听英文歌曲解析歌词:Cotton Field

Cotton Field

When I was a little bitty baby,
My mama would rock me in the cradle,
In them old cotton field back home.

It was down in Louisiana,
Just about a mile from Texarkana,
In them old cotton field back home.

And when them cotton ball get rotten,
You can't pick very much cotton,
In them old cotton field back home.

歌词大意

当我还是个小婴孩时，
妈妈常把我放在摇蓝里摇着我，
在家乡那片老棉花田里。

我的家乡在路易斯安那，
离泰克萨卡那一英里，
在家乡那片老棉花田里。

噢，当棉花桃腐烂时，
你就摘不到多少棉花，
在家乡那片老棉花田里。

歌词、句型分析

1．When I was a little bitty baby，my mama would rock me in the cradle in them old cotton field back home．
= When I was still an infant，my mum would rock me to sleep in my cradle on the farm back in my hometown．
当我还是一个小婴孩时，妈妈在家乡那片老棉花田里常把我放在摇蓝里哄我睡觉。
bitty（形容词）意为：少许，一点点，细短的。
例：a little bitty baby = a baby infant
小不点，一丁点大的婴孩。
Rock vt.摇动，使前后（左右）
例：The earthquake rocked the house．
那场地震使房屋摇动着。
Rock:一般是指激烈地咯咯摇动。
Swing:指下垂的东西摆动。
Sway:指树枝等的摇动。
cradle：摇篮、发源地、婴儿时期。
例：The baby is sleeping in the cradle．
婴儿在摇篮里睡觉。
The Yellow River，cradle of Chinese civilization
黄河——中国文明的摇篮
The girl has been sickly from the cradle．
那个女孩从幼年起便身体虚弱。
From the cradle to the grave
自生到死；一辈子。
in them old cotton field．此短语中的them，本应为the或their，从用词上我们可以看出美国南部的乡下人没有受过良好的教育，用them来代替the或their，这是他们的习惯；另一方面，这种用法是Black English（黑人英文）的一个特征。因此，我们说这首歌曲与黑人有关。

2．It was down in Louisiana，Just about a mile from Texarkana．
= My hometown is down in the southern state of Louisiana，which is about a mile from Texarkana．
我的家乡在路易斯安那，离泰克萨卡那一英里。

