Saturday, January 14, 2006

Hotel California



Hotel California - The Eagles

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
在漆黑荒凉的高速公路上,凉风吹散了我的头发
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
科里塔斯温热的气息,在空中袅袅上升
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
抬头极目远方,看见微微闪烁的灯光
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
我的头脑变得沉重,我的视线越发模糊
I had to stop for the night
必须停下来了,寻找过夜的地方

There she stood in the doorway;
她就站在门廊
I heard the mission bell
布道的钟声在我耳边回响
And I was thinking to myself, "This could be Heaven or this could be Hell"
我心中暗念,“还不知道这里是地狱还是天堂”
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
这时她点起一根蜡烛,给我前面引路
There were voices down the corridor,
走廊深处一阵阵歌声回荡
I thought I heard them say...
我想我听见他们在唱。。。
"Welcome to the Hotel California
"欢迎来到加州旅馆
Such a lovely place, Such a lovely face
多么可爱的地方, 多么可爱的脸庞
Plenty of rooms at the Hotel California
加州旅馆如此多的客房
Any time of year, you can find it here "
一年四季无论何时何候,你都可以在这找到地方"


Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
带着仿佛如纱般缠绕的心思,她开着一辆梅塞德斯·奔驰
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
还带着许多漂亮迷人的小伙子,她都唤他们叫朋友
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
在庭院里他们舞的多欢,挥洒着夏日甜味的香汗
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
有人狂舞中唤起回忆,而有人狂舞着是为了忘记
So I called up the Captain, "Please bring me my wine"
于是我把主人召唤,“请给我来点酒”
He said, ’We haven’t had that spirit here since 1969’
他说,“自1969年我们这就再没那东西了”
And still those voices are calling from far away,
而那些声音依然远远传来,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
令人在午夜也会惊醒
Just to hear them say...
只听得他们在唱。。。
“Welcome to the Hotel California
“欢迎来到加州旅馆
Such a lovely place, Such a lovely face
多么可爱的地方,多么可爱的脸庞
They livin’ it up at the Hotel California
在加州旅馆他们纵情狂欢
What a nice surprise, bring your alibis”
多么美妙的惊奇呀,为你带来想要的借口!”


Mirrors on the ceiling, The pink champagne on ice
天花板上的镜子,冰上粉红色的香槟
And she said ’We are all just prisoners here, of our own device’
这时她说,“我们其实不过是这里的囚徒,甘心被自己所驱使”
And in the master’s chambers, They gathered for the feast
然后在主人房间里,他们聚集在盛宴前
They stab it with their steely knives,
挥舞着钢制的刀叉
But they just can’t kill the beast
但却就是不能刺死野兽

Last thing I remember, I was running for the door
我记得我做的最后一件事是跑向大门
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before
我必须寻找来时的路回到从前的地方
’Relax,’ said the night-man,“ We are programmed to receive.
“放松点,”值夜的说到,“我们安排好了接收,
You can checkout any time you like,
你可以在喜欢的时候结帐,
but you can never leave!”
但你却永远无法离开!”


赏析:

  1996年至今,全中国的酒吧都在播放一段音乐会现场录相:在鲜花与彬彬有礼的掌声中,几个功成名就的老家伙一字排开,抱着吉它和贝司做默契的合唱。那是老鹰乐队复出后一场著名的Unplugged Show(不插电晚会),那首随意但整齐、平淡却迷人的著名歌曲,就是他们在1976年底发表的《加州旅馆》。

  老鹰乐队是美国乃至美国文化波及到世界最为雅俗共赏的乐队,有人说他们是摇滚乐队,也有人说他们是合唱组,反正他们最拿手的,便是乡村摇滚的五重奏加上五重唱,乡村的传统情怀、摇滚的适当的动感、一层层吉它铺垫出的细致空间、一重重人声叠加的丰富和声,便是他们左右逢源的秘密。作为加州摇滚主流化之后的最成功例子,老鹰自1971年组建到1982年解散,伴随美国人度过了整个七十年代,他们不仅是格莱美大奖的常客,也是每张唱片都是金唱片的骄子,后来,更是“摇滚名人祠”和“硬石餐厅”(Hard Rock Cafe)追星式的收藏对象。就在乐队解散之后,也有Glenn Frey(格伦·弗瑞)、Joe Walsh(乔·沃尔什)、Don Henley(唐·亨利)三位分别成为歌坛巨星,其中唐·亨利的格莱美大奖作品 “The End of The Innocence”《纯真的结局》尤其深符美国人回归道德的心态:“我要记住它,亲爱的,在告别之前再给我一个吻,再让我长久地看你最后一眼。你可以把头枕在地上,让你的头发铺散在我的旁边,献出你最珍贵的防线,可这也是结局,这已是纯真的结局。”

  正如《纯真的结局》一样,当年的《加州旅馆》也是这样在旧式生活的场景中盘算着道德与美的双重意义。《加州旅馆》更像一个寓言、一次神秘的梦游,在黑暗的沙漠高速公路旁,加州旅馆宾至如归、应有尽有,灯红酒绿、美女如云,可是当“我”想要离开的时候却被告知:“你可以随时买单,但永不能离去。”歌中还有人说:“我们都是自制的牢笼中的囚徒”,这听起来颇有警世恒言的味道。然而音乐一旦响起,歌喉绽开之际,说教不见了,悲凉出现了,冷眼看世界的人满心疼痛,像是无力回天的唐僧在向神灵倾诉人间的不义与美好的不幸,而层层叠叠的铮然吉它和温厚的人声又创造了形式上的美----那网一样的听觉麻醉。在老鹰复出后的那个版本中,更有加倍的成熟男人的魅力,那谈不上沧桑,但也绝不是冲动,结果这首歌获得了意想不到的效果,它本身更加平淡从容,而听者却有更大的热情。
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Sorry everything's in Chinese. I found the reviews on a forum and the lyrics translations sound pretty good ^^ Hotel California is in my personal opinion the unparalleled timeless classic!

3 comments:

jeremy said...

That is a good song. I remember when the Eagles did that in acoustic back in the 90s. The song was on the radio all the time.

Z said...

I'm not strictly Eagles' fan because I'm only familiar with 'Hell Freezes Over'. I started listening to them because I liked Timothy's voice very much but Hotel California's always top 1 classic no matter what ^^

jeremy said...

Hotel California is actually the only Eagles song I'm really familiar with. It is one of their best.