英譯現(xiàn)代散文●從《老黑奴》說起 ◎ 蕭乾

從《老黑奴》說起

Old Black Joe and Other Songs

◎　蕭乾

◎　Xiao Qian

1985年5月，我去武漢參加“黃鶴樓筆會”那次，東道主湖北省文聯(lián)曾邀請來自各地的作家們乘豪華的長江客輪，暢游三峽。我曾在秋天去過三峽。春日的三峽風光明媚，更加清麗可人。同船的還有個外國旅游團，是由抗戰(zhàn)時在滇緬前線同我們并肩作戰(zhàn)過的美國名將史迪威的女兒南西率領(lǐng)的。船航到神女峰腳下時，我們正在甲板上舉行著一次聯(lián)歡會。他們鼓掌一定要我們也出個節(jié)目。為了表示友好，我們幾個就湊在一起(記得有宗璞、艾蕪、鄒荻帆、綠原和黃裳)用英語唱了一首《老黑奴》。唱得當然十分蹩腳：聲音既不洪亮，肯定還常走調(diào)。這是一支十分凄涼的歌曲，黑人厭倦了塵世，聽到已死去的親人的呼喚，渴望奔向另一世界。所以在疊句歌里就反復唱著：我來啦，我來啦。

In May 1985, I went to Wuhan to attend the Huanghelou Writers' Forum. The Hubei Federation of Literary and Art Circles, acting as host for the event, invited us, writers from all over the country, to go on a delightful trip to the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River by luxury liner. Having previously visited the autumn scene of the Three Gorges, I now found it even more picturesque and enchanting in spring. On the same ship was an American tourist group headed by Nancy, daughter of famous US general Joseph Warren Stilwell, who served in China during World War II, fighting side by side with Chinese soldiers against Japan on the Yunnan-Burma front. When the ship arrived at the foot of Mount Goddess, we were in the midst of a get-together on deck. The American friends, clapping their hands, persistently called on us for a performance. So, to be friendly, we, including Zong Pu, Ai Wu, Zou Difan, Lu Yuan and Huang Chang, if I remember correctly, grouped together to sing in English the American folk song Old Black Joe. Our vocal performance, as expected, turned out lousy. We sang in a low and unclear voice, and evidently out of tune again and again. It was a very sad and plaintive song. The said Black Joe, being sick and tired of the mortal world, longs to go to a better world on hearing the gentle voice of his departed folks calling,“Old Black Joe!”Hence the refrain,“I'm coming, I'm coming!”

這樣充滿悲哀情調(diào)的歌，與當時甲板上的歡樂氣氛，實在很不諧調(diào)?？墒浅曛?，居然博得了美國旅伴們一陣熱烈的掌聲。我們這些平素伏案爬格子的對自己這一番反串，倒也頗有些飄飄然。我們得意的不一定是因為那掌聲，而是對自己感到既愉快又吃驚：這么多年，竟然還沒把它忘掉!

The song, full of pathos, was completely out of harmony with the joyous atmosphere of the moment on deck. Nevertheless, we won the warm applause of our American fellow travelers. Writers by profession, we felt quite self-satisfied after acting a role other than our own. But we felt pleased with ourselves not because of the warm applause, but because we were surprised to find ourselves still remembering the words of the song after so many years.

這首歌的歌詞和曲調(diào)都同出自19世紀中葉美國作曲家斯蒂芬·福斯特之手。他出生于1826年，一共只活了短短的38年。南北戰(zhàn)爭打響兩年后(1864)，他就去世了?？上覜]讀過他的傳記，他肯定十分同情黑人并為他們抱不平的。我熟悉好幾首他編的描述黑人生活的歌曲，像《雙親在家園》(1851)。我還有幸在倫敦的一次音樂會上，聽過著名黑人歌手保羅·羅伯遜唱過《老人河》。那次，他還唱了咱們的《游擊隊之歌》。

Both the words and tune of the song were written by Stephen C. Foster, famous American composer of the 19th century. Born in 1826, he died in 1864, two years after the outbreak of the American Civil War, ending a short life of only 38. Much to my regret, I haven't read any of his biographies yet. He must have had every sympathy with Black Americans and championed justice to them. I'm familiar with quite a few songs of his composition describing the sad plight of Blacks, such as Old Folks at Home (1851). I was happy to listen to famous Black singer Paul Robeson sing Old Man River at a concert in London. He then also sang our Song of Guerillas.

