美国国家公共电台 NPR John Lydon On Anarchy, Politics And 'Mr. Rotten's Songbook'

John Lydon On Anarchy¹, Politics And 'Mr. Rotten's Songbook'

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Does the name Johnny Lydon ring a bell? OK, what if I gave you the name of his alter ego², Johnny Rotten?

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

SEX PISTOLS: (Singing) God save the queen, the fascist³ regime.

MARTIN: That is the voice of the lead singer of the 1970s British punk band the Sex Pistols. Now, John Lydon is channeling Johnny Rotten in a new way. He has published a book with the words to every song he has ever written. NPR's Mandalit del Barco caught up with the musician.

JOHN LYDON: Hello. How are you?

MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE⁴: Johnny Rotten is now 61 years old. He may be a bit rounder than he was in his youth but still has an impish glare and spiky⁵ hair. He's still punk rock.

LYDON: I'm a natural born anarchist⁶ (laughter). I've never in my life supported any government anywhere and I never will.

DEL BARCO: He was born John Lydon, the son of working class Irish immigrants in London. When he was 7 years old, he contracted spinal⁷ meningitis.

LYDON: Which damn well nearly killed me. Apart from surviving that, it was the lack of memory when I came out of the coma⁸. And it took me some four years to fully⁹ recover properly.

DEL BARCO: He says that experience fueled the turmoil¹⁰ he felt as a teenager in the 1970s, when he was recruited to join the Sex Pistols as Johnny Rotten.

LYDON: It's my nickname. It was given to me because I had green teeth.

DEL BARCO: Lydon railed against the establishment, religion and politics, singing, anger is an energy. You can hear it in his lyrics¹¹, which he's collected into "Mr Rotten's Songbook." He flips¹² through the 300-page limited edition book that he illustrated¹³ himself with doodles and sketches¹⁴.

LYDON: So I could put myself right back in the moment and know what it was that was thundering away between me ears to make me write these lyrics. And here we are, yes, "Anarchy" to be sung with love. And I've got nice little anarchists¹⁵ running around with swords and the black and red anarchist flag and then, of course, the union jack¹⁶.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ANARCHY IN THE U.K.")

SEX PISTOLS: (Singing) Anarchy for the U.K. is coming sometime. And maybe I give a wrong time, stop a traffic line. Your future dream is a shopping scheme.

DEL BARCO: Lydon wrote "Anarchy In The U.K." in 1976, a week before writing his sarcastic¹⁷ "God Save The Queen."

LYDON: I think I hit on the right note and tone of a country that was on the verge¹⁸ of a, yeah, a political collapse¹⁹. You know, very rigid²⁰ conservative government who were just not open minded about anything. Beginning to sound familiar, isn't it?

BRIAN COGAN: He wrote songs that were really designed to impress shock and also challenge.

DEL BARCO: Brian Cogan is the author of "The Encyclopedia²¹ Of Punk."

COGAN: Lydon has always been sort of a trickster fellow that is there to disrupt.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HOLIDAYS IN THE SUN")

SEX PISTOLS: (Singing) I didn't ask for sunshine, and I got World War III. I'm looking over the wall, and they're looking at me.

COGAN: His lyrics had insight. They were witty²². They were biting. And he was always trying to upset people in a lot of ways and trying to get them to rethink what they thought about the world.

DEL BARCO: After the Sex Pistols broke up, Lydon formed Public Image Ltd. He wrote songs like "Death Disco" which he says was a tribute to his late mother, and "Rise," an anthem²³ against apartheid in South Africa.

LYDON: This is my international letter to the world. It's about decency²⁴ to your fellow human beings. Your time has come, your second skin. You could be black. You could be white.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "RISE")

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD: (Singing) I could be right. I could be wrong. I could be white. I could be black.

DEL BARCO: Lydon's songbook is electic and includes words to "Psycho's Path" about serial²⁵ killer²⁶ John Wayne Gacy, and "Out Of The Woods" about Confederate General Stonewall Jackson.

LYDON: Me war epic²⁷.

