Blood Meridian – Hope of the States
Dec 11th, 2006 by Ashley
實在很想知道 HOTS 的這首歌到底跟 Cormac McCarthy 的小說 Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West 有沒有關係. 尋遍網路沒找到相關資料. (全都在跟我說這張專輯的銷售量…-_-) 不過我想是沒有. HOTS 是 Chichester 的英國團, 而 Cormac McCarthy 是美國人. Cormac McCarthy 在 1985 年出版這本”西部”小說, 評論家 Steven Shaviro 認為美國文學中只有 Moby Dick 可與其相提並論, 而本書也被 Harold Bloom 選在 “How to read and why” 中. How to Read and Why 似乎是本很有用的書, Harold Bloom 挑了18篇短篇小說, 20首詩, 15本小說, 3齣劇. 我想看了可以讓我有效率地對這些作品有些粗淺的認識, 然後再從其中挑出有興趣的來詳讀! (最後一首詩他選了 Keats 的 La Belle Dame Sans Merci, 正好是我很喜歡的 JW Waterhouse 的一幅畫的故事. 有種他鄉遇故知之感 :p)
回到音樂, 雖然看來這首歌沒有那麼了不起的背後故事, 它仍舊是一首旋律扣人撩撥心情的歌. How we ended up so cynical? What’s wrong with meaning every single thing you say and do?
The money’s running out
The casino’s burning down
The police are getting nervous
The transmission’s shot
And the schools are all locked
The offices have shut up shop
It’s quiet on the streets today
I think I know what’s going on
But I’m too scared to say
In case I got it wrong
And made a bad mistake
Emergency, emergency
Someone acted honestly
You’d better string ‘em up, tie ‘em down
Never let the news get out
Never let it happen again
Emergency, emergency
Someone meant every word they said
You should beat ‘em up, lock ‘em up
Throw away the key and
Never let it happen again
There’s a flood coming in
And the snow is coming down
There’s fighting on every corner
The troubled little kids
That were bullied at school
This is the only chance you’re getting
To stand up for the put upon
The worried and the anxious
But you’re too scared to say
That they got it all wrong
And made a bad mistake
Emergency, emergency
Someone acted honestly
You’d better string ‘em up, tie ‘em down
Never let the news get out
Never let it happen again
Emergency, emergency
Someone meant every word they said
You should beat ‘em up, lock ‘em up
Throw away the key yeah
Never let it happen again
Tell me, would you tell me
How we ended up so cynical?
You should give it up, start again
Make mistakes and try to change
Never let it happen again
Tell me what’s wrong with meaning
Every single thing you do