公木砸坛：我爱听的乡村音乐（4）He Didn't Have to Be
上来先回答几个朋友的问题。有朋友问为什么写了三篇就停了，难道是江郎才尽了，套用高小胖的歌词，就是最近比较苟且，没有时间及时把这个系列继续写下去，今天抽空接一下。还有一个问题是有关为什么我一个在大苹果郊区住的IT男会喜欢country music，其实也不是什么特殊的原因，一个是我刚到美国在UTAH住过几年，一种完全陌生的音乐形式突然充斥在生活的四周，耳濡目染吧，另一方面是来自我carpool几年的一个老同事的熏陶，他是虔诚的天主教徒，酷爱乡村音乐，几乎每天在车里都会放乡村音乐，而且是循环播放，并且经常给我讲解歌曲背后的故事。
好了，还是来介绍今天推介的一首歌吧，歌名叫“He Didn't Have to Be”，是乡村音乐巨星（是的，这位是巨星，有时间单独介绍一下他）Brad Paisley 早期的作品。这首歌发表于1999年，一推出就登上了Billboard，并登榜长达三十周之久，还曾拿到过Billboard周冠军。
这首歌是Brad Paisley根据他的好朋友，音乐创作搭档Kelley Lovelace的故事创作的，它讲的是一个很多现代的普通家庭无法回避的事实，一个有关单亲家庭的故事。乡村歌曲的一个重要特点就是讲故事，而歌中的故事也是从一个小男孩的眼中开始的。
小男孩的妈妈是个单亲妈妈，每次妈妈去相亲（dating) 时就像是一次面试，妈妈提到想要遇到一个不介意这个小男孩的存在的意中人真的好难。终于，在五岁那年，那个后来成为了小男孩继父的男人出现了，这是第一个在和他妈妈约会时会邀请小男孩一起去看电影的男人（其他男人都只是单独约会他妈妈哦），后来这个男人成为了小男孩的继父，小男孩在继父的呵护下快乐的成长。
第二段讲小男孩长大了，结婚成家了，当他的孩子出生时，他才深深体会到，那个站在他身边的男人（继父）是如此伟大，给了他一个完整而幸福的童年，他希望继父至少是他的半个父亲（at least half the dad），继父为他做了那么多（his stepfather "didn't have to be."），给了他那么多无私的爱。
副歌部分是反复的重放，强调同一个主题，父爱如山，即使是一个伟大的继父也会给孩子带来无尽的父爱。
I hope I'm at least half the dad. That he didn't have to be
在真实生活中，Brad Paisley邀请了Kelley Lovelace的继子McCain Merren在2000年ACM大奖中做颁奖嘉宾。Brad Paisley对Kelley Lovelace说，“让我们做一首歌，讲你们两个人的故事，肯定能让你的妻子喜极而泣“，我相信他们做到了。
有关父亲的歌曲本来就不多，而这首歌又是有关继父，注定它会成为了一个小众的经典，它展现一个有关亲情，无关血缘的大爱情怀，简单的说就是，爱可以消除一切的隔膜，一切的真心付出都会有美好的结果。
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
