公木
Being an American is not a patent of privilege but an invitation to adventure.
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
And his stepdad "didn't have to be" his dad (he could've fathered another kid). But -- the stepdad chose to do it anyway.