By American singer Simon &; Garfunkel's ScarboroughFair/Canticle has become one of the most favorite and familiar beautiful songs of fans all over the world since 1960s, and has been circulating in China for more than ten years. Lyrics that were originally thought to be not difficult, or lyrics that do not need to be deeply understood, have actually aroused the curiosity of many people and attracted various interpretations.
I first came into contact with this song in the early 1980s. After being intoxicated with the melody and graceful lyrics, I tried to understand and comment on this song from my simple feelings and superficial angles. This sentence appeared in the booklet attached to the tape Selected American Country Songs published by 1990 (the publishing house is embarrassed to name almost all songs that do not belong to country songs in this way). Although the wording of New English Song 65438 is slightly changed, the understanding and feelings basically follow the original content. Since then, with the help of the convenience brought by the Internet, I have come into contact with the ins and outs of this song and the historical and cultural background of Britain and the United States, and it is inevitable that I will be ashamed to look back on the previous words. Fortunately, the comments on songs at that time were mostly based on personal feelings, and the analysis and understanding were rather illusory. In particular, the phrase "parsley, sage, rosemary and coriander" was used in a safer place, so even today there is no serious deviation. I have also seen other people's comments on this song during the period, but most of them don't involve words and don't echo the usual saying, so I have been too lazy to make in-depth comments on it.
However, when I visited a website commenting on English songs the other day, I suddenly found that some people criticized my previous words in the article commenting on ScarboroughFair. Later, according to the website host, the article was originally published in Crazy English by a writer named "If Not". Its moire:
Analysis:
Listening to songs focuses on listening to the "eye of the song", just like the "eye of the text" marked with the theme in the article. This SCARBOROUGHFAIR is a classic old song that everyone is familiar with. The focus of the song is "turnip, sage, Rosemaryandthme" by parsley, sage and rosemary. The singer intends to extend it to sage and thyme, which seems to remind us that sage refers to sage and also refers to "sage/sage". Thyme is homophonic with time. Let's look back at the title of the song (note: Song's eyes may be hidden between the lyrics and the lines). The original familiar title seems to have changed: SCAR-BORROW-FAIR. Scar and Fairness shows the singer's original intention-anti-war.
This song is sung in the tone of an ordinary soldier who died in the war. He can never go back to his homesick hometown and enjoy the sweetness of life with his sweetheart. The grief in my heart turned into a tearful accusation: parsley, sage, rosemary &; Thyme. Thousands of ordinary soldiers were destroyed on the battlefield like wild flowers, and those who made figurines in the war eventually could not escape the elutriation of time. Wild flowers are fragrant; However, only time can test who is a true saint; Perhaps, eternal time is the real saint! Time is fair.
Composed in the late 1960s, this song is one of the episodes of the Oscar-winning film The Graduate (1967). It is not difficult to understand the connotation of this song in connection with the background at that time (Vietnam War). Paul simon, the songwriter, was the spokesman of the youth in 1960s and 1970s. He studied English literature in England, which has profound literary connotation, so his lyrics have far-reaching artistic conception. The lyrics of this song are adapted from an English ballad of17th century. In singing, Simon and Garfinco cooperated seamlessly. In the silent night, let the song flow into your heart and touch your heart!
I read this "accurate and thorough analysis" in one breath in horror, but I was relieved to find that it was full of serious assumptions and rumors. I didn't take it out of context, but out of context. I don't understand that this argument, which lacks textual research on historical facts and can't even be fully justified, is still so rampant and popular today.
This classic English song, which is very popular in China, is bound to attract more attention and popularity because the movie TheGraduate, which chose it as one of the theme songs, began to be broadcast on TV, but there are still such fallacies in its understanding, which aroused my interest in in in-depth research and analysis.
First, the origin of Silk Jane
For many years, I have been translating the title of ScarboroughFair/Canticle into Ode to Austin, and I have noticed that many people agree with and continue to use this translation. Another very different translation is "Scarborough Fair". However, obviously, it is better to translate a place name with more syllables like this into "Philadelphia", and it seems more appropriate to translate it into "town" in scarborough. The problem is that I have long interpreted "market" as "market town", so I misunderstood scarborough Fair as a whole as "town". This is something I am ashamed of.
In fact, scarborough is an autonomous town in the northeast of England, adjacent to the North Sea. The town has a long history with a population of over 40,000. Up to now, it attracts tourists with the village ruins of the Bronze Age and the signal tower of the Romans in the fourth century A.D. It is a famous seaside resort. DameithSitwell (1887-1964), a famous British poetess, and SirsacheverellSitwell (1897-1988), a famous writer, both came from scarborough, and CharlesLaughton, an American film actor, was also born in this small town. This is undoubtedly what ScarboroughFair refers to.