很奇怪，河的形象時常在黑人的歌曲中出現(xiàn)。像“遠遠地在斯旺尼河上”。也許他們在美國南方那一望無際的旱地上干活，受著白人的虐待，心里渴望有一片水。

Strangely, Black people often sing of rivers in their songs, as witness“Way down upon the Swanee River, far, far away”in Old Folks at Home. It is perhaps because they were dying for water while toiling under White tyranny on the boundless stretch of arid land in the southern states.

天堂也經(jīng)常在黑人歌曲中出現(xiàn)。處于絕境的人們就是靠這種幻想來解脫一些痛苦。

Likewise, heaven often appears in their songs. It is because people in a hopeless situation often indulge in fantasies to free themselves from innermost sufferings.

福斯特也有些歌寫得輕快。像他的《蘇珊娜》(1848)就描繪出一個歪戴寬沿草帽，無憂無慮的牛仔在追求著他心愛的姑娘。他在歌中除了抒發(fā)黑人在奴役中的痛苦之外，也親切地描繪了他們的生活。像《我的肯塔基故鄉(xiāng)》就富于泥土氣息，真切生動地唱出了美國南方黑人的生活情景：“玉米穗成熟。牧場遍地花怒放;小鳥終日歌唱好悠揚，娃娃滾戲小農(nóng)舍地板上。”不過歌曲仍是在憂傷中結(jié)束的：

Some of Foster's songs are nevertheless very lively. Take Oh! Susanna (1848) for example. It describes how a care-free cowboy, tilting his broadbrimmed straw hat sideways, is paying court to a girl he loves. It depicts not only the misery of the enslaved Blacks, but also their way of life. My Old Kentucky Home, for example, is a song full of local color. See the following genuine and vivid picture it gives of the life of the Blacks in the southern states:“The corn top's ripe and the meadow's in the bloom. While the birds make music all the day, the young folks roll on the little cabin floor.”But the song still ends up with grief:

莫再哭泣，姑娘，今天莫再哀傷，

Weep no more, my lady, oh! Weep no more today!

我們唱一支歌，為肯塔基故鄉(xiāng)，

We will sing one song for the old Kentucky Home,

為那遙遠的肯塔基故鄉(xiāng)。

For the old Kentucky Home, far away.

當然，有些流傳到中國的美國歌曲描繪的不一定都是黑人的生活。我記得有一支曲子是寫鐵路建筑工人的。這里也可以看到19世紀美國向西部開發(fā)時的艱苦。

Of course, not all American songs prevalent in China are about the life of Black people. One of them, I remember, is about American railway workers, showing the great hardship they suffered during the 19th-century westward development of the country.

同樣流行于30年代的一首外國歌曲是《伏爾加船夫曲》。像咱們的四川號子一樣，這里描繪的是在伏爾加河上拉纖的俄羅斯河工的苦狀。他們背著纖繩，彎著腰，哎喲嗬，哎喲嗬地吆喝著，呻吟著。一把又一把地捯著，吃力地向前踏步。

Another foreign song popular in China during the thirties was The Song of the Volga Boatmen. Like the Sichuan labor chant, it describes the misery of Russian boat-trackers along the Volga River. They bend their shoulders to the tow-line, chanting in a loud voice,“Yo heave oh! Yo heave oh!”They inch forward laboriously, pulling the line hand over hand.

這些外國歌曲那時在中國那么風行，當然是因為它們歌詞樸素，曲調(diào)又瑯瑯上口，但我認為這還不是主要的。這里既包含著中國人民對于美國黑奴以及伏爾加河纖工的深切同情，同時，也抒發(fā)了我們自己在生活中的怨艾。當時的中國，也是喘息在列強的重壓之下。北京東交民巷的圍墻上還有對著市民的黑洞洞的炮眼，上海馬路還有紅頭阿三在巡邏。正因為如此，在中國戲劇史上最早上演的外國話劇是《黑奴吁天錄》(如今改譯為《湯姆叔叔的小木屋》)。

The erstwhile popularity of these songs in China was no doubt due to their simple and readable words. But, I think, that is not the main cause. In fact, it had much to do with the deep sympathy of the Chinese people for Black Americans and Volga boat-trackers. Meanwhile, it also reflect our own feeling of resentment against foreign aggressors. In those days, dark portholes trained on Chinese residents were still lurking on top of the walls surrounding the Legation Quarter in Beijing. And turbaned Indian policemen were patrolling the streets of Shanghai. That also accounts for why Uncle Tom's Cabin was the first foreign play ever staged in China.

歌曲的流行，往往是由于引起共鳴。

Songs often owe their popularity to the sympathetic response of the public.

蕭乾(1910—1999)原名蕭炳乾，著名老報人、作家、翻譯家。所著《從〈老黑奴〉說起》一文原載1992年4月6日《羊城晚報》。