2018年经济学人 美国“灵魂歌后”艾瑞莎·弗兰克林去世 享年76岁(3)

 

She was proud to be "The Queen of Soul".

她以自己被称为“灵魂歌后”而感到自豪。

Rivals to her crown were tartly¹ taken down.

所有能够与她竞争这一称号的对手都被狠狠击败了。

Once she had sung a song she owned it, and that was that.

任何歌曲到了她的嘴里，就完全被她主宰。

Yet the last thing she wanted, offstage, was stardom.

任何歌曲到了她的嘴里，就完全被她主宰。

Young Aretha hid behind drinking and smoking;

年轻的艾瑞莎沉湎于烟酒来逃避这一切，

mature Aretha retreated to her kitchen to find comfort in banana pudding, wrapping her ballooning body in ever more satiny and sparkly gowns.

而逐渐成熟之后，她开始醉心于厨艺，在烹饪香蕉布丁的过程中寻找慰藉，也开始喜欢穿更加闪亮和艳丽的礼服，尽管自己的身体开始发福。

She did crochet², and refused to fly.

她也曾经尝试过针织，并且始终拒绝坐飞机。

"I've been in the storm too long."

“我在风暴中心呆的时间够久了”。

All she thought and felt was on display on stage.

她整天思考和感悟的事情就是在舞台上如何毫无保留地尽情地展现自己。

No one needed to climb the wall she'd built around herself.

而在生活中，她为自己筑了道高墙，把人们挡在墙外。

Someone, though, could see through that wall.

尽管如此，还是有人能够透过这层高墙进入她的内心，

He knew the things about her others only kept guessing at, such as the multiple causes of her sadness.

而其他人可能只能靠猜，这个人能够理解她如此悲伤的缘由。

He saw the bruises³ she covered up.

他看到了她掩藏的伤口。

When she teased journalists that she didn't understand when they said her songs were raunchy, she wasn't lying.

每当有记者说她的歌很下流时，她总是假装自己听不懂，她没有说谎。

The delivery might sound sexy, but they weren't about a man.

她的演唱可能听起来性感，但却与男欢女爱无关。

In her music she slipped into the zone, just as she had when she began at New Bethel Baptist, wobbling on her little chair.

在她的歌中她总是会沉浸于自我的一种境界，就像在新贝瑟尔浸礼会教堂演唱时那样，在她自己的小椅子上沉浸于自己的世界中轻声呢喃。

When she sang You make me feel like/A natural woman, head arched proudly back, one hand patting her hair, she was singing to God, just as when she screamed out her passion as a sinner cleansed⁴ by the blood of the Lamb: When my soul was in the lost and found/You came along to claim it.

当她唱着“让我感觉/像一个天然的女人”，头会自豪的向后仰，用一只手轻抚自己的头发，她在向上帝歌唱，她尽情宣泄自己的激情，那情景就像是一个罪人在接受羔羊之血的洗礼。大声歌唱：“我的灵魂失而复得，是你款款而来，认领了我的灵魂”。

And when she threw out her arms wide under the spotlights⁵, it was not to thank the fans who clamoured for her as much as to say, Precious Lord, take my hand.

当她在聚光灯下张开双臂，她不是在感谢那些为她呐喊助威的歌迷，她并非在向欢呼的观众致谢，而是在说，伟大的主啊，拯救我吧！

1 tartly   

adv.辛辣地，刻薄地

参考例句：

• She finished by tartly pointing out that he owed her some money. 她最后刻薄地指出他欠她一些钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Kay said tartly, "And you're more Yankee than Italian. 恺酸溜溜他说：“可你哪，与其说是意大利人，还不如说是新英格兰人。 来自教父部分

2 crochet   

n.钩针织物；v.用钩针编制

参考例句：

• That's a black crochet waistcoat.那是一件用钩针编织的黑色马甲。
• She offered to teach me to crochet rugs.她提出要教我钩织小地毯。

3 bruises   

n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was covered with bruises after falling off his bicycle. 他从自行车上摔了下来，摔得浑身伤痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pear had bruises of dark spots. 这个梨子有碰伤的黑斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 cleansed   

弄干净，清洗( cleanse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The nurse cleansed the wound before stitching it. 护士先把伤口弄干净后才把它缝合。
• The notorious Hell Row was burned down in a fire, and much dirt was cleansed away. 臭名远场的阎王路已在一场大火中化为乌有，许多焦土灰烬被清除一空。

5 spotlights   

n.聚光灯（的光）( spotlight的名词复数 )；公众注意的中心v.聚光照明( spotlight的第三人称单数 )；使公众注意，使突出醒目

参考例句：

• The room was lit by spotlights. 房间被聚光灯照亮。
• The dazzle of the spotlights made him ill at ease. 聚光灯的耀眼强光使他局促不安。 来自辞典例句