Words and Their Stories: Like a Rolling Stone

    Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
    这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故。

    Today we explain a very old saying that has had a big influence on rock-and-roll music. That saying is a rolling stone gathers no moss.It has several meanings. One meaning is that a person who never settles down in one place will not be successful. Another is that someone who is always moving, with no roots in one place, avoids responsibilities.
    今天我们来解释一个对摇滚音乐有着深远影响的古老谚语,它就是a rolling stone gathers no moss(滚石不生苔)。它包含了数种含义,其中一种含义是,不安定下来的人是不会成功的,另一种含义是说某些人四处漂泊,居无定所,逃避责任。
     
    This proverb was said to be first used in the fifteen hundreds. But in the nineteen sixties, the expression rolling stone became famous in the world of rock-and-roll music. It became the name of a rock group, a song and a magazine.
    据说这个谚语第一次被用到是在16世纪。但是在20世纪60年代,rolling stone这个短语在摇滚音乐界变得知名起来,它成为了一支摇滚乐队,一首歌和一本杂志的名字。
     
    Experts say it all started with a song by the American singer and guitarist Muddy Waters. He was one of the country's top blues musicians until his death in nineteen eighty-three. His music influenced singers like Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. In nineteen-fifty, Muddy Waters recorded a song called "Rollin' Stone."
    专家称,这一切始于美国歌手兼吉他手马迪·沃特斯(Muddy Waters)的一首歌。直到1983年去世前,沃特斯一直都是美国顶尖的布鲁斯(blues,又译为蓝调)音乐家之一。他的音乐影响了像艾尔维斯·普莱斯利/猫王(Elvis Presley)和鲍勃·迪伦(Bob Dylan)等一些歌手。1950年,沃特斯录了一首名为Rollin' Stone的歌。
     
    (MUSIC)
    (音乐)
     
    A British rock group is said to have taken its name from Muddy Waters' song. The Rolling Stones performed for the first time in nineteen sixty-two. The group's members called themselves "the world's greatest rock and roll band."
    据说,一个英国摇滚组合取名就源自沃特斯的这首歌。滚石乐队的第一次演出是在1962年,该乐队的成员称他们是“世界上最优秀的摇滚乐队”。
     
    In nineteen sixty-five, Bob Dylan released his song "Like a Rolling Stone." It is one of his best known and most influential works.
    1965年,迪伦发行了歌曲Like a Rolling Stone,这是他最知名且最有影响力的作品之一。
     
    It is an angry song about a woman who was once rich and successful. But now she is on her own, "with no direction home, like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone."
    这是关于一个曾经富有、成功的女人的一首冤曲。但是现在,她独自一人,“没有回家的方向,孤零零,像一个滚石。”
     
    (MUSIC)
    (音乐)
     
    In nineteen sixty-seven, a young man named Jann Wenner started a magazine he named "Rolling Stone." The magazine reported on rock music and the popular culture that the music created. By nineteen seventy-one, "Rolling Stone" had become the leading rock music and counterculture publication. It is still popular today.
    1967年,一个叫做简·温纳(Jann Wenner)的年轻人创办了一本名为Rolling Stone的杂志,该杂志报道了摇滚音乐以及该类音乐产生的流行文化。1971年,该杂志已经成为摇滚音乐和反传统文化的重要出版物,至今仍然很流行
    (51VOA.COM对本文翻译享有全部权利,未经授权请勿转载,违者必究!)

    1.avoid vt.避免, 防止, 撤消

    例句:If you want to avoid being charged for late baggage, checking in half an hour earlier is good otherwise.
          不能及时领取行李时,若不想交纳保管费,最好提前半个小时确认一下。

          If you want to lose weight just try to avoid food high in animal fat.
          如果你想减肥,就不要吃富含动物脂肪的食物。

    2.proverb n.谚语, 格言, 箴言

    例句:In this connection I remember a proverb.
           在这一方面我记得有一句谚语。

          His ignorance is a proverb.
           他的无知已成笑柄。

    3.release

    vt.释放, 解除, 放松, 豁免, 免除, 发布, 放弃, 让与

    例句:They will talk to an intermediate before they release the results.
          他们在公布结果前要先和中间人谈谈。

    n.释放, 发泄, 豁免, 发行, 释放证书

    例句:A week after release they will be going cheap in the online store.
          上市一周后,网上商店就会降价出售。

    1.Today we explain a very old saying that has had a big influence on rock-and-roll music.

    have influence on对…有影响

    例句:Irresistible fashion trends don't seem to have any influence on him, he still keeps his simple style.
          势不可挡的时尚风潮对他好像毫无影响,他依然保持着自己朴素的特点。

    2.A British rock group is said to have taken its name from Muddy Waters’ song.

    可以改写成:It is said that a British rock group has taken its name……,这样的话后面that引导的句子就是真正的主语,而it是形式主语。

    3. But now she is on her own, “with no direction home, like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone.”

    on her own独自一人

    例句:The girl does her homework on her own initiative.
          这女孩儿做作业挺自觉。

    马迪·沃特斯( Muddy Waters , 1915 ~ 1983 )
    马迪 · 沃特斯,1915 年出生于密西比的罗林福克,原名麦金利·摩根菲尔德(McKinley Morganfield),他是一位介于查理·帕顿与 B·B·金( B·B·King )之间最伟大的布鲁斯音乐家之一。由于他曾经常在泥水中玩耍,因此得到了 "Muddy" (泥水佬)这个绰号。马迪·沃特斯 13 岁学习口琴,17 岁学习吉他,1943 去芝加哥并成为那里的滑棒吉他大师。1944年他开始演奏电吉他,晚上在俱乐部演出,白天在造纸厂干活,后来又当过卡车司机。1946年到1954年期间他录制了一批反映极强的热门歌曲,并对节奏布鲁斯(R & B)产生了深远的影响。从1950 年起,几乎所有的芝加哥布鲁斯明星都参加过他的乐队。60 年代以后,他的音乐变得更加成熟和专业,加进了大量的钢琴、口琴以及架子鼓,使布鲁斯被更多的黑人和白人所接受。1971 年推出的《他们叫我马迪·沃特斯》( They Call Me Muddy Waters )为他赢得了第一个格莱美奖(该奖开创于1958年,每年颁发一次,是美国音乐界最高奖项)。他在去世之前一直没有停止过唱片的录制,为布鲁斯音乐留下了大量的宝贵资料。

    美国《滚石》杂志于 1967 年由Jann Wenner和乐评人 Ralph J. Gleason 创办,每两周发行一期。创始人 Jann Wenner 对这本杂志的定义是:“ 不仅仅只是报道音乐,还有那些其他一切为音乐所接纳的事物和观点。” 因此,《滚石》杂志除了对摇滚音乐和流行文化的报道之外,还经常刊登一些政治领域的深度报道,倍受争议的名记者 Hunter S. Thompson 就曾为《滚石》杂志多次撰写政治评论。《滚石》杂志无疑是音乐界的权威和指向标,对流行文化的走向有着非同一般的影响力,还层出现过类似《 The Cover Of The Rolling Stone 》这样专门针对该杂志所创作的歌曲。而由《滚石》杂志评选出的一系列诸如 “ 史上最伟大的五百张专辑 ” 、“ 史上最伟大的五百首歌曲” 、“ 史上最伟大的百位吉他手” 等等,都对衡量一支乐队和艺人有着重要的指导。