Ellis Paul - “The Ballad Of Chris McCandless”

中譯 by Bone

He was out on the highway smiling.
他佇立於公路, 微笑著
A mystic in torn blue jeans.
像個穿著破牛仔褲的謎
The kid left his trust fund to come out walking.
這孩子捨棄了信託基金, 選擇漫遊荒地
He hitched across this country
他搭便車橫跨全國
With a backpack and a head full of dreams.
只帶了個背包和滿滿的夢想
Could've sworn he heard the earth a'talkin',
他發誓彷彿能聽見大地對他私語
talkin'...
漫漫細語

"Sometimes," he said,
有時, 他說
"don't it feel like the concrete's closing in?
你不覺得水泥叢林令人窒息嗎?
We're putting bricks on the horizon..."
我們逐漸以磚頭遮蔽遼闊的地平線

Was he chasing fool's gold,
他究竟是追夢的傻子
Or a holy man walking
還是個直到最終
a dirt road till the end?
都漫遊於泥徑的聖者?
I hitched a ride with Chris McCandless.
我與克里斯·麥肯迪尼斯一同搭了趟便車
I stepped in the wild of a dream.
就這樣隨之步入了那狂熱的夢

The horizon in South Dakota
南達科他州的地平線
is an ocean of harvest grain.
是如大海般廣闊的豐收穀物
In a dusty silo we found work for the taking.
在一個陳舊的穀倉我們打工幫忙收割
We'd hitched up from California,
我們從加州開始結伴同行
But he never told me his real name.
但他從未告訴我他的本名
Never told me what past he was out here shaking.
從未告訴我他究竟欲擺脫怎樣的過去
We're all shaking something.
我們都想擺脫一些東西

"Sometimes", he said,
有時, 他說
"don't it feel like technology's closing in?
你不覺得一堆科技令人窒息嗎?
We're raising towers on the horizon..."
我們逐漸以高樓擋住一望無際的地平線

Was he chasing fool's gold,
他究竟是追夢的傻子
Or a holy man walking
還是個直到最終
a dirt road till the end?
都漫遊於泥徑的聖者?
I hitched a ride with Chris McCandless.
我與克里斯·麥肯迪尼斯一同搭了趟便車
I stepped in the wild of a dream.
就這樣隨之步入了那狂熱的夢

A stone,
一顆小石
A path,
一條小徑
A river of glass,
如玻璃般晶瑩的銀河

The night sky
眺望夜空
Can you see stars from wherever you are?
你現在的所在之處是否能夠窺見星光?
Where ever you are?
無論現在你身在何處?

In a broken school bus they found him
他們在一台廢棄的校車中發現他
In the heart of the Alaska range
位於阿拉斯加曠野的中心地帶
The journey ends
旅程就此終告
When the heart stops beating
當他的心臟停止跳動
Time is fleeting
時光流逝

Was he chasing fool's gold,
他究竟是追夢的傻子
Or a holy man walking a dirt road
還是個漫遊於泥徑的聖者?
till the end?
直到最終

I hitched a ride with Chris McCandless.
我與克里斯·麥肯迪尼斯一同搭了趟便車
I stepped in the wild with Chris McCandless,
我與克里斯·麥肯迪尼斯一同涉足曠野
And I felt alive with Chris McCandless.
和克里斯·麥肯迪尼斯在一起, 我感覺活著
I was wide awake in the dream,
彷彿身處夢境, 但從未如此清醒
the dream
一個美夢

*延伸閱讀→阿拉斯加之死、Into the Wild、Into the Wild (2007)