Shel Silverstein与John Cash同唱父爱# LeisureTime - 读书听歌看电影
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上回aiyayayaya推荐光头大哥Shel Silverstein的儿童书，我看了几本，深感他的《
The Giving Tree》应该像安徒生的《海的女儿》一样作为小孩的必读书——事实也的
确如此，我家两个孩子都在幼儿园里读过并喜爱这本书，就是没给我科普一下。这棵给
从小长大的男孩不断奉献出苹果、树枝、树干直至生命最后的树桩的giving tree，在
我看来就像父母之爱。当用苹果卖钱发财失败、用树枝造房娶妻失败、用树干造船远行
失败的男孩伤痕累累地回到儿时的家园时，奄奄一息的老树唯一能提供的正是他唯一需
要的——一个容他坐下歇息的树桩。故事的展开使读者对老树同情渐增，对孩子责备渐
深，累积到此高潮时突然逆转——孩子在世上打拼也不容易，不断索取未必得到快乐，
不断奉献未必就是不幸。皱纹深深的孩子坐在带有他小时候画的心形印记的树桩上，“
and the tree was happy”。故事结束而余韵丰足，孩子和大树、还有读者的道德倾向
都在最后的顷刻达到一个平衡点，无所谓得失、好坏，只记取平安相处。
Shel Silverstein语言俭省而善心横溢，其画亦然。大树爱孩子就像伸出两只手：
孩子爬树不见其人，只见小手小脚：
在树上荡秋千也只露一对光脚丫：
吃苹果只画果核：
及至长大，孩子与树日渐心远，从树背后伸出的脚丫多出了一双，小时候刻的“我与大
树”的心形印记上多了另一颗心（后来被砍掉）：
孤独的大树垂手寂寞：
结尾把人和树桩缩到很小，外面的世界很宽大：
今天偶然在网上看到Shel Silverstein和六七十年代的乡村、摇滚歌星John Cash同台
演出的视频，才知道光头大哥也写歌词，弹吉他，唱歌。他谦虚快乐地说“can’t
believe I’m singing with Johnny Cash”，不在意自己的名声。他用怪炸的高音配
着John Cash的著名的低音，他的光头闪着柔和的光——是舞台光线效果好吧。他们合
唱的一段“A Boy Named Sue”是当年葛莱美乡村音乐获奖曲，是John Cash最畅销的单
曲。歌词再次体现了光头大哥对人性的宽待——三岁时被酗酒的父亲遗弃的男孩，唯一
痛恨的是父亲给他取的Sue这个娘娘腔的名字。他从小学会用暴力反击他人的嘲笑，并
发誓要杀了给他取名的男人。他长大后在一个破落的酒吧遇到他破落的父亲，两人从凶
狠肉搏到刀枪相见：
“He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile. ”
一幕即将上演的人伦惨剧又一次被光头大哥娴熟地扭转成平局：老爸说世界是残酷的，
我给你取个女人的名字，是为了让你学会你现在所有的强硬。和《The Giving Tree》
一样，读者对父亲的责难、对儿子的惋惜等道德不平感在此刻又找到了平衡，父子及读
者重归于好。
《A Boy Named Sue》的歌词充满市井少年的生动的粗话，是篇出色又曲折的成长故事
。光头大哥和John Cash合唱完一段后，又单独唱了一首纯正父爱的“Daddy, What If
”，其中装小孩的腔调十分活泼调皮。数年之后，他给《A Boy Named Sue》写了个续
曲，说只从孩子角度写爸爸不公平，要换一个老爸的角度——《The Father of a Boy
Named Sue》。这首歌词也像前一首一样既辛酸又幽默，比如“I was gettin drunk
but gettin by/Gettin old and going from bad to worse”，比如“He's screaming
about Sigmund Freud and looking grim – woo”。如果用一个词来描述光头大哥，
那就是善意的幽默。
附Shel Silverstein和John Cash合唱的视频、《A Boy Named Sue》及《The Father
of a Boy Named Sue》的歌词：
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e5ZVIpB4sw
A Boy Named Sue （1969）
My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."
Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do!
Now your gonna die!!"
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.
I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.
And he said: "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."
He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "Sue.'"
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!
The Father of a Boy Named Sue （1978）
Intro by Shel Silverstein
OK, now, years ago, I wrote a song called "A Boy Named Sue", And,
that was OK and everything except, then I started to think about it,
and I thought, It is unfair. I am, I am looking at the whole thing
from the poor kid's point of view. And as I get more older and more
fatherly, I begin to look at things from old men's point of view.
So, I decided to give the old man equal time. OK, here we go...
Yeah, I left home when the kid was three
And it sure felt good to be fancy free
Though I knew it wasn't quite the the fatherly thing to do
But that kid kept screaming and throwing up
And pissing in his pants till I had enough
So just for revenge I went and named him Sue
Yeah!
It was Gatlinburg in mid July
I was gettin drunk but gettin by
Gettin old and going from bad to worse
When through the door with an awful scream
Comes the ugliest queen I've ever seen
He says, "My name is Sue, how do you do?"
Then he hits me with his purse
Now this ain't the way he tells the tell
But he scratched my face with his fingernails
And Then he bit my thumb
And kicked me with his high heel shoe
So I hit him in the nose and he started to cry
And he threw some perfume in my eye
And it sure ain't easy fightin an old boy named Sue
So I hit him in the head with a cane back chair
And he screamed, "Hey dad, you mussed my hair!"
And he hit me in the navel and knocked out a piece of my lint
He was spittin blood, I was spittin teeth
And we crashed through the wall and out into the street
Kickin and gouging in the mud and the blood and the creme de menthe
Then out of his garter he pulls a gun
I'm about to get shot by my very own son
He's screaming about Sigmund Freud and looking grim - woo
So I though fast and I told him some stuff
How I named him Sue just to make him tough
And I guess he bought it cause now I'm living with him
Yea he cooks and sews and cleans up the place
He cuts my hair and shaves my face
And irons my shirts better than a daughter could do
And on the nights that I can't score
Well, I can't tell you any more
But it sure is a joy to have a boy named Sue
Yeah a son is fun but it's a joy to have a boy named Sue!
The Giving Tree》应该像安徒生的《海的女儿》一样作为小孩的必读书——事实也的
确如此，我家两个孩子都在幼儿园里读过并喜爱这本书，就是没给我科普一下。这棵给
从小长大的男孩不断奉献出苹果、树枝、树干直至生命最后的树桩的giving tree，在
我看来就像父母之爱。当用苹果卖钱发财失败、用树枝造房娶妻失败、用树干造船远行
失败的男孩伤痕累累地回到儿时的家园时，奄奄一息的老树唯一能提供的正是他唯一需
要的——一个容他坐下歇息的树桩。故事的展开使读者对老树同情渐增，对孩子责备渐
深，累积到此高潮时突然逆转——孩子在世上打拼也不容易，不断索取未必得到快乐，
不断奉献未必就是不幸。皱纹深深的孩子坐在带有他小时候画的心形印记的树桩上，“
and the tree was happy”。故事结束而余韵丰足，孩子和大树、还有读者的道德倾向
都在最后的顷刻达到一个平衡点，无所谓得失、好坏，只记取平安相处。
Shel Silverstein语言俭省而善心横溢，其画亦然。大树爱孩子就像伸出两只手：
孩子爬树不见其人，只见小手小脚：
在树上荡秋千也只露一对光脚丫：
吃苹果只画果核：
及至长大，孩子与树日渐心远，从树背后伸出的脚丫多出了一双，小时候刻的“我与大
树”的心形印记上多了另一颗心（后来被砍掉）：
孤独的大树垂手寂寞：
结尾把人和树桩缩到很小，外面的世界很宽大：
今天偶然在网上看到Shel Silverstein和六七十年代的乡村、摇滚歌星John Cash同台
演出的视频，才知道光头大哥也写歌词，弹吉他，唱歌。他谦虚快乐地说“can’t
believe I’m singing with Johnny Cash”，不在意自己的名声。他用怪炸的高音配
着John Cash的著名的低音，他的光头闪着柔和的光——是舞台光线效果好吧。他们合
唱的一段“A Boy Named Sue”是当年葛莱美乡村音乐获奖曲，是John Cash最畅销的单
曲。歌词再次体现了光头大哥对人性的宽待——三岁时被酗酒的父亲遗弃的男孩，唯一
