小夜曲: 如今

 A Little Night Music (1973)
- Now

小夜曲 (1973):如今
by 斯蒂芬·桑德海姆
飄塵譯

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyi0HXczVY0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e-wsE2217U&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB8f4HbqsWY&feature=related

Now 如今
as the sweet imbecilities 當甜蜜，傻傻的欲念
Tumble so lavishly 如此貪婪地
Onto her lap. 在她的大腿上翻滾。
Now, 如今
there are two possibilities: 這裏有兩種可能性：
A, I could ravish her, A，我會恣意她，
B, I could nap. B，我會打個盹。。

Say 說到
it's the ravishment, then we see 恣意她，我們看到的
The option 當然是，
Which follows, of course: 以下的選擇：
A, the deployment of charm, or B, A，施展魅力，或者B，
The adoption 采用
Of physical force. 體力。

Now B might arouse her, 眼下選B會把她弄醒
But let us assume 讓我們設想這樣的情景：
I trip on my trouser 我穿著褲子磕磕碰碰
Leg crossing the room... 雙腿交叉，在屋裏穿行。
Her hair getting tangled, 她的頭發紛亂如麻，
Her stays getting snapped 她的吊帶正被拉斷
My nerves would be jangled, 我的神經發生錯亂，
my energy sapped... 我大傷真元...

Removing her clothing 她脫去衣服
Would take her all day, 會用上一個整天，
And her subsequent loathing 她隨後會厭惡地
Would turn me away 把我拋在一邊，
which eliminates B 這就排除了B
Which have us with A... 我們隻能把A來選。。。。

Now 如今
Insofar as approaching it, 實現A的方式，，
What would be festive 會是什麽表演
But have its effect? 才有它的效驗？？...
Now 如今
There are two ways of broaching it: 有兩種方式交談：
A, the suggestive， A，暗示
And B, the direct.. 和B，直截了當...
Say 比如說
That I settle on B, to wit, 我選B，機智，
A charmingly 一種迷人
Lecherous mood... 好色的心情...
A， A,
I could put on my night shirt or sit 我可以穿著睡衣，或者打坐
Disarmingly, 引起她的驚奇，
B, in the nude... B，全身赤裸。。。

That might be effective, 這可能會有效果
My body all right, 我的身體還算不錯，
But not in perspective 但藝術豐采無絲毫
And not in the light... 而且不能見光照。。。

I'm bound to be chilly 我一定會覺得冷
And feel a buffoon, 感覺象個小醜，
But night shirts are silly 可這睡衣太傻了
In mid-afternoon... 又是在午後。

Which leaves the suggestive, 剩下的是暗示
but how to proceed? 如何來進行？
Although she gets restive, 盡管她的春心蠢動
Perhaps I could read... 或許我能夠讀懂。。。

In view of her penchant 基於她的愛好
For something romantic, 尋覓某些浪漫，
De Sade is too trenchant 薩德太犀利
And Dickens too frantic, 狄更斯太狂癲，
And Stendhal would ruins 司湯達將會毀掉
The plan of attack 進攻的盤算，
As there isn't much blue in 因為沒有多少藍色
The Red and the Black 在紅與黑中間。

De Maupassant's candor 德茂帕山特的坦率
Would cause her dismay, 會讓她感到沮喪，
The Brontes are grandor 勃朗特姐妹的著作宏偉
But not very gay. 但不是快樂無邊。
Her taste is much blender, 她的口味很單調，
I'm sorry to say. 我隻能說聲抱歉。
But is Hans Christian Ander- 但漢斯·克裏斯蒂安 安德森
sen ever risque? 是否一直有風險？
Which eliminates A... 這就排除了A ...

