听歌学英语:为活而活 Life' for the Living

来自英国乐队Passenger的Life's for the Living，一首有关生命真谛的歌曲。歌词像一篇散文，也像一首诗。看似只是在毫无边际地在描述一个城以及城里住的人，却让人读出了一种不动声色的愤怒。挣扎和希望也是有的。

Well grey clouds wrapped round the town like elastic¹
乌云像橡皮筋一样裹着这个小镇
Cars stood like toys made of taiwanese plastic
静止的汽车像是台湾塑料玩具
The boy laughed at the spastic dancing around in the rain
那男孩在雨中手舞足蹈大笑着麻痹患者
While laundrettes cleaned clothes, high heels rub toes
自动洗衣店机器在轰轰运作，高跟鞋里挤着脚趾，踢踏作响
Puddles² splashed huddles³ of bus stop crows
水坑溅起水花洒了等车人一身
Dressed in their suits and their boots
这些人身穿西装皮靴
Well they all look the same
看起来千篇一律

I took myself down to the cafe
我来到咖啡馆
To find all the boys lost in books and crackling vinyl
发现所有的男孩儿要么看书要么听着歌
And carved out a poem above the urinal that read
在小便池上面刻了一首试：
Don't you cry for the lost
不要为逝者哭泣
Smile for the living
要为生者微笑
Get what you need and give what you're given
要你想要，给你所能给
Life's for the living, so live it
生活是给活人的，所以好好生活吧
Or you're better off dead
否则，你死了还好些

While the evening pulled the moon out of it's packet
傍晚把月亮掏出口袋
Stars shone like buttons on an old man's jacket
星星像老人夹克上的纽扣闪着光
We needed a nail but we tacked⁴ it 'til it fell off the wall
想有一枚钉子把它定在壁上直到它自己掉下

While pigeon's pecked trains, sparks flew like planes
鸽子啄着火车，火星像坠落的飞机
The rain showed the rainbows in the oil stains
油渍上的雨点竟然有了彩虹的踪迹
And we all had new iphones but no one had no one to call
大家都用IPHONE了，但是却无电话可打
And I stumbled down to the stomach of the town
一路跌跌撞撞到镇中心
Where the widow takes memories to slowly drown
那里，未亡人在回忆中慢慢喘不过气
With a hand to the sky and a mist in her eye she said
手向天空，眼中噙泪水，她说，

Don't you cry for the lost
不要为逝者哭泣
Smile for the living
要为生者微笑
Get what you need and give what you're given
要你想要，给你所能给
Life's for the living, so live it
生活是给活人的，所以好好生活吧
Or you're better off dead
否则，你死了还好些

Well I'm sick of this town, this blind man's forage⁵
恨这个城镇，这个盲人抢食之地
They take your dreams down and stick them in storage
他们夺走你的梦想，雪藏起来
You can have them back son
孩子你可以把它们要回
When you've paid off your mortgage and loans
这得要你偿还按揭和贷款之后
Oh hell with this place, I'll go it my own way
去你的鬼地方，我要活出自我
I'll stick out my thumb and I trudge⁶ down the highway
我会搭上便车一路向北
Someday someone must be going my way home
某天某人一定会沿着去路回家
Till then I'll make my bed from a disused car
在那之前，暂且就以旧车做床
With a mattress⁷ of leaves and a blanket of stars
以叶为席，以星为被
And I'll stitch the words into my heart
然后把那些话缝进心里
With a needle and thread
用针和线：

Don't you cry for the lost
不要为逝者哭泣
Smile for the living
要为生者微笑
Get what you need and give what you're given
要你想要，给你所能给
Life's for the living, so live it
生活是给活人的，所以好好生活吧
Or you're better off dead
否则，你死了还好些

Don't you cry for the lost
不要为逝者哭泣
Smile for the living
要为生者微笑
Get what you need and give what you're given
要你想要，给你所能给
Life's for the living, so live it
生活是给活人的，所以好好生活吧
Or you're better off dead
否则，你死了还好些

歌词解析:

Well, grey clouds wrapped round the town like elastic乌云像橡皮筋一样包裹着这个小镇
Cars stood like toys made of taiwanese plastic静止的汽车像是台湾塑料玩具
这两句话的最后两个单词做押韵用。第一个是elastic，adj. 有弹性的；灵活的；易伸缩的n. 松紧带；橡皮圈。来看一个例句：
Your skin should feel elastic. 你的皮肤会富有弹性。
This skirt needs some new elastic in the waist.这条裙子需要换一根松紧腰带。
第二个是taiwanese plastic。taiwanese当然是‘台湾人，台湾的’的意思，而后面的plastic，则有名词‘塑料；塑料制品；整形’或者adj.塑料的；可塑的；造型的；易受影响的；整形的’的意思
He is a plastic surgery specialist.他是个整形专家。
Do you take plastic money?你们收信用卡吗？

