五月里的一首歌

鲍海飞 2021-5-25

前些时日，微信中一首萨拉布拉曼演唱的歌曲吸引了我。这首歌的英文名字是First of May，就是五月一日。后来检索一下，这竟然是一首由Bee Gees于1968年创作的经典歌曲。“在随后的多年，经过很多艺人重新诠释，绽放出全新的生命，如Sarah Brightman的纯净演绎。这首歌更是成为许多电影的插曲，1971年拍摄的英国电影《两小无猜》，主要讲述两名早熟的小学生谈恋爱，由此引出不少趣事，有些伤感，是少年电影中一部十分著名的代表作。片中引用的主题曲便是《First of May》。”

    让人深感意外的是，这首歌创作灵感的起因竟然是因为一只狗。五月一日这一天，作者和他的爱人收养了一只狗。'First of May,' that was my dog's birthday. When Linda and I first moved into an apartment near St Paul's Cathedral, we got ourselves a Pyranian mountain dog and named him Barnaby. The idea came from then. Sad to say, Barnaby's gone but the song lives on.

    整首英文歌曲，简单优美，大致翻译如下，亦时亦古（白话版将在稍后给出）。

First of May （Sarah Brightman）

When I was small and Christmas tree were tall,

We used to love while others used to play.

Don’t ask me why but time has passed us by.

Someone else moved in from far away.

五月初来

昔我青春年少，仰望圣诞树高，（英文同行里有内在韵律，small和tall，）

嬉戏伙伴流年，深情你我眉梢。（汉译中也是同样的韵律）

莫问为何今朝，转眼时光溜掉，（第三句，why和by，三句与四句隔行韵）

只因伊人翩翩，已从远方来到。

Now we are tall and Christmas trees are small.

And you don’t ask the time of day.

But you and I our love will never die.

But guess we’ll cry come first of May.

如今我已长高，圣诞树却很小。

对面无言相问，逝水光阴渺渺。

真情你我之爱，永在心里深埋。

芳华五月若来，泪人你我谁晓。

The apple tree that grew for you and me.

I watched the apples falling one by one.

And as I recall the moment of them all.

The day I kissed your cheek and you were gone.

苹果树旁依稀，你我倩影迷离。(tree和me，恰好汉语依稀和迷离，同韵律)

多少孤影徘徊，苹果一一零落。

回首思绪缕缕，白云碧空飘飘。

轻吻无言花季，黯然长路君去。

Now we are tall and Christmas trees are small.

And you don’t ask the time of day.

But you and I the love will never die.

But guess we’ll cry come first of May.

如今我已长高，圣诞树却很小。

对面无言相问，逝水光阴渺渺。

真情你我之爱，永在心里深埋。（I与die，爱与埋，同韵律）

柔柔五月若来，泪人你我谁晓。（奇妙的语言）

When I was small and Christmas tree were tall,

Do do do do do do do.

Don’t ask me why but time has passed us by.

Someone else moved in from far away.

昔我青春年少，仰望圣诞树高，

都城东西漫过，东风西风劲摇。（添加了一些想象的内容）

莫问为何今朝，物是人非难晓，

只因伊人悄然，已从远方来到。