生前碌碌，死後揚名：凡高結束自己生命之前可曾預料到？百年之後，空蕩蕩的大廳裏的畫展，一個與他同樣熱愛生命、同樣熱愛藝術的歌手站在他的作品前，告訴他，“文森特，如今我才明白，你想對我說些什麽”，“可我無法告訴你，這個世界從來不如你那樣美好”。——雪白的亞麻布上，藍與灰的幻化、樹林或是水仙、鋪天蓋地的卷曲的雲，都是畫家傾注心血的創作。為了更明亮些，為了更自由地表達。——凡高所傳達的信息，多少人真的懂了？“They would not listen, they're not listening still. Perhaps they never will.”
Vincent
Don Mclean
Starry, starry night, paint your palette blue and gray
Look out on a summer's day with eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills, sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills in colors on the snowy linen land
Now I understand what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity, and how you tried to set them free
They would not listen they did not know how, prhaps they'll listen now
Starry, starry night, flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue, colors changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain, weathered faces lined in pain
are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand
Now I understand what you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity, and how you tried to set them free
They would not listen they did not know how, prhaps they'll listen now
For they could not love you, but still your love was true
And when no hope was left inside on that starry, starry night
You took your life as lovers often do
But I couldn’t have told you Vincent
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you
Starry, starry night, portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget
Like the strangers that you've met, the ragged men in ragged clothes
A silver thorn of bloody rose lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow
Now I think I know, what you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity, and how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they're not listening still
Perhaps they never will
重點講解
Vincent Van Gogh 文森特凡高，繼倫伯朗之後荷蘭最偉大的具有世界性影響的畫家。他的作品色彩多明亮、鮮豔，傳達的是“能吞沒一切的熱情”。
daffodil n. 水仙化 patette n. 調色板
chill n. 寒意，寒顫 sketch v. 繪草圖，素描
linin a. 亞麻布製成的 sanity n. 心智健全
flaming a. 色彩鮮明的 swirl v. 使成旋渦
violet a. 紫羅蘭色的 haze n. 薄霧，陰霾
blaze v. 燃燒，照耀 hue n. 色調，顏色
amber a. 琥珀色的 weathered a. 風幹的，風化的
sooth v. 真實再現 frameless a. 沒有加框的
thorn n. 荊棘 line v. 使有線條，使起皺紋
portrait n. 肖像 ragged a. 粗糙的，襤褸的
Morning fields of amber grain, weathered faces lined in pain
are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand
清晨田野裏琥珀一樣的稻穗和遠處那些被風雨剝蝕的臉孔
在藝術家靈性的手上得到真實的再現
when no hope was left inside on that starry, starry night
You took your life as lovers often do
星夜下，當心中再沒有一絲希望
你也象戀人們常做的那樣，結束了自己的生命
Portraits hung in empty halls, frameless heads on nameless walls
那曾是無名的自畫像就懸在空蕩蕩的大廳裏一麵無名的牆上
A silver thorn of bloody rose lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow
血色的玫瑰莖上銀白的利刺折斷了,在初雪的大地上被碾成塵埃
They would not listen, they're not listening still
Perhaps they never will
這些他們不想聽，他們沒有在聽，或許他們永遠也不會聽
在我的音樂典藏裏隻有三類歌：第一類歌是以優美的旋律刺激我的神經；第二類歌是以深刻蘊意撥動我的心弦；第三類歌當然是以至高境界——詞曲的完美結合來征服我的靈魂。
《Vincent》這首歌雖然隻是屬於第二類，但是它卻是我的摯愛。不知道為什麽，每次聽到這首歌時，總有一種莫名的心痛揮之不去。一半當然是因為 Vincent·Van·Gogh，另一半是因為這首歌的創作者——Don·Mclean。《Vincent》是Mclean欣賞了凡高的作品《星空》之後激情創作的。這首歌的曲風同其它鄉村民謠相比，並
無異質，還是那種散發著淡淡的幽香的小品文風格。它的過人之處在於它那發人深省的歌詞上。Mclean 用他那詩人般的手筆向我們展示了一幅又一幅的優美畫卷，同時也以他那天才般的敏銳洞悉出凡高內心的苦楚，表達了對這位天才畫家的深深的理解與敬意。歌中 Mclean 用極盡絢爛的詞藻來描繪凡高的畫，旨在表現凡高那燦若向日葵般的生命。當凡高躺在弟弟提奧德懷裏靜靜的離開這個世界上時，他才37歲。天才的生命總是異常的短暫，但卻絢爛若夏花。凡高以如火的熱情暢遊於藝術的海洋，雖然周遭充滿了鄙夷與曲解，雖然他時常被饑餓與寒冷折磨，但是他那永不枯竭的創作靈感從來沒有被不公的命運所扼殺。他以驚人的創作力為世界藝術寶庫留下了以筆巨大的財富。然而，天才不是神人。他同凡人一樣，他也會彷徨，也有脆弱的時候。所以， Mclean又以樸實無華的語言來傾訴凡高內心的痛苦，以象“when there is no hope left inside on that starry starry night,you took your life as lovers often do.”這樣淒婉的語句來暗示凡高的自殺。
從這首歌中，我們不難體會到一種英雄惜英雄的情感。Mclean 是一位才華橫溢的民謠歌手，但是他的星途卻充滿坎坷，他總是被美國的主流音樂排斥在外。他曾經淪落到街頭唱歌的地步，這不失為一種悲哀。其實整首歌也是 Mclean在向世人訴說自己的苦痛。他以極為柔和的歌調折射出滿腔的哀怨。但我想說的是，因為天才總是被世俗所曲解，所以能洞悉天才內心的人本身就是天才。讓我們向凡高和Mclean這兩位天才致敬吧。
http://thelastndr.org/musicMP3/vincent.mp3