The boy laughed at the spastic, dancing around in the rain那个男孩大笑着麻痹患者/手脚笨拙的人,在雨中手舞足蹈
laugh at嘲笑； 因...而笑
If asked why, he would say that he saw nothing to laugh at. 如果有人问起他为什么不笑，他会说没有什么好笑的。
spastic：adj.痉挛的；抽筋的；笨的n.痉挛性麻痹患者

While laundrettes cleaned clothes, high heels rub toes自动洗衣店机器轰轰在运作，高跟鞋里挤着脚趾
laundrette：自动洗衣店
laundry：需要清洗的衣服。
Don't do the laundry yourself,I'll do it.
你不用亲自洗衣服，让我来。
high heels：高跟鞋

Puddles splashed huddles of bus stop crows水坑溅起水花洒了等车人一身
Puddle名词，水坑，泥潭的意思。
splash动词，溅，泼
huddle这里取其名词的意思，表‘拥挤；混乱；杂乱一团’
bus stop：公交车站
bus stop crow指的是‘公交车站前拥挤的人群’

Dressed in their suits and their boots这些人身穿西装皮靴
dressed过去分词“身穿...”，表伴随，修饰前面的crow‘人群’。suit,套装；boot靴子。

I took myself down to the cafe {k?'fe}to find all the boys lost in books and crackling vinyl.我来到咖啡馆发现所有的男孩儿要么看书要么听着歌
take someone down somewhere: down向南，带着某人向南走。...to find...却发现...，lose in book：沉迷于书，crackle vinyl，听着唱片 （crackle本意是‘裂纹；爆裂声，噼噼啪啪的声音。vinyl是唱片的意思）

And carved out a poem above the urinal that read在小便池上面刻了一首诗，写着：
carve out：刻出
urinal：小便器；小便池
that后面跟的read，意思是‘读起来是’，有点像是我们平时说的‘上面写着’。
比如，我收到了一张小纸条，上面写着：我爱你。I got a note that read ‘I love you.’

Life's for the living, so live it.Or you're better off dead.生活是给活人的，所以好好过活吧.否则，你死了还好些
the living:活着的人。the + adj的用法哦。or是否则的意思。Don't move. Or you'll die.别动，否则你会死的。
后面的be better off:没有...会更好。
I'm better off without you.没有你，我会活得更好。

And we all had new iphones but no one had no one to call大家都用IPHONE了，但是却没人可以煲电话粥
双重否定表否定。电影里经常听到。I don't do nothing 有时候一个否定不够强烈，就再加一个否定。“i don't want nothing at all”就是强烈的否定，有点“不要，啥都不要”的味儿。Don't play no trick with me(别跟我玩把戏)；I don't need no advice. (我不需要建议)

Well I'm sick of this town, this blind man's forage.They take your dreams down and stick them in storage不再爱这个小镇，这个盲人的抢食地盘。他们抢夺你的梦想然后将其雪藏
be sick of sth:对...厌倦；腻味； forage:基本意思是‘饲料’‘觅食’的意思。这里使用的是它的比喻意。stick sth in storage把...扔进仓库。

When you've paid off your mortgage and loans当你还清了你的房贷和债务
pay off是‘还清；得到报偿’
mortgage名词，按揭；抵押
housing mortgage 住房按揭
mortgage loan 按揭贷款；抵押借款

And I'll stitch the words into my heart然后把这些话缝进心里
stitch v,缝，缝合
A hole was torn in your jacket.Let me stitch it up for you.
你的上衣撕了个口子，我给你缝缝吧。

1 elastic   

n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的

参考例句：

• Rubber is an elastic material.橡胶是一种弹性材料。
• These regulations are elastic.这些规定是有弹性的。

2 puddles   

n.水坑， （尤指道路上的）雨水坑( puddle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The puddles had coalesced into a small stream. 地面上水洼子里的水汇流成了一条小溪。
• The road was filled with puddles from the rain. 雨后路面到处是一坑坑的积水。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 huddles   

（尤指杂乱地）挤在一起的人（或物品、建筑）( huddle的名词复数 )； （美式足球）队员靠拢（磋商战术）

参考例句：

• The little girl huddles herself up. 小女孩把身子缩成一团。
• The child huddles down in the bed, listening to the sound of the storm. 孩子听到雷雨声，就在床上缩成了一团。

4 tacked   

用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝

参考例句：

• He tacked the sheets of paper on as carefully as possible. 他尽量小心地把纸张钉上去。
• The seamstress tacked the two pieces of cloth. 女裁缝把那两块布粗缝了起来。

5 forage   

n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻

参考例句：

• They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
• Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。

6 trudge   

v.步履艰难地走；n.跋涉，费力艰难的步行

参考例句：

• It was a hard trudge up the hill.这趟上山是一次艰难的跋涉。
• The trudge through the forest will be tiresome.长途跋涉穿越森林会令人疲惫不堪。

7 mattress   

n.床垫，床褥

参考例句：

• The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
• The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。