair
who'd just come back from the war.
And you wrap up his tired face in your hair
and he hands you the apple core.
Then he touches your lips now so suddenly bare
of all the kisses we put on some time before.

不过我并不常听Leonard。最主要的原因是,他的音乐风格十分单一,几乎都是在轻轻的配乐中低吟浅唱。虽然音乐风格截然不同,但就风格的变化来说简直就是翻版的小野丽莎(Lisa Ono)。

当然在听多了Pink Floyd和Tom Waits这种“重口”后,用Leonard的音乐来调剂一下是非常合适的。另外,我也喜欢在风和日丽的天气里边骑车边听他的小调。

今天要推荐的,是他发行于1988年的歌曲I'm Your Man。这首歌听起来十分的幸福:歌词非常直白,讲的是“我”对恋人全心全意的爱。旋律比较现代(比起他其它的歌曲),有弹性,如果用来做舞曲怕也是合适的。

Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man

歌词如下(中英对照版):

If you want a lover
I'll do anything you ask me to
And if you want another kind of love
I'll wear a mask for you
If you want a partner
Take my hand
Or if you want to strike me down in anger
Here I stand
I'm your man
If you want a boxer
I will step into the ring for you
And if you want a doctor
I'll examine every inch of you
If you want a driver
Climb inside
Or if you want to take me for a ride
You know you can
I'm your man

Ah, the moon's too bright
The chain's too tight
The beast won't go to sleep
I've been running through these promises to you
That I made and I could not keep
Ah but a man never got a woman back
Not by begging on his knees
Or I'd crawl to you baby
And I'd fall at your feet
And I'd howl at your beauty
Like a dog in heat
And I'd claw at your heart
And I'd tear at your sheet
I'd say please, please
I'm your man

And if you've got to sleep
A moment on the road
I will steer for you
And if you want to work the street alone
I'll disappear for you
If you want a father for your child
Or only want to walk with me a while
Across the sand
I'm your man

If you want a lover
I'll do anything you ask me to
And if you want another kind of love
I'll wear a mask for you