If you had caught me straight out of college in the halls of the Vermont State House where I was a lobbyist in training and asked me what I was going to do with my life, I would have told you that I'd just passed the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, the Chinese equivalency exam, and I was going to go study law in Beijing, and I was going to improve U.S.-China relations through top-down policy changes and judicial system reforms. (Laughter) (Applause) I had a plan, and I never ever thought it would have anything to do with the banjo.
Da ste me uhvatili negdje baš nakon koledža u hodnicima Vermont State House-a gdje sam radila praksu kako bih postala lobist i pitali me što ću napraviti sa svojim životom rekla bih vam da sam upravo položila Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, kineski test ekvivalencije, i da idem studirati pravo u Peking, i da ću poboljšati odnose između Sjedinjenih Država i Kine kroz utjecaj na javne politike, odozgo prema dolje, i kroz reforme pravosudnog sustava. (Smijeh) (Pljesak) Imala sam plan i baš nikad mi nije palo na pamet da bi mogao na bilo kakav način biti povezan s bendžom.
Little did I know what a huge impact it would have on me one night when I was at a party and I heard a sound coming out of a record player in the corner of a room. And it was Doc Watson singing and playing "Shady Grove." ♫ Shady Grove, my little love ♫ ♫ Shady Grove, my darlin' ♫ ♫ Shady Grove, my little love ♫ ♫ Going back to Harlan ♫ That sound was just so beautiful, the sound of Doc's voice and the rippling groove of the banjo. And after being totally and completely obsessed with the mammoth richness and history of Chinese culture, it was like this total relief to hear something so truly American and so truly awesome. I knew I had to take a banjo with me to China.
Nisam mi slutila kako će ogroman biti njegov utisak na mene jedne noći na zabavi kada sam čula zvuk kako dolazi iz muzičke linije u uglu sobe. Bio je to Doc Watson, pjevao je i svirao "Shady Grove." ♫ Shady Grove, moja mala ljubavi ♫ ♫ Shady Grove, moja draga ♫ ♫ Shady Grove, moja mala ljubavi ♫ ♫ Vraćaš se u Harlan ♫ Taj je zvuk bio toliko lijep, zvuk Docovog glasa, i valovite brazde zvuka bendža. I nakon što sam bila sasvim i potpuno opsjednuta ogromnim bogatstvom i poviješću kineske kulture, bilo je to potpuno olakšanje čuti nešto tako suštinski američko i tako suštinski fenomenalno. Znala sam da moram ponijeti bendžo sa sobom u Kinu.
So before going to law school in China I bought a banjo, I threw it in my little red truck and I traveled down through Appalachia and I learned a bunch of old American songs, and I ended up in Kentucky at the International Bluegrass Music Association Convention. And I was sitting in a hallway one night and a couple girls came up to me. And they said, "Hey, do you want to jam?" And I was like, "Sure." So I picked up my banjo and I nervously played four songs that I actually knew with them. And a record executive walked up to me and invited me to Nashville, Tennessee to make a record.
Tako sam, prije polaska na studij prava u Kinu, kupila bendžo, ubacila ga u svoj mali crveni kamion, i zaputila se niz Apalače, i naučila gomilu starih američkih pjesama, i završila u Kentackyju, na Međunarodnoj konvenciji glazbenog saveza Bluegrass-a. Sjedila sam u hodniku jedne noći kada mi je prišlo nekoliko djevojaka. Pitale su me: ''Hej, hoćeš svirati s nama?" "Naravno!", rekla sam. Uzela sam svoj bendžo, i nervozno odsvirala one četiri pjesme koje sam zapravo znala s njima. Tada mi je prišao direktor izdavačke kuće i pozvao me u Nashville, Tenessee da snimim ploču.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
It's been eight years, and I can tell you that I didn't go to China to become a lawyer. In fact, I went to Nashville. And after a few months I was writing songs. And the first song I wrote was in English, and the second one was in Chinese.
Otad je prošlo osam godina, i mogu vam reći da nisam otišla u Kinu kako bih postala odvjetnica. Otišla sam umjesto toga u Nashville. I nakon nekoliko mjeseci, pisala sam pjesme. Prva koju sam napisala bila je na engleskom, druga na kineskom.
(Music)
(Glazba)
[Chinese]
(Pjeva na kineskom)
Outside your door the world is waiting. Inside your heart a voice is calling. The four corners of the world are watching, so travel daughter, travel. Go get it, girl.
