“唯有普啤最给力”
读完以后印象最深刻的就是中间关于诗歌的部分了。当芬恩吟诵关于斯威尼的叙事诗,沙纳汉打断插入了一大段关于“人民大众的诗人(a poet of the people, 页110)”、“开路诗人(the poet of the Pick, 页114)”詹姆·凯西(Jem Casey)的议论,并朗诵了他“无人匹敌”的一首诗—— "The Workmans Friend" 《劳动者之友》。诗的主题是喝波特普啤,每一小节的结尾都会重复:“A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN”,“唯有普啤最给力”。
不得不说,“唯有普啤最给力”这个翻译真是太洗脑,和商业广告差不多。 “普啤”、“烈啤”也是贯穿全文了。虽然詹姆·凯西这个人物“本人”在后文出现而且作了另一首格式几乎无二的诗,“劳动者是上天的礼物”(THE GIFT OF GOD IS A WORKIN' MAN), 但就冲击力和毒性而言似乎还是“普啤”胜出。
"The Workmans Friend" 《劳动者之友》 “When things go wrong and will not come right, Though you do the best you can, When life looks black as the hour of night - A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.
当你已尽力而为,而境遇并无转机,当生活一片漆黑——唯有普啤最给力。
“When money's tight and hard to get And your horse has also ran, When all you have is a heap of debt - A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.
手头紧张钱难来,马儿也把你抛弃,一无所有只背债——唯有普啤最给力。
“When health is bad and your heart feels strange, And your face is pale and wan, When doctors say you need a change, A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.
当你体弱心脏疼,面色灰白气血虚,大夫劝你换环境——唯有普啤最给力。
“When food is scarce and your larder bare And no rashers grease your pan, When hunger grows as your meals are rare - A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.
食物难觅无粮囤,锅底干烧无肉皮,吃了上顿没下顿——唯有普啤最给力。
“In time of trouble and lousy strife, You have still got a darlint plan You still can turn to a brighter life - A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.”
麻烦缠身凡事难,仍有妙计在手里,未来日子要乐观——唯有普啤最给力。
关于 Jem Casey 的“原型”,有说法是爱尔兰 “诗人神父”(“poet-priest”),James Kevin Casey (1824–1909)。(以下信息及引文大部分来自 McTiernan, John C. (1989), "Canon James K. Casey",此处可见: http://ballymoteheritage.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/17-1989.pdf ,p. 13-15)James Casey 最先引起注意的诗歌作品发表于1875,题为:Tyndall on Materialism :a philosophical poem。在网上我没有找到这首诗的具体内容,但可以知道它的大体主旨是反对爱尔兰物理学家丁达尔(John Tyndall,1820-1893,就是“丁达尔效应”的发现者)的物质主义。
而神父Casey之后发表的诗歌,大多是伦理诗,主题多为禁酒,比如:
The woes of drinks are now on every tougue, Those 'woes unnumbered' which I've lately sung, —— Not all indeed; the tongue of man would fail To name, to count or sing them in detail; And yet they grow and multiply apace, To rub, to ruin and destory our race; To blight prosperity, to nourish crime, And kill whole hecatombs before the time!
——节选自 “Our Thirst for Drink, its Cause and Cure”,见前文链接
在禁酒这个题材上,Casey神父也有比较轻松诙谐的作品,比如这首关于酒徒和威士忌的“The Toper and his Bottle” (见前文链接):
John Jameson, mavrone, John, I love your sight no more; I love you long, but now, John, My folly I deplore.
Your smile was sweet and bright, John, Your breath was like the rose; But you have been to me, John, The cause of all my woes.
I curse the day I met you, John, I curse the luckless hour I tasted first your flavoured cup, And felt its magic power.
All life to me was gladness Until I saw your face, But now my lot is bitterness Dishonour and disgrace.
这一首少了严肃的告诫意味,但还是示意饮酒是痛苦的来源,是不光彩、不体面的,甚至诗中的酒鬼也“诅咒”威士忌。这与《双鸟渡》中的劳动者诗人Jem Casey歌颂普啤截然不同。奥布莱恩为何采用这样一个完全相反的形象,不得而知。但无论如何神父Casey这一提倡禁酒的“原型”使书中的这一形象具有了更强的讽刺含义。