Hamilton歌词补充(1)
Notes:
作者的历史水平和记忆力都十分有限,下面的总结是基于R.Chernow传记的阅读笔记,如果出现与事实相悖的情况,还请包容指正。
本篇文章包含的内容全都是传记中比较浅显易懂的、对我个人印象深刻的故事,如果想深入了解,还是推荐亲自阅读传记以及一手资料。不过当我刚刚看完Ham的时候,十分迫切地渴望了解一些歌词背后的故事。现在读了一些东西,希望能对有同样需求的朋友们提供一些帮助。
ACT 1
Alexander Hamilton
How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten
spot in the Caribbean by Providence impoverished in squalor
grow up to be a hero and a scholar?
汉密尔顿的母亲是一位十分传奇的人物,在和前夫生下一子之后,她义无反顾地选择逃离这个家庭,被前夫诉至法庭,在监狱里关押了数月。监狱的条件十分恶劣,里面都是道德败坏、穷困潦倒的犯人和遭处罚的黑人奴隶。汉密尔顿的母亲或许是历史上这所监狱唯一收容的女性囚犯。
出狱后,汉密尔顿的母亲没有屈服于前夫,而是逃至临近的小岛。在那里她邂逅了汉密尔顿的父亲,一位失败的苏格兰贵族。他家世显赫,可是懒惰且没有头脑,来到加勒比海后很快破产,只能靠家族接济。汉密尔顿对他的这位后来不告而别的父亲的怜悯多余埋怨,甚至在他后人的印象里,这位毫无责任心的男人只是过于“爱空想”了。
另外一点需要指出的是,当时的加勒比海群岛和我们现在想象中的有些区别,它们是重要的贸易中枢,在那里上层白人的生活质量甚至比大部分美国人都要好一些,可惜这与汉密尔顿无关。
The Ten dollar, founding father without a father
got a lot farther by working a lot harder
by being a lot smarter by being a self-starter
by fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter
汉密尔顿没有名义上的生父。他的母亲被前夫起诉通奸罪,离婚后被剥夺再婚的权利。汉密尔顿准确来说是一个没有身份的“杂种”。同时历史学界有一种猜测,汉密尔顿的父亲并非是那个苏格兰没落贵族,而是一个商人。汉密尔顿和商人的儿子爱德华是关系非常好的朋友,而且他们的长相惊人地相似。后来爱德华在纽约上大学,之后回到岛上行医,最后又来到费城。他与汉密尔顿的友谊一直持续了几十年,在汉密尔顿夫妇被黄热病折磨的时候,如同天降奇兵一般,是他这位童年好友治好了他们。
And every day while slaves were being slaughtered and carted away
across the waves he struggled and kept his guard up
Inside he was longing for something to be a part of
the brother was ready to beg steal borrow or barter
加勒比海群岛上并没有政府,一切靠当地的居民自治。这也是汉密尔顿如此痛恨无政府主义的原因:他在童年时期看到了太多不公正和暴力。奴隶的待遇尤其悲惨。但值得一提的是,汉密尔顿的母亲拥有三个奴隶,并靠出租他们维持生活。
Then a hurricane came and devastation rained
our man saw his future drip-dripping down the drain
put a pencil to his temple connected it to his brain
and he wrote his first refrain a testament to his pain
飓风来袭之后,汉密尔顿给他的父亲写了一封信(这时他早就离开了他们,但还是和儿子们保持书信联络)。这本是一封私人信件,因为行文太过优美和震撼,和汉密尔顿交好的诺克斯神父劝他发表。实际上,最开始汉密尔顿还不是很想公开这封信,而在他同意之后,他的命运就此改变。
对于这位恩人诺克斯神父,汉密尔顿理应充满感激。在独立战争期间,他们常常通信,可是战后的财政部长汉密尔顿就不再怎么与他通信了,这让收不到回信的诺克斯十分苦恼。关系生疏的几年后诺克斯过世,汉密尔顿为他撰写了悼词。
Well the word got around they said this kid is insane man
took up a collection just to send him to the mainland
Get your education don't forget from whence you came. And the world is gonna know your name.
What's ya name, man?
