VOA标准英语2013--Slaid Cleaves Reflects on Struggles of War Veterans

 

Slaid Cleaves¹ Reflects on Struggles of War Veterans

Over the past two decades, Cleaves has won acclaim² for his songs about the small-town, working-class men and women just struggling to get by…like the ones he’s singing about in “Rust Belt Fields.”

“Rust Belt Fields” is one of two songs on “Still Fighting the War” that Cleaves co-wrote with childhood friend and fellow singer-songwriter Rod Picott. When the two first wrote together, they’d sit down face-to-face. But between living in different cities and busy touring schedules, they are rarely in the same place these days.

“So we send ideas back and forth³ on emails or texts or whatever," Cleaves said. "And we’ll send little melodic⁴ ideas, just little snippets, sound files. And we’ll send partial songs. For instance, usually one of us will work real hard on a song and only get halfway⁵ through and not know how to finish it. And that’s when we’ll bring it to our friend and see if a fresh set of eyes can kind of spark the completion of the song.”

Rod Picott’s father worked as a welder⁶, and he and Cleaves bring that difficult and physically⁷ demanding work to life in a song called “Welding Burns.”

The original inspiration for the title track to “Still Fighting the War” came from a series of Pulitzer Prize-winning photos of Iraq War veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder⁸. It’s a song that ended up taking Cleaves four years to write.  

“I’d seen stories in the news about vets⁹ coming back and having a hard time and you know, frankly¹⁰, I knew…I remember writing down in a notebook when we went to war in Iraq… I said ’10 years from now, we’re going to have Iraq War vets on every street corner, they’re going to be homeless," he said. "They’re going to be having a hard time adjusting. It’s going to be the Vietnam situation all over again.’ I wanted to write a song that kind of told their story. Not to advocate or anything. But just tell their story - that people are having a hard time coming back.”

A note on Cleaves’ website says proceeds from downloads of that song go to Operation Homefront, an organization providing assistance to service members and their families.

There are some lighter¹¹ moments on “Still Fighting the War.” “God’s Own Yodeler” is a tribute to the late Don Walser, a Texas country singer known as the Pavarotti of the Plains. And the tune¹² called “Texas Love Song” is exactly that.

1 cleaves   

v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This wood cleaves easily. 这木材好劈。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The water cleaves the banks away like a knife. 河水象一把刀似的，把两岸削掉。 来自辞典例句

2 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

3 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 melodic   

adj.有旋律的，调子美妙的

参考例句：

• His voice had a rich melodic quality.他的音色浑厚而优美。
• He spoke with a soft husky voice in a melodic accent.他微微沙哑的声音带着一种悠扬的口音。

5 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

6 welder   

n电焊工

参考例句：

• He left school at 15 to become an apprentice to a welder.他15岁离开了中学成为一个焊接工人的学徒。
• Welder done at least once a month when the dust handling.焊机时每月至少做一次除尘处理。

7 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

8 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

9 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

10 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

11 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

12 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。