美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Don't Stop Believin＂ Goes On And On, Because We Need It To

 

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'")

JOURNEY: (Singing) Don't stop believin'.

NOEL KING, HOST:

You don't stop hearin' it. Journey debuted¹ this song in 1981. It was a Top 40 hit back then, and "Don't Stop Believin'" has become even more popular over the last 38 years. As part of our American Anthem² series, Roben Farzad of member station VPM has the story of a song that's become an inspiration for people across generations.

ROBEN FARZAD, BYLINE³: Jonathan Cain was a struggling, down-on-his-luck rocker in the 1970s. He was ready to quit the LA music scene.

JONATHAN CAIN: Everything had been going wrong - girlfriend left; dog got hit by a car. I called my father for some money. I said, Dad, I'm out of cash here.

FARZAD: Cain asked his dad if he should move back to Chicago.

CAIN: And he told me - you know, we've always had a vision, son, and don't stop believing. And so I had a lyric⁴ book next to me, and I wrote it down in my lyric book.

FARZAD: He finally got his big break when Journey recruited him as its new keyboardist. Frontman Steve Perry asked Jonathan Cain to write a song for the upcoming album, "Escape." Cain's dad's advice inspired his insistent⁵ and now-famous piano opening.

(SOUNDBITE OF JOURNEY SONG, "DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'")

FARZAD: Steve Perry brought soaring vocals⁶.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'")

JOURNEY: (Singing) Oh, the movie never ends. It goes on and on and on and on.

FARZAD: And Neal Schon, his guitar sounding like a midnight train whizzing right past you.

(SOUNDBITE OF JOURNEY SONG, "DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'")

FARZAD: The song builds and releases, culminating in the chorus, finally arriving more than three-quarters of the way into the track.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'")

JOURNEY: (Singing) Don't stop believin'. Hold on to that feeling. Streetlights, people, oh.

FARZAD: Critic Deborah Frost didn't even mention "Don't Stop Believin'" by name in her record review for Rolling Stone, which gave the Journey album two out of five stars.

DEBORAH FROST: I would have given it a minus a hundred - just incredibly cheesy, cheesy track.

FARZAD: Maybe so, but it's incredibly popular.

According to Nielsen Music, "Don't Stop Believin'" now holds the record as the most downloaded 20th-century song. A song birthed in the era of mixed tapes and rock radio found its glory in the era of binge TV and streaming.

Its revival⁷ started with Adam Sandler's 1998 comedy "The Wedding Singer." In 2003, Charlize Theron used "Don't Stop Believin'" in her Oscar-winning turn in "Monster." In 2007, "The Sopranos" ended with that tense diner scene soundtracked to "Don't Stop Believin'." Downloads of the songs soared. Then, in 2009, the hit TV show "Glee" covered the song.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'")

GLEE CAST: (Vocalizing).

FARZAD: Again, downloads - both the original track and the "Glee" cover - spiked⁸. It landed in a Broadway musical, as the rally song for the Chicago White Sox's 2005 World Series run. "Don't Stop Believin'" is an anthem for persevering⁹ and keeping the faith. The singer in a smoky room and smell of wine and cheap perfume evokes¹⁰ Jonathan Cain's struggling days on LA's Sunset Strip.

CAIN: And I said, I really believe this song is about wanting to make it. You know? And you're not stuck where you think you're stuck in life - you know? - that you're able to get out the same way I got out of Chicago - to not stop believin'.

FARZAD: And here's where the story takes an unlikely turn. Steve Perry left the band in 1998. And for a decade, Journey could not find the lead singer who could pull off Perry's legendary¹¹ tenor¹² altino.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'")

JOURNEY: (Singing) Hiding somewhere in the night.

FARZAD: Guitarist Neal Schon was desperate. Late one night on YouTube, he discovered a lounge singer in the Philippines covering the band's ballads¹³. He reached out to the young man, Arnel Pineda, a formerly¹⁴ homeless kid. He thought he was being pranked. In 2007, the band flew him to the U.S. and hired him - a fairy tale story that was the subject of the documentary "Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey." Here's Pineda singing with Journey.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "DON'T STOP BELIEVIN': EVERYMAN'S JOURNEY")

ARNEL PINEDA: (Singing) Just a small town girl living in a lonely world, she took the midnight train going anywhere.