3．Oh，when them cotton ball get rotten，you can't pick very much cotton in them old cotton field back home．
= Oh，when the cotton balls get rotten，you won't have any harvest in their old cotton field．
噢，当棉花桃腐烂时，你就不会有什么收成。
cotton ball之后应加上“s”表示复数，此处又出现语法上的错误，再次说明他们的文化水平很低。
get rotten：变坏，腐烂。（表示一个变化过程，get是系动词）
作为系动词的词还有：turn，become，grow，prove，run，go，fall等等。
例：These methods have proved effective in English teaching．
在英语教学中，这些方法证实有效。
Leaves turn yellow in autumn．But when spring comes，they turn green again．
秋天树叶变黄，但当春天来临时，树叶又变绿。
Rotten a.由动词rot变来的。
rot：腐烂，使腐败。
“腐烂”的英语表示方法有：decay， rot， putrefy， spoil， crumble¹， molder， disintegrate²， decompose³
These verbs all refer to gradual change resulting in destruction or dissolution.
这些动词都表示导致毁灭或分解的逐步变化。
Decay denotes a falling away from soundness; it may imply a stage in deterioration⁴ short of complete destruction:
Decay 表示从完好健全的状态变弱；指未达到彻底毁灭状态时的恶化阶段：
Dentists advise their patients to brush and floss regularly to prevent their teeth from decaying.
牙医建议他们的病人定期刷牙并用洁牙线剔牙，防止蛀牙。
Rot is sometimes synonymous with decay ( wood that had rotted), but it often, like putrefy, stresses a stage of deterioration marked by offensiveness to the sense of smell:
Rot 有时与decay 的词义一样( 已经腐烂了的木头)， 但正如putrefy， 该词经常强调恶化的阶段，伴有显著的令人作呕的气味：
Animal flesh that rots is attractive to vultures.
动物腐烂的肉体对兀鹰很有吸引力。
The intact carcass of the prehistoric⁵ animal was prevented from putrefying by the arctic cold.
史前时期动物的完整尸体，是由于北极严寒的保护不致腐烂。
Spoil usually refers to the process by which perishable⁶ substances, especially food, become unfit for use or consumption:
Spoil 通常指食物等易坏的物质变得不能使用或消费的过程：
I put the veal⁷ scallops into the refrigerator before they could spoil.
在小牛肉可能变质前，我把它们搁在冰箱里。
Crumble implies the physical breakdown⁸ of a substance into small fragments or particles:
Crumble 是物质分裂成碎片的意思：
We saw the remains⁹ of an ancient church that had crumbled¹⁰ to ruins. To
我们看到了那座已变成废墟的古教堂。
molder is to crumble to dust:
molder 指化为尘土：
Her grandmother's shawl had moldered away in the trunk.
她奶奶的围巾已经在箱子里腐烂了。
Disintegrate refers to complete breakdown into component¹¹ parts and implies the destruction of usefulness or integrity:
Disintegrate 指完全分裂成组成部分，意味着功能整体的被破坏：
The sandstone fa?ade had disintegrated¹² from long exposure to the elements.
由于长期暴露在自然环境中，沙岩的表面已经风化了。
Decompose, largely restricted to the breakdown of substances into their chemical components¹³, also connotes rotting and putrefying, both literally¹⁴ and figuratively:
Decompose 主要限于指物质分裂成其化学组成成份，含有腐朽、腐烂的意思，既可以从字面上来理解，也可以从喻意上来理解：
“trivial personalities¹⁵ decomposing¹⁶ in the eternity¹⁷ of print” (Virginia Woolf).
缺少才华的作家逐渐从永恒的书籍世界中消失 （维琴尼亚·沃尔夫）
pick：摘、采（花、果实等）
例：She was picking flowers in the field．
她在地里摘花。
Pick apples 摘取苹果；
pick out 挑出，选出。

1 crumble   

vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁

参考例句：

• Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
• Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

2 disintegrate   

v.瓦解，解体，（使）碎裂，（使）粉碎

参考例句：

• The older strata gradually disintegrate.较老的岩层渐渐风化。
• The plane would probably disintegrate at that high speed.飞机以那么高速飞行也许会四分五裂。

3 decompose   

vi.分解；vt.（使）腐败，（使）腐烂

参考例句：

• The eggs began to decompose after a day in the sun.鸡蛋在太阳下放了一天后开始变坏。
• Most animals decompose very quickly after death.大多数动物死后很快腐烂。

4 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

5 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

6 perishable   

adj.（尤指食物）易腐的，易坏的

参考例句：

• Many fresh foods are highly perishable.许多新鲜食物都极易腐败。
• Fruits are perishable in transit.水果在运送时容易腐烂。

7 veal   

n.小牛肉

参考例句：

• She sauteed veal and peppers,preparing a mixed salad while the pan simmered.她先做的一道菜是青椒煎小牛肉，趁着锅还在火上偎着的机会，又做了一道拼盘。
• Marinate the veal in white wine for two hours.把小牛肉用白葡萄酒浸泡两小时。

8 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

11 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

12 disintegrated   

v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The plane disintegrated as it fell into the sea. 飞机坠入大海时解体了。
• The box was so old;it just disintegrated when I picked it up. 那箱子太破旧了，我刚一提就散了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

14 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

15 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

16 decomposing   

腐烂( decompose的现在分词 )； （使）分解； 分解（某物质、光线等）

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the overpowering stench of decomposing vegetation. 空气中充满了令人难以忍受的腐烂植物的恶臭。
• Heat was obtained from decomposing manures and hot air flues. 靠肥料分解和烟道为植物提供热量。

17 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。