As scarborough is a place name, it is more suitable for scarborough Fair to be held there. In this way, ScarboroughFair/Canticle seems to be the most suitable translation. But this may be misunderstood as "the market in Tuscany town" and "the chorus in Tuscany town". Later, we can see that the content of this chorus has nothing to do with Tuscany Town. A more accurate translation should be "the market in Tuscany and a choir" or "the market in Tuscany". quot。 As a song title, this translation is obviously redundant, not as good as ScarboroughFair/Canticle or ScarboroughFair. In fact, when we understand the origin details of this song later, we will find that the name ScarboroughFair has nothing to do with the content of the whole song. Whether it is ScarboroughFair or CapeAnn recorded in some versions, it is completely handy, and it is a place name that different folk singers change at will when singing.
But one thing is certain. ScarboroughFair, as a song title, is far from American singer Paul Simon (194 1-). It is impossible for Eamon, with his profound literary skills, to make scarborough Fair a "singing eye" in the late 1960s, as "if not" said. As a place name, the word scarborough is even older. At least until the Middle Ages, I didn't see ScarboroughFair being dismantled into Scar-Borrow-Fair, and then Scar and Fair were used to express anti-war views.
Even in ancient times, scar was a word composed of scar and borough, unlike some people who could translate it into "city of trauma". Who knows if the name of this place comes from the scar on the face of the owner of the territory? Moreover, the name scarborough has a long history not only in England, but also in the United States (Maine) and even Trinidad and Tobago, and there are countless smaller names such as scarborough in Toronto. Imagine, when a place name that people agree with appears in a song, who will analyze its meaning like a puzzle? Even if you can take it out of context, who will associate "Hefei story" with "two fat people doing ancient prose"?
Second, the dwarf knight
ScarboroughFair's song prototype comes from TheElfinKnight(Child#2), that is, Dwarf Knight (Children's Folk Tales No.2), which was first recorded in England in 1673. This kind of folk song is mainly spread in the British Isles and Ireland, and also recorded in some eastern States of the United States and western Canada. Different records have nearly 20 different versions of lyrics, and there are more than ten different song titles. The version of this song appeared in19th century. Nevertheless, the original content and plot of the song are similar, but the more modern the original plot clue is, the less obvious it is, and the identity of the short knight is diluted or even removed. The following are the original lyrics of TheElfinKnight.
TheElfinKnight
My Puledda tile, my Puledda tile,
Andorethehillandfarawa，
And faravatonorova,
Myplaidshallnotbeblownawa。
1 theelphinknightsonionhill，
Ba, ba, ba, liliba
Heblawshishornbothlewdandshril。
Thewindhathblownmyplaidawa
2Heblowesiteast，heblowesitwest，
Heblowesitwherehelykethbest。
3' I am a Jew,
Yeah, and at 2: 00 midnight. '
4Shehadnosoonerthesewordssaid，
When when Whenthattheknightcametoherbed.
"Young as you are," he said,
Marry methouillustbe.
' 6 ' IhaveasisteryoungerthanI，
She got married yesterday.
7' Marry me,
Acourtesiethoumustdotome。
8' For 1,000 necessary shapes,
"There is no reason," he said.
9' Although swords and shadows must be shaped,
And three needles without needles. '
10' If that piece of courteiodetoothe,
The other one has to go home.
1 1 ' Ihaveanaikerofgoodley-land，
This is the Yanshi Strait.
12 ' for houmusteareitwithyhorn，
Sothoumustsowitwiththycorn。
13' and Andbiggacartofstoneandlyme,
RobinRedbreasthemusttrailithame。
14' Although it must be barnitinamouse-hell,
And rashitintothyshoessell.
15' and you must winthinitylooff,
Andalsoseekitinthyglove。
16 ' for houmustbringitoverthesea，
And you must take your guitar home.
17 when you have enough time,
Then the ncome, Tom, Edgerty, Thysarkthen. '
18 ' I ' lnotquitemyplaidformylife；
Ithapsmysevenbairnsandmywife。 '
Thewindshallnotblowmyplaidawa
19 ' MymaidenheadI ' 1 thenkepstill，
Lettheelphinknightdowhathewill。 '
The son of the wind does not stick to the pattern.
