文科恋曲（2012）

I don’t really remember much of it,
反正做了些古怪的事
but apparently I got up to some pretty amusing antics.
所以现在他们让我看这种大部头的书
So now they’ve got me on this pretty heavy stuff,
我想是让我回归正常生活吧
which I guess allows me to function,
不过也使我很压抑
but it also makes everything seem underwater,
并不是听起来的那么好
which is not an pleasant as it sounds.
你为什么选择回来
Why’d you come back?
我妈妈是护士
My mom is a nurse.
她独自抚养我长大
She raised me on her own.
她为我付出一切
I got a full ride.
她…
She’s…
儿子能上大学 她很骄傲
so proud I’m here.
谢谢
Thanks for the lift.
亲爱的姿碧 不知道该怎样感谢你
Dear Zibby, I can’t thank you enough
把这么好的音乐介绍给我
for introducing me to this music.
我真心喜欢这些音乐
Beyond just genuinely loving it,
它潜移默化地改变了我对纽约的看法
I feel it’s quietly altering my feeling about New York City,
曾经我对纽约
With which I’ve always had
有些抵触
a slightly conflicted relationship.
假如用舒伯特和塔勒曼的音乐
I’ve found that if you replace the horns and the shouting
代替了城市中的喧嚣
with, say, Schubert or Telemann,
纽约会变得无比美丽
the city becomes unbearably beautiful.
压抑了多年的愤怒
After years of thinly disguised rage on both our parts,
被音乐化解
it’s like the music has mediated a truce between us.
一些早先的爱好
Some early favorites.
比如马斯奈特的《冥想曲》
Massenets’s Meditation.
还有什么音乐比这更美
If a more beautiful piece of music has ever been composed,
我不知道
I don’t know it.
《勃兰登堡协奏曲》是惊人的杰作
That Brandenburg concerto is no joke,
关于你对贝多芬的感想 我也有同感
and I echo your sentiment regarding Beethoven.
我不知道
I have no idea
维瓦尔第想在《朱斯蒂诺》里表达什么
what the Vivaldi piece from Giustino is actually about,
但在我看来 是欺骗
but to me, it suggests deception,
一种优雅的欺骗
some kind of elegant double-crossing.
我觉得自己就是个双料间谍
It makes me feel like I’m a double agent
沉溺在侦查行动中
knee deep in some kind of sexy espionage.
所以我觉得瓦格纳作品的序幕
I’ve decided the Wagner overture you included
应该加上警示标记
should come with a warning label.
根据一些网络研究
According to some quick online research,
17世纪歌♥剧的题材多为讲述
the opera deals with the struggle
宗教与世俗的爱情斗争
between sacred and profane love,
那是当时唯一存在的冲突
which is arguably the only struggle there is.
一天 我在过马路
The other day, I was crossing the street,
脑子里在走神
lost in my head about something,
想些最普通不过的事情
a not uncommon state of affairs.
当时正听着前奏
I was listening to the overture,
随着音乐的展开
and as the music began to swell,
我突然意识到
I suddenly realized
我有手有脚有身体
that I had hands and legs and a torso
置身于人群和车辆之中
and that I was surrounded by people and cars.
很难解释当时发生了什么
It’s hard to explain exactly what happened.
那一刻我感觉到 神明
But I felt in that moment that the divine,
如何定义都没关系
however we may choose to define such a thing,
真切存在于高楼大厦和车水马龙中
surely dwells as much in the concrete and taxicabs
一如它存在于河流 湖泊 高山中
as it does in the rivers, lakes, and mountains.
优雅 与时间无关 与空间无涉
Grace, I realized, is neither time nor place dependent.
所需的只是一首曲调
All we need is the right soundtrack.
我觉得 音乐给我的
I suppose this new infusion of music in my life is,
至少是让我重新思考
at the very least, making me reconsider
急速奔赴死亡的意义
my hastily to dead, white males.
这些都该感谢你
And I’ve you to thank for that.
你近况如何
How’s things, by the way?
你的朋友 杰西·费歇尔
Your friend, Jesse Fisher.
杰西 一切都好
Jesse, things is good,
很高兴你喜欢这些音乐
so happy you’re loving the music.