♫ Pred tvojim vratima čeka svijet. ♫ ♫ U tvome srcu doziva glas. ♫ ♫ Sve četiri strane svijeta promatraju, ♫ ♫ i zato putuj, kćeri, putuj. ♫ ♫ Idi, zgrabi to, djevojko. ♫
(Applause)
(Pljesak)
It's really been eight years since that fated night in Kentucky. And I've played thousands of shows. And I've collaborated with so many incredible, inspirational musicians around the world. And I see the power of music. I see the power of music to connect cultures. I see it when I stand on a stage in a bluegrass festival in east Virginia and I look out at the sea of lawn chairs and I bust out into a song in Chinese. [Chinese] And everybody's eyes just pop wide open like it's going to fall out of their heads. And they're like, "What's that girl doing?" And then they come up to me after the show and they all have a story. They all come up and they're like, "You know, my aunt's sister's babysitter's dog's chicken went to China and adopted a girl." And I tell you what, it like everybody's got a story. It's just incredible. And then I go to China and I stand on a stage at a university and I bust out into a song in Chinese and everybody sings along and they roar with delight at this girl with the hair and the instrument, and she's singing their music.
I doista je prošlo osam godina od te sudbonosne noći u Kentuckyju. Odsvirala sam tisuće nastupa. I surađivala s toliko nevjerojatnih, inspirativnih glazbenika diljem svijeta. I vidim moć glazbe. Vidim moć koju glazba ima da poveže kulture. Vidim to kada stojim na pozornici na bluegrass festivalu u istočnoj Virginiji, kada pogledam prema moru sjedalica i započnem pjevati na kineskom. (Pjeva na kineskom) I oči sviju samo se širom otvore, kao da će im ispasti iz glava. I kažu nešto kao: ''Što ta cura radi?'' A onda mi priđu nakon nastupa i svatko od njih ima priču. Priđu i kažu mi: ''Ma znaš, babysitterica sestre moje tetke ima psa čije je pile otišlo u Kinu i posvojilo djevojčicu.'' I, kažem vam, svatko ima priču. To je sasvim nevjerojatno. I onda odem u Kinu, stanem na pozornicu sveučilišta i započnem pjevati na kineskom, i svi oni pjevaju sa mnom, urlaju od zadovoljstva, s tom djevojkom, s kosom i instrumentom, koja pjeva njihovu muziku.
And I see, even more importantly, the power of music to connect hearts. Like the time I was in Sichuan Province and I was singing for kids in relocation schools in the earthquake disaster zone. And this little girl comes up to me. [Chinese] "Big sister Wong," Washburn, Wong, same difference. "Big sister Wong, can I sing you a song that my mom sang for me before she was swallowed in the earthquake?" And I sat down, she sat on my lap. She started singing her song. And the warmth of her body and the tears rolling down her rosy cheeks, and I started to cry. And the light that shone off of her eyes was a place I could have stayed forever.
I vidim, što je još važnije, moć koju glazba ima da povezuje srca. Kao kada sam posjetila provinciju Sichuan, pjevala djeci u izmještenim školama u zoni pogođenoj katastrofalnim potresom. Prišla mi je ta mala djevojčica. (Govori na kineskom) ''Velika sestro Wong,'' Washburn, Wong, ista stvar. (Smijeh.) ''Velika sestro Wong, mogu li ti otpjevati pjesmu koju mi je mama pjevala prije nego ju je progutao potres?'' Sjela sam, ona je sjela na moje krilo. I počela je pjevati svoju pjesmu. Toplina njezinog tijela, i suze koje su se slijevale niz njezine ružičaste obraze, natjerale su me u plač. Svjetlo koje se širilo iz njezinih očiju učinilo je to mjesto mjestm na kojem bih mogla ostati zauvijek.
And in that moment, we weren't our American selves, we weren't our Chinese selves, we were just mortals sitting together in that light that keeps us here. I want to dwell in that light with you and with everyone. And I know U.S.-China relations doesn't need another lawyer.
I u tom trenutku mi nismo bili svoji ''američki Ja'', nismo bili svoji ''kineski Ja'', bili smo samo smrtnici što sjede zajedno u tom svjetlu koje nas održava ovdje. Želim prebivati u tom svjetlu s vama i sa svima. I znam da odnosi Sjedinjenih Država i Kine ne trebaju još jednog odvjetnika.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)