痛恨的是父亲给他取的Sue这个娘娘腔的名字。他从小学会用暴力反击他人的嘲笑，并
发誓要杀了给他取名的男人。他长大后在一个破落的酒吧遇到他破落的父亲，两人从凶
狠肉搏到刀枪相见：
“He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile. ”
一幕即将上演的人伦惨剧又一次被光头大哥娴熟地扭转成平局：老爸说世界是残酷的，
我给你取个女人的名字，是为了让你学会你现在所有的强硬。和《The Giving Tree》
一样，读者对父亲的责难、对儿子的惋惜等道德不平感在此刻又找到了平衡，父子及读
者重归于好。
《A Boy Named Sue》的歌词充满市井少年的生动的粗话，是篇出色又曲折的成长故事
。光头大哥和John Cash合唱完一段后，又单独唱了一首纯正父爱的“Daddy, What If
”，其中装小孩的腔调十分活泼调皮。数年之后，他给《A Boy Named Sue》写了个续
曲，说只从孩子角度写爸爸不公平，要换一个老爸的角度——《The Father of a Boy
Named Sue》。这首歌词也像前一首一样既辛酸又幽默，比如“I was gettin drunk
but gettin by/Gettin old and going from bad to worse”，比如“He's screaming
about Sigmund Freud and looking grim – woo”。如果用一个词来描述光头大哥，
那就是善意的幽默。
附Shel Silverstein和John Cash合唱的视频、《A Boy Named Sue》及《The Father
of a Boy Named Sue》的歌词：
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e5ZVIpB4sw
A Boy Named Sue （1969）
My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."
Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do!
Now your gonna die!!"
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.
I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.
And he said: "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."
He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "Sue.'"
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!
The Father of a Boy Named Sue （1978）
Intro by Shel Silverstein
OK, now, years ago, I wrote a song called "A Boy Named Sue", And,
that was OK and everything except, then I started to think about it,
and I thought, It is unfair. I am, I am looking at the whole thing
from the poor kid's point of view. And as I get more older and more
fatherly, I begin to look at things from old men's point of view.
So, I decided to give the old man equal time. OK, here we go...
Yeah, I left home when the kid was three
And it sure felt good to be fancy free
Though I knew it wasn't quite the the fatherly thing to do
But that kid kept screaming and throwing up
And pissing in his pants till I had enough
So just for revenge I went and named him Sue
Yeah!
It was Gatlinburg in mid July
I was gettin drunk but gettin by
Gettin old and going from bad to worse
When through the door with an awful scream
Comes the ugliest queen I've ever seen
He says, "My name is Sue, how do you do?"
Then he hits me with his purse
Now this ain't the way he tells the tell
But he scratched my face with his fingernails
And Then he bit my thumb
And kicked me with his high heel shoe
So I hit him in the nose and he started to cry
And he threw some perfume in my eye
And it sure ain't easy fightin an old boy named Sue
So I hit him in the head with a cane back chair
And he screamed, "Hey dad, you mussed my hair!"
And he hit me in the navel and knocked out a piece of my lint
He was spittin blood, I was spittin teeth
And we crashed through the wall and out into the street
Kickin and gouging in the mud and the blood and the creme de menthe
Then out of his garter he pulls a gun
I'm about to get shot by my very own son
He's screaming about Sigmund Freud and looking grim - woo
So I though fast and I told him some stuff
How I named him Sue just to make him tough
And I guess he bought it cause now I'm living with him
Yea he cooks and sews and cleans up the place
He cuts my hair and shaves my face
And irons my shirts better than a daughter could do
And on the nights that I can't score
Well, I can't tell you any more
But it sure is a joy to have a boy named Sue
Yeah a son is fun but it's a joy to have a boy named Sue!
