美国国家公共电台 NPR--Queen Elizabeth II reigned for 7 decades, inspiring generations of songwriters

Queen Elizabeth II reigned² for 7 decades, inspiring generations of songwriters

Transcript³

The Queen made her way into generations of pop music. We listen to a portion of several songs which mention the queen — including songs by Duke Ellington, The Beatles and The Sex Pistols.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Britain's Queen Elizabeth reigned for seven decades before her death last week, and that was long enough to inspire generations of songwriters.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

They began writing about the queen soon after she took the throne in 1952. In the late 1950s, the American Duke Ellington composed "The Queen's Suite⁴."

(SOUNDBITE OF DUKE ELLINGTON'S "THE QUEEN'S SUITE")

MARTIN: This composition was just for her. It wasn't commercially released at the time. It was just a single copy of a single record. And that single pressing was presented to the queen. It's like an NFT, but she could touch it.

INSKEEP: A song by four of the queen's subjects was more widely distributed. In 1969, the Beatles slipped this on to the end of their album "Abbey Road."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HER MAJESTY")

THE BEATLES: (Singing) Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl, but she doesn't have a lot to say. Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl, but she changes from day to day. I want to tell her that I love her a lot, but I've got to get a belly⁵ full of wine. Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl. Someday, I'm going to make her mine. Oh, yeah. Someday, I'm going to make her mine.

INSKEEP: (Laughter) Impressive.

MARTIN: In the 1970s, the Sex Pistols were released this.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOD SAVE THE QUEEN")

SEX PISTOLS: (Singing) God save the queen. We mean it, man. There is no future in England's dreaming.

MARTIN: "God Save The Queen" came out in time for Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee⁶, marking 25 years on the throne. The BBC banned it as an anti-royal song. Earlier this year, the singer formerly⁷ known as Johnny Rotten clarified that he was railing against the institution, not Elizabeth.

(SOUNDBITE OF SEX PISTOLS SONG, "GOD SAVE THE QUEEN")

INSKEEP: In 2011, British folk singer and satirist⁸ Leon Rosselson released "On Her Silver Jubilee," covering the first few decades of Elizabeth's reign¹, singing about how she fulfilled her royal functions in a kind of royal trance.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ON HER SILVER JUBILEE")

LEON ROSSELSON: (Singing) Balmoral, Ascot, Sandringham, the ship launching routine, palace banquets, garden parties, ever smiling and serene⁹, unique symbol, model woman, never seen, always seen. So we watched her as she played being queen.

INSKEEP: She played the role for just over 70 years. And this is a small sampling of the music that accompanied her reign.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ON HER SILVER JUBILEE")

ROSSELSON: (Singing) And though regiments¹⁰ around her, they can't take her by surprise, she's as poised¹¹ as a picture. She's a sight for all to see. With a glass...

1 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

2 reigned   

vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式）

参考例句：

• Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静，一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

5 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

6 jubilee   

n.周年纪念；欢乐

参考例句：

• They had a big jubilee to celebrate the victory.他们举行盛大的周年纪念活动以祝贺胜利。
• Every Jubilee,to take the opposite case,has served a function.反过来说，历次君主巡幸，都曾起到某种作用。

7 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

8 satirist   

n.讽刺诗作者，讽刺家，爱挖苦别人的人

参考例句：

• Voltaire was a famous French satirist.伏尔泰是法国一位著名的讽刺作家。
• Perhaps the first to chronicle this dream was the Greek satirist Lucian.也许第一个记述这一梦想的要算是希腊的讽刺作家露西安了。

9 serene   

adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的

参考例句：

• He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
• He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多，只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。

10 regiments   

（军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物

参考例句：

• The three regiments are all under the command of you. 这三个团全归你节制。
• The town was garrisoned with two regiments. 该镇有两团士兵驻守。

11 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。