A Whiter Shade Of Pale （蒼白的淺影）

兩年前， 去了趟 Key West. 在Mallory Square 廣場的岸邊看日落 時， 旁邊有位街頭藝人，用吉他彈唱這首歌。當時聽不懂歌詞，但對歌曲的旋律印象很深。 

後來才知道， 這首歌講述的是：drug addiction, hard trip， overdose and death 的經曆。 據說你怎麽去理解歌詞都可以。聽的時候， 有什麽樣的心情， 就會有什麽樣的感受。 

A Whiter Shade of Pale 

We skipped the light Fandango

Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor

I was feeling kind of seasick

But the crowd called out for more

The room was humming harder

As the ceiling flew away

When we called out for another drink

The waiter brought a tray.

 

And so it was that later

As the Miller told his tale

That her face, at first just ghostly

Turned a whiter shade of pale

 ------ organ solo ------

 She said there is no reason

And the truth is plain to see

But I wandered through my playing cards

And would not let her be

One of sixteen vestal virgins

Who were leaving for the coast

And although my eyes were open

They might just as well've been closed

 She said, I 'm home on shore leave,

Though in truth we were at sea

So I took her by the looking glass

And forced her to agree

Saying, you must be the mermaid

Who took Neptune for a ride

But she smiled at me so sadly

That my anger straightway died

 

If music be the food of love

Then laughter is its queen

And likewise if behind is in front

Then dirt in truth is clean

My mouth by then like cardboard

Seemed to slip straight through my head

So we crash-dived straightway quickly

And attack the ocean bed

  

我倆輕舞於曼妙燈光裏

優雅地環繞著舞池

我感到有些暈眩

但人群不斷喝采

整個房間都鼓噪起來

連天花板都要被掀出去

當我們另外點飲料

侍者隻端來碟子

 

然而過一會兒之後

主人開始訴說她的故事

她的臉龐如初生般的朦朧

變為一抹幽暗的蒼白

 ------ organ solo ------

 她說, 人世間是沒有理性

且真相是顯而易見的

但我卻迷失於紙醉金迷裏

不致使她成為

獻身神祇的女尼

孤伶地前往海濱

雖然我的雙眼是雪亮的

它們仍好象是閉起來似的無知

 

她還說, 我在返家的陸岸上

即使實際上我們還身在大洋中

因此我帶著她透過鏡子

強迫她不斷去妥協

我說, 妳必定是人魚

傳說中帶著海神遨遊

但她對我的笑意是如此悲戚

以致使我怨憤消失殆盡

 

倘若音樂是愛情的食糧

笑聲則是音樂之根本

同樣的如果後者顛倒在前方

灰塵實際上也可說是幹淨的

我的嘴當時如同紙板

溜也似的滑過腦海

因而我們急速地往下潛航

到達無人探知的深海底