汉密尔顿并没有忘记自己的故乡,故乡是他身上永远的耻辱,政敌们常常因为他的出身攻击他。他很少谈起自己的童年经历,很少有人知道这位国父曾经经历过如此的坎坷,反而恶毒地抓住这个把柄。直到几十年后、政治失意时,汉密尔顿才终于可以以轻松的口气与艾丽莎谈起他的故乡:“或许是由于我是一名克里奥尔人的缘故,[比起送馅饼给佩吉],我对[购买螃蟹]更有好感。”
他和故乡的人很少联络,和当时的赞助人很少联络。但是对于其中帮了他很多忙的一位亲戚,他在临终前嘱咐艾丽莎好好照顾她。
Alexander Hamilton.
My name is Alexander Hamilton.
And there's a million things I haven't done.
But just you wait, just you, wait.
When he was 10, his father split
Full of it, debt-ridden
Two years later, see Alex and his mother, bed-ridden
Half-dead, sittin' in their own sick, the scent thick
And Alex got better but his mother went quick
汉密尔顿母亲去世的时候,很可能汉密尔顿就躺在她的身边苟延残喘。而当她下葬的时候,这个孤儿已经可以出席她的葬礼了(“I couldn’t seem to die”)。汉密尔顿母亲留下来的为数不多的财产全都被判给了她与前夫的儿子(也就是被她抛弃的那个孩子),汉密尔顿和他的哥哥,由于没有正式身份,一分一毫都没有得到。
后来在纽约的政坛,汉密尔顿曾经赞成过两个议案。第一是禁止犯过通奸罪的女性再婚,而当时加勒比海岛上,正是这条法律剥夺了汉密尔顿的正式身份。第二是赋予单亲母亲杀害刚出生子女的权利。读到这里的时候我十分震撼,当时汉密尔顿是纽约议员,政坛上冉冉升起的新星,或许在他心里,依然隐隐希望自己从未出生过?
Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide
Left him with nothin' but ruined pride
Somethin' new inside
A voice saying Alex, you gotta fend for yourself
He started retreatin' and readin' every treatise on the shelf
汉密尔顿一直有阅读的习惯。他喜爱阅读,这让他在加勒比海岛上成为了被别人嗤笑的异类。汉密尔顿尤其喜欢古罗马的英雄故事,不过这大概是那个年代人的共同爱好,后来与政敌笔锋相向的时候,他往往用古罗马的罪人比喻他的政敌(然后也会被骂回来)。比如杰弗逊曾指责他崇拜古罗马独裁者凯撒(实际上是无稽之谈)。汉密尔顿也喜欢使用这些英雄的名字作为自己的笔名,似乎从始至终这段历史对他有莫大的吸引力,似乎荣耀地战死对他有莫大的吸引力。
汉密尔顿最后居住的别墅里有千余本藏书。
There would've been nothin' left to do
For someone less astute
He would've been dead and destitute
Without a cent of restitution
Started workin', clerkin' for his late mother's landlord
Tradin' sugar cane and rum and other things he can't afford
在贸易公司工作的经历给汉密尔顿后来财政部长的工作打下了坚实的基础。他知道贸易对国家经济的重要性(而南方人还在畅想小作坊和种植园的田园牧歌生活)同时也十分了解这些公司走私的方式,这促使他后来建立海岸自卫队。汉密尔顿对细节十分讲究,甚至对船上钉子的长度、建造方式、海员制服都颇为苛求,在我看来吹毛求疵了。
Scannin' for every book he can get his hands on
Plannin' for the future, see him now as he stands on
The bow of a ship headed for a new land
In New York you can be a new man (x4) In New York (New York) Just you wait (x3)
Alexander Hamilton
We are waiting in the weeds for you
You could never back down
You never learned to take your time
Alexander Hamilton
America Sings for you
Do they know what you overcame
Do they know you control your name
The world will never be the same, oh
The ship is in the harbor now
See if you can spot him
Another immigrant comin' up from the bottom
His enemies destroyed his rep, America forgot him
We, fought with him
Me, I died for him
Me, I trusted him
Me, I loved him
And me, I'm the damn fool that shot him
There's a million things I haven't done, but just you wait
Whats ya name man?
ALEXANDER HAMILTON
后面的歌词里没有什么特别想补充的,就不说了!感谢您阅读到这里。大部分补充都是按照我的记忆写的,并没有查书,欢迎指正和补充。
TBC
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