当我学习这门课程的时候
I felt my whole life got an upgrade
觉得自己的人生达到了一个新的高度
when I took that class.
最让我不可思议的是
The thing that floors me most
这些伟大的音乐是人类写出来的
is that human beings wrote that music.
现在的人们还在写这样的音乐吗
Are people writing music like that nowadays?
我从没有见过
If they are, I don’t know about it.
我希望你能喜欢
I hope you’ve fallen in love with the piece
莫扎特的《女人心》选段
from Cosi fan tutte.
当我听这段时 不知为何
I find that when I listen to it, for some reason,
觉得周围的人们突然变得可爱起来
everyone I see becomes instantly more attractive.
请你听一下 然后谈谈你的感受
Please experiment with it and get back to me.
伊丽莎白 我和你有同感
Elizabeth, you were right about the Mozart piece.
听着这段 我感觉 纽约像是个
It somehow made everyone in New York look like
充满活力的浪漫的伙伴
a viable romantic partner.
我被俘虏了
I can’t escape it any longer.
我爱上了歌♥剧
I think I like opera.
千万别告诉别人哦
You are never to tell anyone this, ever.
一定别说哦
Seriously.
你的秘密在我这很安全
Your opera secret is safe with me.
每次收到你的信
I’ve been relistening to the music
我都要重新听一遍音乐
after each of your letters.
我喜欢边看你的随想边重新品味
I like hearing your take and then revisiting them.
即便是隔着宾夕法尼亚
And even though Pennsylvania stands between us,
知道我们听着同样的音乐
knowing we’re hearing the same sounds
你也并不遥远
makes me feel you are not all that far away.
其实我想说 我想你了
If I haven’t been clear about this, I miss you.
不知道为什么
Hmm, don’t really know why.
我对你知之甚少
I barely know you.
另外 手写信
By the way, handwritten letters,
世界上最棒的东西
greatest thing in the world.
不要间断
Keep them coming.
你问为什么今天的人写不出这样的音乐
You asked why music like this isn’t being written today.
我觉得 这些作曲家用音乐表达的东西
I wonder if these composers were expressing things musically
对现代人的精神状态来说太宏大
that are too large for our current psychic state.
一切都还好
Anyway, all is fine here.
大学生活一成不变
College continues colleging along…
比如马斯奈特的《冥想曲》
Massenet’s Meditation, for instance,
我担心我的神经系统
and I worry that my nervous system
无法承受这么多的感情
is ill-equipped to contain such immensity of feeling.
我敢打赌 如果我们是同学
I bet if we went here at the same time,
一定会成好朋友
we’d have been great friends.
要让我死在音乐里吗
Will this music be the death of me?
如果我死了 那凶手就是你
If so, you’ll have blood on your hands, Elizabeth.
你怎么办
Can you deal with that?”
杰西 我很喜欢这些信
Jesse, as much as I love these letters,
还想再见你
I’d like to see you again.
越快越好
The sooner, the better.
回来看我吧
So come back here and see me.
这里的男孩们还是18到22岁
The dudes here continue to be 18 to 22 years old,
他们还是那么幼稚
and they continue to act their age,
我期盼绅士来临
I’d like a gentleman caller,
希望那个绅士就是你
and I’d like him to be you.
你永远的姿碧
Ever yours, Zibby.
亲爱的伊丽莎白 我决定接受邀请
Dear Elizabeth, I’ve decided to take you up on your offer.
我14号♥到 住在旅馆里
I’ll be getting in on the 14th and staying at the inn,
我们可以一起走街串巷
but I will be available for walks, strolls, saunters
闲逛 遛弯
ambles, and promenades.
期待与你见面
Looking forward to it.
杰西·费歇尔
Jesse Fisher.
鲍勃
So, Bob,
最近我思考了很多
I’ve been asking myself a lot of tough questions lately.
大家都觉得我不该现在退休
Everybody knows I made a whole stink
你知道 时间如此…
about leaving this place, you know, how it’s time…
但是你不能回头
How if you’d look back,
否则你会变成盐柱
you’d turn into a pillar of salt.
是的 不过