上來先回答幾個朋友的問題。有朋友問為什麽寫了三篇就停了,難道是江郎才盡了,套用高小胖的歌詞,就是最近比較苟且,沒有時間及時把這個係列繼續寫下去,今天抽空接一下。還有一個問題是有關為什麽我一個在大蘋果郊區住的IT男會喜歡country music,其實也不是什麽特殊的原因,一個是我剛到美國在UTAH住過幾年,一種完全陌生的音樂形式突然充斥在生活的四周,耳濡目染吧,另一方麵是來自我carpool幾年的一個老同事的熏陶,他是虔誠的天主教徒,酷愛鄉村音樂,幾乎每天在車裏都會放鄉村音樂,而且是循環播放,並且經常給我講解歌曲背後的故事。
好了,還是來介紹今天推介的一首歌吧,歌名叫“He Didn't Have to Be”,是鄉村音樂巨星(是的,這位是巨星,有時間單獨介紹一下他)Brad Paisley 早期的作品。這首歌發表於1999年,一推出就登上了Billboard,並登榜長達三十周之久,還曾拿到過Billboard周冠軍。
這首歌是Brad Paisley根據他的好朋友,音樂創作搭檔Kelley Lovelace的故事創作的,它講的是一個很多現代的普通家庭無法回避的事實,一個有關單親家庭的故事。鄉村歌曲的一個重要特點就是講故事,而歌中的故事也是從一個小男孩的眼中開始的。
小男孩的媽媽是個單親媽媽,每次媽媽去相親(dating) 時就像是一次麵試,媽媽提到想要遇到一個不介意這個小男孩的存在的意中人真的好難。終於,在五歲那年,那個後來成為了小男孩繼父的男人出現了,這是第一個在和他媽媽約會時會邀請小男孩一起去看電影的男人(其他男人都隻是單獨約會他媽媽哦),後來這個男人成為了小男孩的繼父,小男孩在繼父的嗬護下快樂的成長。
第二段講小男孩長大了,結婚成家了,當他的孩子出生時,他才深深體會到,那個站在他身邊的男人(繼父)是如此偉大,給了他一個完整而幸福的童年,他希望繼父至少是他的半個父親(at least half the dad),繼父為他做了那麽多(his stepfather "didn't have to be."),給了他那麽多無私的愛。
副歌部分是反複的重放,強調同一個主題,父愛如山,即使是一個偉大的繼父也會給孩子帶來無盡的父愛。
I hope I'm at least half the dad. That he didn't have to be
在真實生活中,Brad Paisley邀請了Kelley Lovelace的繼子McCain Merren在2000年ACM大獎中做頒獎嘉賓。Brad Paisley對Kelley Lovelace說,“讓我們做一首歌,講你們兩個人的故事,肯定能讓你的妻子喜極而泣“,我相信他們做到了。
有關父親的歌曲本來就不多,而這首歌又是有關繼父,注定它會成為了一個小眾的經典,它展現一個有關親情,無關血緣的大愛情懷,簡單的說就是,愛可以消除一切的隔膜,一切的真心付出都會有美好的結果。
When a single mom goes out on a date with somebody new
It always winds up feeling more like a job interview
My momma used to wonder if she'd ever meet someone
Who wouldn't find out about me and then turn around and run
I met the man I call my dad when I was five years old
He took my mom out to a movie and for once I got to go
A few months later I remember lying there in bed
I overheard him pop the question and prayed that she'd say yes
And then all of a sudden
Oh, it seemed so strange to me
How we went from something's missing
To a family
Lookin' back all I can say
About all the things he did for me
Is I hope I'm at least half the dad
That he didn't have to be
I met the girl that's now my wife about three years ago
We had the perfect marriage but we wanted somethin' more
Now here I stand surrounded by our family and friends
Crowded 'round the nursery window as they bring the baby in
And now all of a sudden
It seemed so strange to me
How we've gone from something's missing
To a family
Lookin' through the glass I think about the man
That's standin' next to me
And I hope I'm at least half the dad
That he didn't have to be
Lookin' back all I can say
About all the things he did for me
Is I hope I'm at least half the dad
That he didn't have to be
Yeah, I hope I'm at least half the dad
That he didn't have to be
Because he didn't have to be
You know he didn't have to be
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