剛剛看完 I'm Not There,是部用影像敘詩的作品;我似乎能感受詩意,但無法抓到真義。是一種虛無在心中回味的感受,卻無法用理性、價值去包裝或闡述這些感覺。這是 Bob Dylan 的傳記電影,他的音樂旅途幾經波折;他不覺得自己是民謠歌手、他不覺得一首歌能改變世界、他只是傳達他的意識。但他的音樂確實產生了什麼——音樂確實會影響些什麼。
我在 Cool for Cats 歌曲中也找到這種感覺。這首來自 Squeeze 的著名單曲出生於 1979 年,由成員 Chris Difford 填詞並主唱,旋律帶有復古色彩的 Disco 風味,讓人不自覺想擺動身體;主唱聲線完全像個不可一世的英國小伙子,就像《發條橘子》男主角一樣想撼動世界,因為他夠年輕。
The indians send signals From the rocks above the pass The cowboys take positions In the bushes and the grass
The squaw is with the corporal She is tied against the tree She doesnt mind the language Its the beating she dont need She lets loose all the horses When the corporal is asleep
And he wakes to find the fires dead And arrows in his hats And davy crockett rides around And says its cool for cats
The sweeneys doing ninety cos theyve got the word to go They get a gang of villains In a shed up at heathrow Theyre counting out the fivers When the handcuffs lock again In and out of wandsworth With the numbers on their names Its funny how their missus Always look the bleeding same
And meanwhile at the station Theres a couple of likely lads Who swear like hows your father And theyre very cool for cats Theyre cool for cats
To change the mood a little Ive been posing down the pub On seeing my reflection Im looking slightly rough I fancy this, I fancy that I wanna be so flash I give a little muscle And I spend a little cash But all I get is bitter and a nasty little rash
And by the time Im sober Ive forgotten what Ive had And evrybody tells me that its cool to be a cat Cool for cats
Shake up at the disco And I think Ive got a pull I ask her lots of questions And she hangs on to the wall I kiss her for the first time And then I take her home Im invited in for coffee And I give the dog a bone
She likes to go to discos But shes never on her own I said Ill see you later And I give her some old chat But its not like that on the tv When its cool for cats Its cool for cats
後記:Xbox 360 遊戲吉他英雄收錄這首歌,讓我有點想買「沒啥好遊戲又無特點」的 Xbox 360 啊!
我的 DVD 清單啟動。今天入手的是 I’m Not There,之前在電影院享用過,由於留下一堆謎團,勢必要親手擁有來破解它們;不過看在 Bob Dylan 類傳記電影份上,說什麼還是會擁有它的(笑)。
我從《搖滾記》認識 Bob Dylan,從中譯本滲出的詩人氣蘊已讓我回味再三,這份感受也讓我為譯者功力鼓鼓掌。接著從浦澤直樹筆下「間接」接觸Bob Dylan:漫畫《20世紀少年》主角遠藤賢知的救世歌曲《Bob Lennon》,是首結合 Bob Dylan 與 John Lennon 名字的民謠抒情作品。
然後遇見 Bob Dylan 就是在 I’m Not There。在這部電影之前,我不是 Dylan 迷;這部電影之後,容我介紹 Ballad of a Thin Man。
You walk into the room With your pencil in your hand You see somebody naked And you say, "Who is that man ?" You try so hard But you don't understand Just what you'll say When you get home.
Because something is happening here But you don't know what it is Do you, Mister Jones ?
You raise up your head And you ask, "Is this where it is ?" And somebody points to you and says "It's his" And you says, "What's mine ?" And somebody else says, "Where what is ?" And you say, "Oh my God Am I here all alone ?"
But something is happening here But you don't know what it is Do you, Mister Jones ?
You hand in your ticket And you go watch the geek Who immediately walks up to you When he hears you speak And says, "How does it feel To be such a freak ?" And you say, "Impossible" As he hands you a bone.
And something is happening here But you don't know what it is Do you, Mister Jones ?
You have many contacts Among the lumberjacks To get you facts When someone attacks your imagination But nobody has any respect Anyway they already expect you To all give a check To tax-deductible charity organizations. You've been with the professors And they've all liked your looks With great lawyers you have Discussed lepers and crooks You've been through all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books You're very well read It's well known.
But something is happening here And you don't know what it is Do you, Mister Jones ?
Well, the sword swallower, he comes up to you And then he kneels He crosses himself And then he clicks his high heels And without further notice He asks you how it feels And he says, "Here is your throat back Thanks for the loan".
And you know something is happening But you don't know what it is Do you, Mister Jones ?
Now you see this one-eyed midget Shouting the word "NOW" And you say, "For what reason ?" And he says, "How ?" And you say, "What does this mean ?" And he screams back, "You're a cow Give me some milk Or else go home".
Because something is happening But you don't know what it is Do you, Mister Jones ?
Well, you walk into the room Like a camel and then you frown You put your eyes in your pocket And your nose on the ground There ought to be a law Against you comin' around You should be made To wear earphones.
Does something is happening And you don't know what it is Do you, Mister Jones?