Now, 如今
With my mental facilities 我精神的設施
Partially mudded 部分已糊塗如泥
And ready to snap... 距離倒塌咫尺遠。。。
Now, 如今
Though there are possibilities 盡管有可能
Still to be studied, 依然待調研
I might as well nap... 我也可能去睡眠。

Now 如今
Though I must 雖然我必須
To adjust 調整
My original plan... 我原來的盤算
How 該如何
Shall I sleep 我才能睡在
Half as deep 半睡半醒中
As I usually can? 象通常的那般？

When now I still want and/or love you, 如今我依然想要/愛你，
now as always, 現在，象往常一般
Now, 現在
Anne... 安妮。。。

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyi0HXczVY0

Note:

1. "As there isn't much blue in"...here, blue means sex and dirty things.

2. "I could put on my night shirt or sit, Disarmingly,..." 這裏，Disarmingly 內在的涵意是“to supprise his wife by taking off his cloth ready for sex."

3. The Red and the Black 紅與黑: Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black), 1830, by Stendhal, is a historical psychological novel in two volumes,[1] chronicling a provincial young man’s attempts to socially rise beyond his modest upbringing with a combination of talent and hard work, deception and hypocrisy — yet who ultimately allows his passions to betray him.

4. De Maupassant's candor - Henri Ren Albert Guy de Maupassant (5 August 1850 - 6 July 1893) was a popular 19th-century French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents. Many of the stories are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s and several describe the futility of war and the innocent civilians who, caught in the conflict, emerge changed. He authored some 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse. The story "Boule de Suif" ("Ball of Fat", 1880) is often accounted his masterpiece. His most unsettling horror story, "Le Horla" (1887), was about madness and suicide.

5. The Brontes -were a nineteenth-century literary family associated with Haworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The sisters, Charlotte (born 21 April 1816), Emily (born 30 July 1818), and Anne (born 17 January 1820), are well known as poets and novelists. They originally published their poems and novels under masculine pseudonyms, following the custom of the times practised by female writers. Their stories immediately attracted attention, although not always the best, for their passion and originality. Charlotte's Jane Eyre was the first to know success, while Emily's Wuthering Heights, Anne's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and other works were later to be accepted as masterpieces of literature. The three sisters and their brother, Branwell, were very close and they developed their childhood imaginations through the collaborative writing of increasingly complex stories. The confrontation with the deaths first of their mother then of their two older sisters marked them profoundly and influenced their writing. Their fame was due as much to their own tragic destinies as to their precociousness. Since their early deaths, and then the death of their father in 1861, they were subject to a following that did not cease to grow. Their home, the parsonage at Haworth in Yorkshire, now the Bront□Parsonage Museum has become a place of pilgrimage for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

6. Hans Christian Andersen - Hans Christian Andersen (Danish, referred to using the initials H. C. Andersen in Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia; April 2, 1805 - August 4, 1875) was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling." During his lifetime he was acclaimed for having delighted children worldwide, and was feted by royalty. His poetry and stories have been translated into more than 150 languages. They have inspired motion pictures, plays, ballets, and animated films.

[biaochen]

回複tern2的評論:回複tern2的評論:謝謝桐兒！謝謝你fwd的連接。我抽時間去聽聽。我的那位老師在給我Stephen Sondheim 的 Finishing the Hat 時，也給了我一套CD。紐約時報(10/31/2010)的書評 (Title Isn't it Rich by Paul Simon)和華盛頓郵報(C11, Review, 10/31/2010). 因為zhiwei對Lyrics很有造詣, 所以我告訴了他我的WXC博克網址。他好像沒有在WXC開博.

[tern2]

好譯，有功底。留給之微兄來評吧：）
幾個音樂版本，這個比較清晰。
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyi0HXczVY0

[biaochen]

之微兄: 這是我翻譯Stephen Sondheim 的lyrics的草稿, 請之微兄指正，尤其是在歌詞的韻律方麵。我發現，Stephen Sondheim 的lyrics其實是當代優秀的詩歌，我隻譯了一段，就喜歡上了它們。我以後會陸續選擇性地翻譯他的這些概念音樂劇，並將它們與音樂劇的CD 連接起來，作一個Project.