FARZAD: Arnel Pineda says the story of "Don't Stop Believin'" felt like his own story after living on Manila's streets and sleeping in a park. He spoke¹⁵ with Oprah Winfrey in 2009.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "OPRAH")

PINEDA: I never dreamed that big. All I wanted was, you know, to be able to get out of it - the pain and the poverty - you know? - live decently.

UNIDENTIFIED DJ: Brett (ph), come on up.

FARZAD: A world away in Richmond, Va., the spirit of the song animates¹⁶ karaoke night. It's midnight Tuesday at Sticky Rice, a sushi joint¹⁷ that hosts the college town's most raucous¹⁸ singalong. The restaurant is fully¹⁹ packed, and the line is out the door.

UNIDENTIFIED DJ: So ladies and gentlemen, don't be shy. Here we go.

FARZAD: Twenty-somethings Shilpa Gangisetty and Matt Malone are tonight's lucky believers, prevailing²⁰ over at least five other karaoke-ers who requested the Journey anthem.

SHILPA GANGISETTY: I'm an Indian American, actually, and this song is something that my parents know. And this came out right before my parents came to this country. So it's really interesting because there aren't too many cultural things that we can relate on, but I know this is a song that my dad knows.

MATT MALONE: It's like Itsy Bitsy Spider or Miss Mary Mack. But like...

GANGISETTY: Exactly.

MALONE: ...Once you get into middle school, it's like "Don't Stop Believin'." And like, that - you have to know it.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: No, it was good for me.

MALONE: Everybody hates to love it.

FARZAD: Even the folks stuck outside - they're under a streetlight - press against the windows and mouth lyrics²¹.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Singing) Just a small town girl living in a lonely world, she took the midnight train going anywhere. Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit...

FARZAD: Whether you sing along ironically or straight - whether it won you over on rock radio, mixtape, iTunes, binge TV or at acapella lessons - it's a mainstay at bar mitzvahs and weddings. For whatever reason, "Don't Stop Believin'" is an anthem for sticking it out. And it goes on and on.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T STOP BELIEVIN' [TECHNO REMIX]")

JOURNEY: (Singing) ...In the night.

FARZAD: For NPR News, I'm Roben Farzad.

(SOUNDBITE OF JOURNEY SONG, "DON'T STOP BELIEVIN' [TECHNO REMIX]")

1 debuted   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末，全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队，推出。
• The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名，很快就取得了白金销量。

2 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 lyric   

n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的

参考例句：

• This is a good example of Shelley's lyric poetry.这首诗是雪莱抒情诗的范例。
• His earlier work announced a lyric talent of the first order.他的早期作品显露了一流的抒情才华。

5 insistent   

adj.迫切的，坚持的

参考例句：

• There was an insistent knock on my door.我听到一阵急促的敲门声。
• He is most insistent on this point.他在这点上很坚持。

6 vocals   

（乐曲中的）歌唱部份，声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外，也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
• Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线，较懒惰的鼓，饮小提琴，棒的钢琴和无比的声音。

7 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

8 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

9 persevering   

a.坚忍不拔的

参考例句：

• They will only triumph by persevering in their struggle against natural calamities. 他们只有坚持与自然灾害搏斗，才能取得胜利。
• Success belongs to the persevering. 胜利属于不屈不挠的人。

10 evokes   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• Each type evokes antibodies which protect against the homologous. 每一种类型都能产生抗同种病毒的抗体。

11 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

12 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

13 ballads   

民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴

参考例句：

• She belted out ballads and hillbilly songs one after another all evening. 她整晚一个接一个地大唱民谣和乡村小调。
• She taught him to read and even to sing two or three little ballads,accompanying him on her old piano. 她教他读书，还教他唱两三首民谣，弹着她的旧钢琴为他伴奏。

14 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。

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 animates   

v.使有生气( animate的第三人称单数 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命

参考例句：

• The soul animates the body. 灵魂使肉体有生命。 来自辞典例句
• It is probable that life animates all the planets revolving round all the stars. 生命为一切围绕恒星旋转的行星注入活力。 来自辞典例句

17 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

18 raucous   

adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的

参考例句：

• I heard sounds of raucous laughter upstairs.我听见楼上传来沙哑的笑声。
• They heard a bottle being smashed,then more raucous laughter.他们听见酒瓶摔碎的声音，然后是一阵更喧闹的笑声。

19 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

20 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

21 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。