【歌詞賞析】Vincent(梵谷之歌)——Don McLean

辰風
隨筆天下
Published in
7 min readJan 3, 2021

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如果說旋律一下的瞬間就認出一首歌,那麼,這首《Vincent》(梵谷之歌)可以說是最經典的例子。開頭的一句「Starry, starry night」不知勾起了多少讀者此刻的記憶。而這首歌,是1971年唐·麥克林(Don McLean)的代表作,據說是他一次在閱讀梵谷的傳記後,有感而發,手拿著梵谷的《星空》、在紙袋上振筆所寫的。

而這首歌的歌詞也十分唯美:

Starry, starry night
繁星熠熠的夜晚
Paint your palette blue and gray
彩繪著你調色盤裡的藍與灰
Look out on a summer's day
探頭望向夏日
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul
透過那洞悉我靈魂暗處的雙眼
-Shadows on the hills
山丘上的長影
Sketch the trees and the daffodils
勾勒出樹林與水仙花
Catch the breeze and the winter chills
捕捉起微風以及冬日的冷冽
In colors on the snowy, linen land
以那既雪白、又如亞麻般的大地上之色彩
-Now, I understand what you tried to say to me
如今我方明瞭,你嘗試對人們傾訴的是什麼
And how you suffered for your sanity
在清醒時有多麼煎熬
And how you tried to set them free
你是多麼想要將其解脫
They would not listen, they did not know how
人們不曾傾聽你的心聲,他們並不知如何是好
Perhaps they'll listen now
也許他們現在終於明白了
===========================Starry, starry night
繁星熠熠的夜晚
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
豔紅的花朵熒煌地燃燒著
Swirling clouds in violet haze
漩渦似的雲飄蕩在紫羅蘭色的薄霧中
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue
倒映於梵谷那中國藍的眼瞳裡
-Colors changing hue
色澤變化萬千
Morning fields of amber grain
晨間田野裡琥珀色的稻穀
Weathered faces lined in pain
橫亙於痛苦中的滄桑面容
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand
在藝術家真摯的手觸下得以被撫慰
-Now, I understand what you tried to say to me
如今我方明瞭,你嘗試對人們傾訴的是什麼
And how you suffered for your sanity
在清醒時有多麼煎熬
And how you tried to set them free
你是多麼想要將其解脫
They would not listen, they did not know how
人們不曾傾聽你的心聲,他們並不知如何是好
Perhaps they'll listen now
也許他們現在終於明白了
-For they could not love you
由於他們當初無法愛你
But still your love was true
但是你的愛依然真切
And when no hope was left inside on that starry, starry night
當那繁星熠熠的夜晚裡不存有一絲希望之時
You took your life as lovers often do
你同許多情人那樣結束了自己的生命
But I could have told you, Vincent
但願我能告訴你,梵谷啊
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you
在一個美麗如你的人面前,這個世界不再有任何意義
===========================Starry, starry night
繁星熠熠的夜晚
Portraits hung in empty halls
懸掛在空蕩大廳裡的一幅幅肖像畫
Frameless heads on nameless walls
一張張無框的頭像在不具名的牆上
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget
配上那雙凝睇著世界而無法忘懷的雙眼
Like the strangers that you've met
如同似曾相識的陌生人們
The ragged men in ragged clothes
那些衣衫襤褸的落魄人們
The silver thorn of bloody rose
血紅玫瑰上銀亮的刺
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow
碎落並鋪綴於無瑕的雪地上
-Now, I think I know what you tried to say to me
現在,我想我已知曉你想要對人們訴說什麼了
How you suffered for your sanity
在清醒時有多麼煎熬
How you tried to set them free
你是多麼想要將其解脫
They would not listen, they're not listening still
人們不曾傾聽你的心聲,此刻依舊沒有傾聽
Perhaps they never will
也許他們永遠不會
梵谷代表作《星夜》,同時也是歌曲的主軸。

梵谷一生命運多舛,也飽受精神疾病折磨,最著名的莫過於割耳事件;而在尚未年屆四十之時,便舉槍自盡。最令人惋惜的是,梵谷的作品是在死後才被人重視,從而成為一位偉大藝術家。也因此,麥克林在閱讀完梵谷傳記後頗有共鳴,才寫下了這情深意切的作品。

這首歌也點出了梵谷的畫風與幾幀作品,諸如《星夜》(The Starry Night)、《向日葵》(Sunflowers)等等。而整首歌曲的意境,最為動人之處莫過於對梵谷內心的描繪——包含他的愁緒、憂鬱、孤寂——而這些情緒在當時似乎無人願意傾聽,對此,麥克林非常感同身受,但如今只能把這份話語寄託於詞曲之中。

文生·梵谷自畫像。

整體而言,這首歌曲運用了許多對於色彩的細膩描摹、以及象徵,將梵谷的畫風與作品囊括進去詞中,充滿文學詩韻,可以說是饒富藝術氣質的傑出作品。

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辰風
隨筆天下

以創作喚醒世界,以文字灌溉靈魂。