这是一个人物传记，主角 Johnney Cash，民谣史上的重量级人物。
老美的传记类影片不像我们这么造作，刻意放大人物的光辉形象，这也难怪谁叫我们的文艺是为无产阶级政治服务的呢。就我所想得起来的两部电影----讲述诺贝尔奖数学家John Nash的《美丽的心灵》，再现另类喜剧演员Tony Clifton的《月亮上的男人》，主角的形象都不怎么光辉。这部电影中的Johnney Cash更是糟糕透顶----抛弃妻子，放荡不羁，和老爹顶嘴，藏毒吸毒还进过监狱。但这一切都无损他作为一个艺人的才华。放在今天（即便在当年），他这种性格甚至可以算是一种美德。光他一个人的八卦新闻能养活多少小报记者呀。哦，对了，他后来还娶了个著名的女歌手 June Carter.
还是听听他的歌吧：
Man In Black Lyrics
By: John R. Cash, © 1971 House of Cash, Inc.
Recorded February 16, 1971
Number 3 - Country Charts; Number 58 - Pop Charts
Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.
I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.
I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.
Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black.
I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.
And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side.
Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.
Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.
这首歌就是本文的标题，也是后来一部脍炙人口的科幻的片名，可那电影说的完全是另一码事。这首歌唱出了 Johnney Cash 的悲天悯人。四一说过“小说要真正闪闪发光，不在于结尾有多牛逼，情节有多离奇，而在于，按我的理解，需要悲天悯人”。歌曲何尝不是如此。影片的一开始他出现在一所监狱里，给犯人们演唱，犯人们的境遇勾起了他当年自己悲惨童年和不羁岁月的回忆。
Johnney Cash是个说故事的好手。水平比我们国家现在的几个大牌导演高多了。这首歌里讲述的是一个离家的父亲如何帮助儿子成长的故事，听来让人拍案叫绝：
Boy Named Sue
（注：Sue 为女名，类似淑芬兰慧什么的）
Well, my daddy left home when I was three
and he didnt leave much to ma and me
just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze
now i dont blame him cause he ran and hid
but the meanest thing that he ever did
was before he left he went and named me Sue
Well he must a' thought that it was quite a joke
and it got a lot of laughs from a lots of folk
it seems I had to fight my whole life through
some gal would giggle and I'd get red
and some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head
I tell ya life ain't easy for a boy named Sue
Well i grew up quick and I grew up mean
my fists got hard and my wits got keen
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame
but I made me a vow to the moon and stars
that I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
and kill that man that give me that awful name
Well it was Gatlinburg in mid July
and I'd just hit town and my throat was dry
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew
at an old saloon on a street of mud
there at a table dealin' stud
sat the dirty mangy dog that named me Sue
Well I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
from a worn out picture that my mother'd had
and I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye
he was big and bent and grey and old
and I looked at him and my blood ran cold
and I said 'My name is Sue how do you do
now you're gonna die!'
Yeah! that's what I told him
Well I hit him hard right between the eyes
and he went down but to my surprise
he come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear
but I busted a chair right across his teeth
and we crashed through the wall and into the street
kickin' and a'gougin' in the mud and the blood and the beer
I tell ya I've fought tougher men
but I really can't remember when
he kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss
and he went for his gun and I pulled mine first
he stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile
And he said "Son this world is rough
and if a man's gonna make it he's got to be tough
and I know I wouldn't be there to help you along
so I give you that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
and it's that name that helped to make you strong"
He said "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
and I know you hate me and you got the right
to kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do
but you oughtta thank me before I die
for the gravel in your guts and the spit in your eye
cause I'm the son of a bitch that named you Sue"
Yeah! well what could I do?
What COULD I do?
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
and I called him my pa and he called me his son
and I come away with a different point of veiw
and I think about him now and then
every time I try, and every time I win
and if I ever have a son I think I am gonna name him
Bill or George any damn thing but Sue
1 条评论:
美国片子好象喜欢跌倒了又重新爬起来的人.
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