也说《加州旅馆》.doc

也说加州旅馆狂人日记里面说的清楚，“凡事须得研究，才会明白。” 加州旅馆这首歌，听是听了不少回，还真没有“研究”过。那日有个播放软件，要自动下载歌词，于是就下载了。看英文歌词，看中文歌词译文，看来看去，看得骨鲠在喉。 难怪有人觉得这首歌晦涩，除了七十年代美国的背景不了解，摇滚乐的背景不了解，咱这中文歌词翻译的那个德行，也要算一条原因吧。整个歌词我就不照抄了，那样你看着不耐烦。咱说到哪就写到哪。开头两句：Onadarkdeserthighway,coolwindinmyhair. Warmsmellofcolitas,risingupthroughtheair.什么是Warmsmellofcolitas？有人译成“科里塔斯温热的气息”，啥意思啊？蒙人吧。有人译成“仙人掌温暖的气味”，估计是瞎猜的，还真敢开口。还有人译成“浓烈的烤烟味道”，这个基本靠谱。其实应该翻译成“浓烈的大麻气味”，才对。colitas 是个西班牙字眼儿，原意是little tails, little buds，道中人用以隐指大麻。类似的隐喻还有：Thenshelitupacandleandsheshowedmetheway，字面上看，是“这时她点起一根蜡烛，给我前面引路” ，而lightupacandle也是吸毒的常用隐语。Her mind is Tiffany- twisted, she got the Mercedes bends.She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends.这几句，没有一个翻译得到家的。要点在Tiffany- twisted。“她如纱般缠绕的心思”、“她的心像打结的纱”、“ 她的心如玻璃丝扭曲”，有些人给出这样的解释，那能说的过去么？和后面几句也连不上啊。其实，Tiffany蒂芙妮是个著名的珠宝公司，1837年在纽约开张。只有知道了这一点，才能明白Tiffany和后面的Mercedes梅塞德斯并列的妙处和确切意思。注意看，Benz奔驰 变成了bends，也有和twisted配对的意思。有人翻译成“她的心灵被珠宝所扭曲”，意思是点到了，但是缺少了原文修辞的漂亮劲儿。Danny觉得，可以这样解：她酷爱蒂芙妮，倾心梅塞德斯，身边有好多漂漂亮亮的男孩，她把他们称作朋友。”AndshesaidWearealljustprisonershere,ofourowndevice这句被翻译的五花八门。Danny认为，“我们都不过是作茧自缚”，比较妥当。而“Whatanicesurprise,bringyouralibis”这句，我把它理解为“这样的惊喜，给了你再来逍遥的理由”。 有人译成“多么美妙的惊奇呀，为你带来想要的借口”，说什么呢， 呵呵。Andinthemasterschambers,Theygatheredforthefeast这句，有人竟然翻译成，“在主人的卧室，他们正在聚餐”。在卧室聚餐！这不是扯淡么。Chambers这个字，确实不好找。Danny的意思，叫做会所或者沙龙比较好。Chambers of Commerce意思是商会。 IhadtofindthepassagebacktotheplaceIwasbefore Relax,saidthenight-man, Weareprogrammedtoreceive. Youcancheckoutanytimeyoulike, Butyoucanneverleave!这几句里面Weareprogrammedtoreceive.是个要点。有人译成“我们安排好了接收”、“我们只是照常接待”等等，意思根本顺不下来。直译为“我们注定要接受”的话，意思就对了。Danny这样往下顺：我必须找到归路，回到我原来的地方。“不要慌”守夜人说，“我们注定要遭受各种诱惑。你喜欢的话，可以随时结账，但是你未必真能永远离开。”全部歌词如下。考虑到押韵的需要，我把上面翻译的句子，做了一点点调整，还自作主张的分了自然段：On a dark desert highway cool wind in my hair黑暗的沙漠公路，凉风掠过我的头发，Warm smell of colitas rising up through the air空气中飘散的，是气味浓烈的大麻。Up ahead in the distance I saw a shimmering light远处，我看见闪闪烁烁的灯光，My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim头发沉，眼犯困，I had to stop for the night我得停车住它一个晚上。There she stood in the doorway;她就站在门口，I heard the mission bell我听见教堂的钟声在响，And I was thinking to myself我心里琢磨，This could be Heaven or this could be Hell这里也许是地狱，也许是天堂。Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way她点燃蜡烛，为我指点门径，There were voices down the corridor,走廊那端，有好多人在说话，I thought I heard them say.我听见他们好像在说，Welcome to the Hotel California欢迎来到这个旅馆加利福尼亚。Such a lovely place多么有趣的地方，Such a lovely face多么可爱的脸庞。Plenty of room at the Hotel California加利福尼亚旅馆很大，Any time of year, you can find it here一年四季你都可以订到房。Her mind is Tiffany- twisted, she got the Mercedes bends她酷爱蒂芙妮，倾心梅塞德斯，She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends她称作朋友的那些男孩，个个都很俊朗。How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.庭院热舞，夏日香汗。Some dance to remember, some dance to forget有些舞是为了记住，有些却是为了遗忘。So I called up the Captain,于是我招呼领班，Please bring me my wine“请给我拿酒来。”He said, We havent had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine“没烈酒可卖了”，他说，“从1969直到现在。”And still those voices are calling from far away,那些声音依旧在远处咿咿呀呀，Wake you up in the middle of the night你在深夜惊醒，Just to hear them say.只听到他们在说，Welcome to the Hotel California欢迎来到这个旅馆加利福尼亚。Such a lovely place多么有趣的地方，Such a lovely face多么可爱的脸庞。They livin it up at the Hotel California他们在加利福尼亚旅馆徜徉。What a nice surprise, bring your alibis这样的惊喜，给了你再来逍遥的理由，Mirrors on the ceiling,天花板上的镜子，The pink champagne on ice和冰镇的玫瑰香槟酒，And she said ，We are all just prisoners here, of our own device她却说，“我们都只不过是作茧自缚哦。”And in the masters chambers,在主人的会所里头，They gathered for the feast他们聚餐，They stab it with their steely knives,挥刺的钢刀在手，But they just cant kill the beast却不能杀死心中的野兽。Last thing I remember, I was最后我只记得， Running for the door跑往大门的方向I had to find the passage back我必须找到归路，To the place I was before回到我原来的地方。Relax, said the night man,“不要忙，”守夜人说，We are programmed to receive.“我们注定要遭受的诱惑，会不断地来，You can checkout any time you like,你喜欢的话，可以随时结账，but you can never leave但是你未必真能永远离开。”那么，加州旅馆究竟在哪里？历来颇多猜测。下面这段话，算是终结吧。“We were all middle-class kids from the Midwest,” Henley said of the Eagles. “Hotel California was our interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles. It was meant to be a metaphor for the United States, for the excesses th