We can see that the story in the lyrics is like this: the short knight teased a girl who was in love with him, and he promised to marry the girl, but she had to do a series of impossible things; The girl promised to do these things, but the short knight must do all the things she asked first. This folk form, which originated from the question between lovers, obviously exists widely in the folk culture of many nationalities, such as countless duets in Sister Liu. In later versions, the content of cross-examination changed the most, because cross-examination is often impromptu, so it can be imagined. This part of the 18 10 version not only retains the main plot of the original song, but also approaches the ScarboroughFair we heard today. Can you make me a linen shirt, but it can't have pleats and needle corners? Wash it in a dry well in the distance and dry it in a thorn that has never bloomed? Okay, you've asked three questions. Please answer my question first. Can you find me a piece of land between the beach and the sea? Sow a pepper seed, harvest it with a sickle, and bind it with peacock feathers in a horned field? You can pick up your linen shirt after these things.
What we heard today is Simon &; Garfinkel's singing was recorded in 1965, and the plot of cross-examination has been fragmented. It's hard to see that it reads like a whisper between lovers in the past. In addition, the short knight disappears completely, and the protagonist can be extended to ordinary people. This is where this ancient folk song is endowed with new ideas. PaulSimon didn't add or change any words. How can the background of the United States in the 1960s be planted between the lines?
Three, sage and thyme
It is worth mentioning that not all versions contain the phrase parsleysagerosemaryandhemory (coriander, sage, rosemary and thyme). The earlier version in the record is 18 10 year, and some versions even contain completely different things such as ivyandholly so on. It is believed that these words may not exist in earlier folk songs, but appear in the form of harmonious chorus or transitional sentences, and there are many impromptu changes, so it is difficult to record them. This can also be seen in their version. Parsleysagerosemaryandthyme or singivy and singholly often appear in the first paragraph and are omitted in the following paragraphs.
Some scholars believe that plants such as parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, ivy or holly often appear in the description of eroticism or temptation in English literature, so they are obviously sensational. This analysis of intuition is somewhat tortuous. For example, sage is "Tessa" and thyme is "time", so real numbers are absurd.
I still think 10 years ago, it was a credible idea that I understood parsleysagerosemaryandthyme as four unrelated plants, but it was only developed without external reference at that time.
In fact, when we pay attention to the cultural diversity in today's world, we should notice that there are a lot of * * * in their initial stage and original form, and folk songs are a typical example. Critics of China's classical poetry divide the rhetorical devices of poetry into "comparison" and "xing". Comparison is a metaphor, comparing one thing with another; Xing is the sustenance, let's talk about other words first. "Guan Guan Ji Ge, in Hezhou" means prosperity, not comparison. However, with the gradual evolution of poetry from the oral singing of working people to the toys of literati, the technique of xing has gradually disappeared. Scholars feel that without combining "bi" with "xing", they will not show their true qualities as poets, so that countless new cultural people who thrive in literati education today will not eat well or sleep well unless they find some meaning of "bi" in "xing". Sage means "Tessa", and Thyme compares it to "time", and then connects the two to make us feel "accurate and thorough".
When the literati gave up the technique of xing and were complacent about its prosperity, the performance of xing only existed in the still wild folk songs. In Xinjiang folk songs, "the stone in Dabancheng is round and flat, and the watermelon is big and sweet"; The northern Shaanxi folk song "The flowers in Shandandan are blooming on my back. What are you thinking?"? Take your time "; The American folk song "When You Have All the Flowers" still retains obvious words that are only interesting and incomparable. Any attempt to analyze them by comparison will be absurd. Wang or Peter Seger, the wise heirs of folk songs, do not deliberately pursue meaning and interest.
If the sentence parsleysagerosemaryandthyme in scarborough Fair is explained in an interesting way, wouldn't it be easy to understand that these four plants commonly used as spices have nothing to do with the content? Imagine that such words appear impromptu in the original harmony chorus or transitional sentence. What reason do you have to give them an explanation instead of calling them "Song Eye"?
Is that soldier really dead?
In the review of If Not, I was surprised to read that "this song was sung in the voice of a soldier who died in the war". There is obviously no trace of "fallen soldiers" in ScarboroughFair's title song, but from the chorus Canticle, I have always understood that I am a soldier from recalling my childhood in the mountain village to facing the reality of war. Considering that this lyric was really written by PaulSimon in the 1960s and joined ScarboroughFair, I really believe that the soldier is dead. However, I can't fully justify myself when I repeatedly interpret this sentence with "Canticle". There are always some contradictory details.
On the one hand, ScarboroughFair is an English folk song of17th century. On the other hand, it is said that this song was written in the late 1960s. He probably really doesn't know which songs are from17th century and which are from 1960s. Is that why he dismantled ScarboroughFair sage and thyme for PaulSimon?
