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.
如果你在我本科刚毕业后 在佛蒙特州议会大楼里遇到我 —-那时我还正在参加说客培训—— 并同时问我我的人生理想是什么 我会告诉你 我刚通过了汉语水平考试 (The Chinese Equivalency Exam) 而且我准备去北京进修法律 我要自上而下地修订政策 及改革司法系统 以来改善中美关系 (笑声) (掌声) 我是有个计划 但是我没想到它会 和班卓琴扯上什么关系 就是这玩意儿
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.
我真没想到 它将在某个晚上对我造成如此巨大的影响 当时我正在一个派对 我听见从房间角落里的录音机 传来得声音 那是多克·沃森(Doc Watson)弹唱的 《林荫》 ♫树林荫荫啊,我的小爱人♫ ♫树林荫荫啊,我的小亲亲♫ ♫树林荫荫啊,我的小爱人♫ ♫让我们一起回哈兰♫ 那声音真是太美了 多克的嗓音 和荡漾的班卓琴声 在完全彻底沉迷于悠久厚重 浩浩汤汤的中国历史与文化 这么久以后 听到这种地道的美国风格 也是地道的一流音乐 实在是对我的一种解脱 我这时候知道我肯定会带着班卓琴去中国了
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.
在出发去中国的法学院之前 我买了个班卓琴,把它扔进我的红色小皮卡里 然后我一路开到了阿巴拉契亚 途中也学了一堆美国风老歌 最后我来到了肯塔基的 国际蓝草音乐联盟大会 有天晚上我坐在走廊里 几个姑娘走了过来 她们问我:“嘿,来个小合奏呗?” 我说:“成啊!” 然后我拿起班卓琴 非常紧张地和她们合奏了四首歌 然后一个唱片公司的管理人员走了过来 然后邀请我去田纳西的纳什维尔(被称为音乐之都)录专辑
(Laughter)
(笑声)
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.
八年过去了 我没去中国当律师 事实上 我去了纳什维尔 几个月之后我就开始自己写歌 第一首是用英文写的 第二首是中文
(Music)
(音乐)
[Chinese]
[中文歌词](后有翻译)
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.
♫门外有个世界♫ ♫心中有个声音♫ ♫四方等你来啊♫ 远行吧我的姑娘,去远行 去追逐你的梦
(Applause)
(掌声)
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.
距离肯塔基那改变命运的一夜的确已经过去八年了 这期间我参加过数以千计的表演 我和不计其数的出色音乐人合作过 他们来自世界的各个地方 我感受到了音乐的力量 我感受到了音乐能 联通不同文化的力量 我是在东弗吉尼亚 一个蓝草音乐节的舞台上意识到的 当我的视线越过草坪躺椅的海洋时 我突然唱起了一段中文歌 ♫太阳出来了喽喂 喜洋洋喽 啷喽♫ 然后大家都睁大了眼睛 好像眼珠子要掉出来似的 他们像是在问,"她发什么神经呢?“ 表演后他们来找我 带着他们的故事 他们过来告诉我 ”你知道吗,我婶婶的姐姐的保姆家的狗的小鸡去过中国 还收养了一个小女孩“ 我跟你说,真的是大家都是有故事的人 真是太难以置信了 后来我去了中国 我站在一个大学的舞台上 我又突然唱起了中文歌 然后每个人都跟我一起唱 他们跟我一起大吼 对我这个 长着头发拿着乐器的普通女孩 这个女孩唱着他们的音乐
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.
这时候我意识到更重要的是 音乐能够联通心灵 又一次我去四川 在地震灾后的临时小学里 给孩子们唱歌 然后一个小女孩走过来 [中文] (后有翻译) ”王大姐,可以给你唱一下我妈妈教我的歌曲?“ 沃什伯恩,王,差不多 ”王大姐,我能不能给你唱一下 我妈妈再被地震吞噬前 教我的歌曲?” 我坐下来 她坐在我膝盖上 她开始唱 我感到了她身体的的温度 我看到了眼泪从她绯红的脸颊滚落下来 我也哭了起来 她眼中闪烁的光 是我愿意相伴一生的东西
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.
在那一刻,我们不是美国人 也不是中国人 我们只是简单的人 静静地坐在将我们心灵带到一起的光里 我真想和你们所有人 一起去那片光里看一看 我知道中美关系 不再需要一个律师了
Thank you.
谢谢
(Applause)
(掌声)