音乐咖啡厅:Yes We Can 美国总统奥巴马之歌

美国新一届总统——奥巴马在美国08总统大选胜利后发表的演讲十分激励民心。“Yes. We. Can”这个响亮的口号是美国人对未来的坚强信念。

就在2月初，嘻哈乐团"黑眼豆豆"主唱Will.i.am根据奥巴马在新罕布什尔的一场演讲，创作了单曲《Yes We Can》（是的，我们可以），还发动他的明星朋友一起演唱并拍成一部MV。这首以奥巴马演说内容为歌词，结合了演讲实况的歌曲，一放上YouTube就引来无数的点击量。据《今日美国》报道，上传后短短一周内，它的浏览量已经超过370万。Will.i.am、斯嘉丽·约翰逊、约翰·莱杰德、卡瑞姆·阿布杜勒·贾巴尔、何比·汉考克等大腕都不遗余力地倾情出演，目的只有一个，呼唤美国年轻人积极参选来改变个人和国家的命运，实现理想。正如MV片尾的字幕--由HOPE变成VOTE。

Yes We Can-Will.I.Am

It was a creed¹ written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.
它是写进开国宪章的信条，宣示了这个国家的命运。

Yes we can.
是的，我们能！

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.
它在奴隶和废奴主义者中口耳相传，照亮了他们艰辛的自由之路。

Yes we can.
是的，我们能！

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward² against an unforgiving wilderness³.
它由来自遥远大陆的移民传唱，它由征服西部不可饶恕蛮荒的开拓者传唱。

Yes we can.
是的，我们能！

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots⁴; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed⁵ the way to the Promised Land.
它是工人们建立组织的号召，它是妇女们争取投票权的号召，它是一个总统选择将我们的疆域扩展到月球的号召，它是将我们带到顶峰，并指出前往乐土之路的马丁·路德·金的号召。

Yes we can to justice and equality.
是的，我们能达成正义和平等！

Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.
是的，我们能获得机遇和繁荣！

Yes we can heal this nation.
是的，我们能治愈这个国家！

Yes we can repair this world.
是的，我们能补救这个世界！

Yes we can.
是的，我们能！

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.
我们知道斗争的前路漫长，但是不管任何阻隔，都不能阻挡亿万人要求改变的力量。，

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics...they will only grow louder and more dissonant⁶ ........... We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.
我们被告知不能将竞选汇成愤青的合唱，这只能让他们变得越来越喧闹和冲突，我们被要求停下来接受现实的检讨，以避免向国家的公民提供一种错误的希望。

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.
但是这在美国将不会发生，因为在这里希望从来就没有过错！

Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling⁷ school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA;
今天Dillon破败学校里小女孩的希望与LA大街上学习的男孩的梦想完全一样；

we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests;
我们将记住一些事情正在美国发生，我们并不为政治的歧见所分割，

that we are one people; we are one nation;
我们是同一个人民，同一个国家，

and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea --
我们将用三个字开创美国历史上新的伟大篇章，它们从东到西，从北到南的长鸣——

Yes. We. Can.
我们能！

全球最当红说唱组合黑眼豆豆老大Will.I.AM与拥有"引人犯罪的性感"的好莱坞最具潜力女明星之一Scarlet Johansson（斯佳丽·约翰逊）及英国才女Kate walsh等明星与美国民主党总统候选人奥巴马"合作"的最新单曲MV。其实奥巴马并没有真正的唱歌，只不过是这些明星受到了他的竞选感言的触动，特意为制作的与奥巴马合唱的歌。民主党总统候选人奥巴马的MV片段来自于他在南卡罗来纳州举行的竞选初选重创对手希拉里后的演讲感言"Yes we can！"

1 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。

2 westward   

n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西

参考例句：

• We live on the westward slope of the hill.我们住在这座山的西山坡。
• Explore westward or wherever.向西或到什么别的地方去勘探。

3 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

4 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 dissonant   

adj.不和谐的；不悦耳的

参考例句：

• His voice is drowned by the dissonant scream of a siren outside.她的声音被外面杂乱刺耳的警报声吞没了。
• They chose to include all of these dissonant voices together.他们把那些不和谐的声音也放在了里面

7 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。