It's true that ScarboroughFair is in Simon &; Garfinkel became popular all over the world only after he joined the interpretation of Canticle, but the lyrics, songs and even guitar accompaniment fingering of ScarboroughFair were copied by Simon from the British singer MartinCarthy during his stay in the British folk circle. Years later, Kathy sued Simon for infringing the copyright of guitar accompaniment assignment, and finally won the case. ScarboroughFair was neither written by Simon nor created by Kathy. Simon's hands are just candy and a whole new arrangement.
Canticle is a fragment of an old work by PaulSimon. The original work is called TheSideofaHill. It was first published by ScarboroughFair/Canticle in 1965 and included in PAULSIMONSONGBOOK, a solo album published by Simon in England. After reading the lyrics, I clearly and reasonably related the content in the ode to the scene.
TheSideofaHill
Onthesideofahill
InalandcalledSomewhere
The little boy fell asleep.
on Earth
Whiledowninthevalley
Acruelwarrages
And the people
Children's life value
Onthesideofahill
Alittlecloudweeps
Heshui
Tears silently.
Whileasoldiercleans
And Polisagon.
That kind of real life
Attheageofsevenyears
Then there's Varasen.
InalandcalledSomewhere
Andgeneralsorder
Their spiritual killer
And Andtofightforacause
They have long been forgotten.
Whilealittlecloudweeps
Onthesideofahill
An innocent child was shot on the hillside because there was a war going on in the valley. The soldier who shot the child went off accidentally, and he will also be an innocent victim in this meaningless war. When Simon mixed such a plot with ScarboroughFair, a distant lover naturally appeared in the hearts of soldiers, and another innocent victim was shrouded in the cruel shadow of war. Two originally uncomplicated stories are thus intertwined, leaving room for overlapping imagination. This is a technique that PaulSimon was particularly good at and liked to use in the 1960s. 1966 published the album PARSLEYSAGEROSEMARYANDTHYME, the first song ScarboroughFair/Canticle used two overlapping songs. The last song, Silent Night/7: 00 News, overlaps the song Silent Night with the 7: 00 news 1965. Murder, Vietnam War, civil rights movement, anti-war demonstrations, politicians' faces and repression have formed interesting contrasts with the sanctity of Christmas Eve. What is amazing about PaulSimon is his extraordinary imagination, which far exceeds his literary skills. Not only did he mix, but also his clips made people doubt his understanding.
Let's take a look at the movie The Graduate, and choose ScarboroughFair/Canticle as one of the theme songs. This film, directed by MikeNichols and starring DustinHoffman, is also an overlapping and contrasting story. In the mid-1960s, social turmoil and crisis, the quiet and boring life circle of the middle class, the sincerity of young people's idealism and the hypocrisy and depravity of middle-aged people, healthy love passion and abnormal sensory stimulation ... In these countless comparisons, ScarboroughFair/Canticle was added with a lot of melodies, and in turn, the film added a lot of melodies to the songs, which was really amazing and thought-provoking. This is the complexity of art pursued by Simon, Nichols and Hoffman. Has it gone up in 60 years? Quot Many artists in the period of "ideological emancipation" have the same preference pursuit. Is this the theme that Anti-Vietnam War can cover?
Is that soldier really dead? In the song ScarboroughFair/Canticle, at least not yet, maybe tomorrow, because the war is still going on, because unnecessary wars will be resurrected endlessly.
Verb (abbreviation for verb) horn
Critics always use perfectionism to describe PaulSimon. His devotion to music and the low output of his works can explain some problems. Specific to the song ScarboroughFair/Canticle, we can get a glimpse of his excellence.
Do you think I only mean the images of mountains and rivers in the lyrics? It doesn't stop there. The singing and accompaniment of this song are equally well handled. After listening to the recording for many years, I think this song is composed of the main voice, harmony and three parts of chant. The main voice and Canticle of the treble are sung by ArtGarfunkel, and the main song and vocal part are sung by PaulSimon, with a slightly darker voice. But later, it was found from the original song that the two parts of the original main song were not the relationship between theme and harmony that we heard and imagined at all, but were sung alternately by garfinkel and Simon, drifting from theme to harmony and from harmony to theme. Canticle's completely different tunes and lyrics are interpreted and synthesized by Art's pure voice.
Such a rich vocal performance poses a difficult problem for accompaniment. Simon used a tone sandhi when he accompanied the guitar in the seventh grade, so that the guitar sound, which is usually close to human voice, was pulled high and ethereal, like floating clouds in a clear sky. In addition, the looming strings are like faint scenery in the distance. It is incredible that the hierarchical processing and hierarchical content in music are so intertwined, and the ingenious and rigorous conception is really incredible. I have always been curious about the voice of Clarioncall in the lyrics, thinking that if it can be accompanied or impressive, where can it be added at such a detailed structural level?
