2006年VOA标准英语-New Song Lifts Louisiana Hurricane Victims

By Greg Flakus
New Orleans
18 May 2006

Jep Epstein Discusses Reaction to His Song

The devastation¹ caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year in the state of Louisiana is still a source of pain and anxiety for hundreds-of-thousands of people. The two hurricanes struck less than a month apart, driving people from their homes and destroying their way of life. But a new song being played on the state's airwaves is helping² to lift spirits.

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Graduates from Newcomb College of Tulane University   
  

When more than 2,000 graduating students and their families came to the New Orleans Arena³ Saturday, May 13, for Tulane University's commencement ceremony, they heard a song performed live, while video images of Louisiana appeared on giant screens all around them.

The song, "Our Home, Louisiana," drew an emotional reaction from students who fled Katrina last August, and then came back to New Orleans in January to complete their final semester at Tulane. Even though many of the students are not originally from here, most say they now have a strong bond with this city and this state.

 
Pia Das 
  
School of Law graduate Pia Das, who was born and raised in Houston, says she has grown to love New Orleans, and that the song touched her deeply.

"I cried through all of it. It was beautiful," she said. " I mean, it was just so beautiful, and the images that went with it were very touching⁴, and it was very heartfelt."

That sort of reaction is music to the ears of the man who wrote and performed the song, New Orleans native and songwriter Jep Epstein. He wrote the song for the health insurance company, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Louisiana, after company representatives tracked him down in the northeastern part of the state, where he and his family took up temporary residence following Katrina.

"I got a call from a guy named John Maginnis at Blue Cross, and he wanted to have some sort of campaign to instill pride in Louisiana and make people want to come home, and to not focus on the negative so much, to recognize it, but to bring people back to Louisiana," he explained. "He had the line, 'this is our home, Louisiana.' And from there, basically that night, I wrote the song."

 
Jep Epstein
  
Jep Epstein has been writing and playing music in New Orleans for more than a decade, penning numerous jingles⁵ for advertising⁶ campaigns and promotions⁷. But he says none of his other compositions ever had the impact this one has had.

Epstein says the commission to write the song came at the perfect moment, when he had mostly recovered from the grief of being displaced from his home, but had not yet become angry over the slow recovery. He says he was in the right mood to conjure⁸ up verbal images to match his feelings about his home state.

"It really was meant to be sort of impressionistic. There are images of all sorts of facets⁹ of Louisiana that I thought about that are included in the commercial campaign, and some of the things that make life special around here. 'The band parades, a jester laughs.' Obviously, we have a lot of parades around here, celebrations, and things like that," he said.

Jep Epstein performing for Tulane University  
  
Blue Cross/Blue Shield later married Epstein's verbal images to video images for its public service television campaign to lift the spirits of those who had been displaced. The company is collecting money to help hurricane victims through its charitable foundation. But the song "Our Home, Louisiana" has become popular in its own right, and is now being played by many radio stations in the Gulf¹⁰ region.

Jep Epstein is now being booked to play at venues¹¹ like the Tulane commencement because of a song he wrote for a health insurance company. But reaction to the words indicates that it is, in its own right, an instrument of healing for all those who have suffered so much over the past eight months in Louisiana.

1 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

4 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

5 jingles   

叮当声( jingle的名词复数 )； 节拍十分规则的简单诗歌

参考例句：

• Can I give Del and Mr. Jingles some? 我可以分一点给戴尔和金格先生吗？
• This story jingles bells for many of my clients. 这个故事对我许多客户来说都耳熟能详。

6 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

7 promotions   

促进( promotion的名词复数 )； 提升； 推广； 宣传

参考例句：

• All services or promotions must have an appeal and wide application. 所有服务或促销工作都必须具有吸引力和广泛的适用性。
• He promptly directed the highest promotions and decorations for General MacArthur. 他授予麦克阿瑟将军以最高的官阶和勋奖。

8 conjure   

v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法

参考例句：

• I conjure you not to betray me.我恳求你不要背弃我。
• I can't simply conjure up the money out of thin air.我是不能像变魔术似的把钱变来。

9 facets   

n.（宝石或首饰的）小平面( facet的名词复数 )；（事物的）面；方面

参考例句：

• The question had many facets. 这个问题是多方面的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fully cut brilliant diamond has 68 facets. 经过充分切刻的光彩夺目的钻石有68个小平面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

11 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网