DEL BARCO: In "Deeper Waters," Lydon documented his underwater adventure wearing an old-fashioned diving suit to see sharks up close.

LYDON: Going blub-a-lub (ph), you know, 500 pounds of iron wrapped around your head. I could not move not one inch. Monstrous²⁸ sharks were hovering²⁹ around.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DEEPER WATER")

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD: (Singing) I will not drown.

DEL BARCO: Lydon says he was inspired to compile the songbook after playing a gig in China a few years ago. He says government officials there insisted on reading his lyrics before allowing him to perform.

LYDON: I felt the Chinese would be most wicked on censorship. No, welcome arms. So, you know, I don't need to yodel on about Tibet. I need to, like, sing my stuff to the peoples out there.

DEL BARCO: These days, Lydon lives with his wife in Los Angeles near the ocean. And over the years, he's made changes.

LYDON: I really liked what Obama was promising³⁰. And that's when I became an American citizen.

DEL BARCO: When the conversation turns to President Trump³¹, Lydon is provocative³² as always.

LYDON: (Laughter) I think he's absolutely magnificent. He's a total cat amongst the pigeons. It's got everybody now involving themselves in a political way. And I've been struggling for years to get people to wake up and do that.

DEL BARCO: As he heads off to promote his songbook at a record store, John Lydon - Johnny Rotten - bids farewell.

LYDON: May the road rise with you and your enemies always be behind. May you scatter³³, flatter, batter³⁴ and shatter.

DEL BARCO: Mandalit del Barco, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF PUBLIC IMAGE LTD SONG, "RISE")

1 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

2 ego   

n.自我，自己，自尊

参考例句：

• He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
• She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。

3 fascist   

adj.法西斯主义的；法西斯党的；n.法西斯主义者，法西斯分子

参考例句：

• The strikers were roughed up by the fascist cops.罢工工人遭到法西斯警察的殴打。
• They succeeded in overthrowing the fascist dictatorship.他们成功推翻了法西斯独裁统治。

4 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。

5 spiky   

adj.长而尖的，大钉似的

参考例句：

• Your hairbrush is too spiky for me.你的发刷，我觉得太尖了。
• The spiky handwriting on the airmail envelope from London was obviously hers.发自伦敦的航空信封上的尖长字迹分明是她的。

6 anarchist   

n.无政府主义者

参考例句：

• You must be an anarchist at heart.你在心底肯定是个无政府主义者。
• I did my best to comfort them and assure them I was not an anarchist.我尽量安抚他们并让它们明白我并不是一个无政府主义者。

7 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

8 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

9 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。

10 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

11 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。

12 flips   

轻弹( flip的第三人称单数 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• Larry flips on the TV while he is on vacation in Budapest. 赖瑞在布达佩斯渡假时，打开电视收看节目。
• He flips through a book before making a decision. 他在决定买下一本书前总要先草草翻阅一下。

13 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

14 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 anarchists   

无政府主义者( anarchist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Anarchists demand the destruction of structures of oppression including the country itself. "无政府主义者要求摧毁包括国家本身在内的压迫人民的组织。
• Unsurprisingly, Ms Baburova had a soft spot for anarchists. 没什么奇怪的，巴布罗娃女士倾向于无政府主义。

16 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

17 sarcastic   

adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的

参考例句：

• I squashed him with a sarcastic remark.我说了一句讽刺的话把他给镇住了。
• She poked fun at people's shortcomings with sarcastic remarks.她冷嘲热讽地拿别人的缺点开玩笑。

18 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

19 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

20 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

21 encyclopedia   

n.百科全书

参考例句：

• The encyclopedia fell to the floor with a thud.那本百科全书砰的一声掉到地上。
• Geoff is a walking encyclopedia.He knows about everything.杰夫是个活百科全书，他什么都懂。

22 witty   

adj.机智的，风趣的

参考例句：

• Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
• He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

23 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。

24 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

25 serial   

n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的

参考例句：

• A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
• Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？

26 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

27 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

28 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！

29 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

30 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

31 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

32 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

33 scatter   

vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散

参考例句：

• You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
• Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。

34 batter   

v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员

参考例句：

• The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
• Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。