Sixth, what is far-fetched?
What do you mean "far-fetched"? Forcibly connect unrelated things.
Ten years ago, when I explained parsleysagerosemaryandhemory, it was obviously the opposite. I describe the so-called "original related" "singing eyes" as "four fragrant flowers and plants" that are irrelevant. Why did I become "far-fetched"? I originally used the insurance statement, because it is a big deal for me to fall into an incomprehensible reputation. I will never bear the reputation of "far-fetched", and I hate this reputation even more. Who would have thought that this toilet was still locked?
This self-styled "finishing touch" just clicked four words ScarboroughFair, sage and Thyme, claiming that the dragon has taken off, so he solemnly reminded readers to contact the background of the 1960s. In case you know too much about America in the 1960s, you should add: Vietnam War. Even if he really has the finishing touch, he should draw the dragon clearly first, and at least distinguish the eyebrows and beards close to the "Song Eye Dragon". Even if sage can be interpreted as "Tessa" and thyme as "time", the next parsley (coriander) and rosemary (rosemary) must be given a statement. Is it "Tessa crouching between parsley and rosemary to kill time"?
I feel particularly familiar with the way I analyze my works. I want to look it up, and I found it in "Words on Earth":
Zhang Huiyan commented on Su Shi's "Bu Operator" (a residential work in Dinghuiyuan, Huangzhou): "There is no moon to hang the phoenix tree, and I miss the peace. Who saw you alone, Hong Ying. At night, it was suddenly frightened, suddenly flew and came back frequently, but no one always understood its infinite inner feelings. " She refused to live after picking all the cold branches, and lonely sandbar was cold. Like a cloud, thorn ming is weak when the moon is lacking. Leak, even in the dark. Withdrawn and unable to aspire. Lonely and helpless. When you are surprised, the sage is uneasy. Looking back, I love you and will never forget it. No one saved you, and you didn't look. Pick up all the cold branches and refuse to live, and don't steal to settle in the high position. The solitary sandbar is cold and unsafe. "
(Wang Guowei commented on this:) "The word" Gu Zi Gao Wen "! Fei Qing's Bodhisattva Man, Yong Shu's Die Lian Hua and Zi Zhan's Bu Operator are all well-known works. What's the point? " All these were praised and praised by Luo Zhi.
The original "grab? Quot people have existed since ancient times! Here, Zhang Huiyan's far-fetched theory can be said to be reasonable in general, but for the theory of "singing eyes", even this can't be done.
I always hope to see more people study and comment on English pop music; When commenting, there are few translations and many opinions; There are fewer emotional things and more rational things. I didn't expect that a qualified person I met was like a master of literary inquisition and McCarthyism. Maybe I was wrong. The popular style of writing now is not knowing what to say, just eating meat for fun.
I'm going to talk for a long time here. It's actually boring to study works of art as unearthed cultural relics. Strangely, some people are not satisfied with the appreciation they don't understand, but want to see some depth from the cracks, so I also dug some depth to see it. To truly appreciate a work of art, you don't need to study it before you appreciate it. More background knowledge may make people feel more acute, diverse and profound, but people with less background knowledge can also get beautiful, sincere, strong and gratifying feelings. No artist wants his work to give everyone the same feeling. How happy I am when I think that parsleysagerosemaryandthyme is four kinds of fragrant flowers and plants, which leads the immediate events to a distant picture with a sweet atmosphere and a harmonious picture appears in my mind. When listening to ScarboroughFair/Canticle such as If Not, he saw individual words, remembered the background concept described in the book, and remembered the image irrelevant to the content of the song. "Thousands of ordinary soldiers were destroyed on the battlefield like wild flowers." I really can't figure out what fun this appreciation is. In a quiet and clear night, you don't need songs to flow into your heart at all, but the songs in your heart rape the images, and then what do you mean?
If someone interprets parsleysagerosemaryandthyme as four kinds of seasoning plants, and the heroine is the hostess or waitress of a ScarboroughFair restaurant, it will be very credible and vivid. Because I did see a small American restaurant called ScarboroughFair on the Internet. Tens of millions of ordinary readers and listeners in Qian Qian can basically feel the whole picture of literary works from the perspective of their personal experience and their knowledge level. The important thing is that they can find special feelings. Why should they ask their feelings to conform to what they say? Why ask his feelings to conform to the author's original intention? There is only one goal of literary and artistic works, there is no right or wrong, and that is moving.