Shing02(齋藤真)1975 年生於東京、在舊金山長大,是少數能用英日雙語自由切換寫詞的饒舌詩人。他與 Nujabes 是長期創作夥伴,文字細膩、引經據典,把愛情寫得像物理、像哲學、也像一場安靜的祈禱。Luv(sic) 系列從 2001 年 Part 1 發行,到 2015 年六部曲全集問世,橫跨 14 年。後三部 Part 4 到 Part 6 是 Nujabes 離開後,由 Shing02 與 Hydeout Productions 接手完成的——其中 Part 6 由 Uyama Hiroto remix 完成,這場創作於是成為一場橫跨生死的對話,也是一封從未停止書寫的情書。
Part 1 是這封信的開頭,也是整個系列最廣為人知的一首。Shing02 在這裡奠定了「給音樂的情書」這個核心命題,往後每一部都從這個起點延伸、回望、再深入。歌曲開頭那句「I told you that story to tell you this one」是 Bill Cosby 演出 Buck, Buck 的取樣,從別人的故事說起,再帶到自己的故事,是 Shing02 在這裡為整個系列預埋的敘事手勢。中文翻譯以直譯為主,盡量保留原文那些跨領域的譬喻與韻律,因為這些細節正是 Shing02 文字的靈魂所在。
[Sample]I told you that story to tell you this one
先講你那個故事,是為了帶到這個故事
Lovesick like a dog with canine sensitivity思戀如病,像一隻嗅覺敏銳的狗Developing this new theory of relativity正在發展一套全新的相對論Connecting our souls resting in captivity把我們被困在肉身裡的靈魂連在一起Positive life sacrifice what it is to me正向的人生需要犧牲,這就是我給它的定義Our history, only a quarter of a century我們的歷史,不過是四分之一個世紀Reality, sitting on the shoulders of our chemistry現實,就架在我們默契的肩膀上See ain’t no mystery, the colors that we mix will set the mind free你看,這沒什麼秘密,我們調出的顏色會讓心靈自由Let the blind see beyond harmony!讓盲者看見和聲之外的世界!
Breathe life into dead space blow away your clouds of doubt往死寂的空間吹氣,把你的疑雲一併吹散New territory we determine to be這片新領土,我們決心親自定義Everything a safe haven it’s supposed to be一切都該是它該有的避風港Now it might seem distant but the time is near現在看似遙遠,但時間就在不遠處When our thoughts take off and split the atmosphere當我們的念頭起飛,把大氣層一刀劃開Pure sound wave travel semi-infinitely純粹的聲波會走得幾近無限遠Plus I’ll see you there utmost definitely而我絕對、絕對會在那裡見到你
‘Cause the beat plus the melody因為節拍加上旋律Makes me speak of L.O.V.E. eloquently so evidently就讓我把 L.O.V.E. 說得如此流暢、如此明白(I mean that from my heart ’cause you make me feel good as a person)(這是真心話,因為你讓我覺得自己是個值得的人)‘Cause your beat plus my melody因為你的節拍加上我的旋律Makes me speak of L.O.V.E. eloquently so evidently就讓我把 L.O.V.E. 說得如此流暢、如此明白
Good gracious, every process has a genesis and ends with a revelation天啊,每一個過程都有起源、也都會以一場啟示作結God bless this opportunity for me to find a voice感謝老天給我這個機會找到自己的聲音For some words that have waited for way too long為了那些等了太久的字句Low wages, small tips on the avenue街上低薪、小費也少Never wasted, all hits for a revenue但從不浪費,每一首歌都換成收入Haven’t you heard the news lately?最近沒聽到消息嗎?Seems we’ve been living for some time in a purgatory我們好像在煉獄裡活了好一陣子了But yo, I thought I knew what a love song sound like但是,我以為我知道情歌該是什麼樣子But I felt a warmer tune in the sunlight直到我在陽光裡聽見了一段更溫暖的旋律I could still hear it in my room past midnight過了午夜,我房間裡還在響Gotta move, take a solo cruise in the moon light得動身了,獨自一人,往月光裡開去
Sometimes I do forget, oh how much we could ease the lives we lead有時候我真的會忘記,我們其實可以讓彼此的人生過得多輕鬆If we learn to let go, the reins that we hold只要學會放手,鬆開那些我們緊握的韁繩Return to our souls, and the spirit let flow讓它們回到靈魂裡去,讓精神順流而下So you see, upon everyday faced there’s a million shades to express definition of grace你看,每一張日常的臉上,都有上百萬種陰影可以詮釋什麼叫優雅But the method I choose my prerogative但選什麼方法是我自己的事There’s so much love in me I got to give我心裡有太多愛,必須給出去
‘Cause the beat plus the melody因為節拍加上旋律Makes me speak of L.O.V.E. eloquently so evidently就讓我把 L.O.V.E. 說得如此流暢、如此明白(I mean that from my heart ’cause you make me feel good as a person)(這是真心話,因為你讓我覺得自己是個值得的人)‘Cause your beat plus my melody因為你的節拍加上我的旋律Makes me speak of L.O.V.E. eloquently so evidently就讓我把 L.O.V.E. 說得如此流暢、如此明白
Oh how I could write a book on how you make me feel我可以寫一整本書,講你讓我有什麼感覺But how about this song that I wrote for you?但不如就這首我寫給你的歌吧?What I feel like, I wanna put my trusts in these simple words我想把我所有的感受,託付給這些簡單的字句For you to feel what I’m saying, what you feel like?讓你感受我在說的話,你的感受呢?Reminisce about the little episodes that we shared together回想那些我們一起經歷的小場景Remember the time that you told me in the cold night記得那個寒冷的夜晚你跟我說To relax when all I knew was to hold tight要我放輕鬆,可我那時只懂得緊抓不放Remember the time that I spoke to the crowd in a full house and realizes that you was my ace?記得我在滿場觀眾面前講話、然後意識到你才是我的王牌嗎?I was the joker on the stage singing the blues我是舞台上唱著藍調的小丑All eyes on me and had nothing to prove所有目光在我身上,但我已經沒什麼好證明的了
But yo, I thought I knew what a diamond shine like但是,我以為我知道鑽石該怎麼閃But I felt a sharper love in the limelight直到我在聚光燈下感受到一種更銳利的愛From the queen of hearts watching me quietly from the upper deck balcony那個來自上層包廂、安靜看著我的紅心皇后Sometimes I do suspect, I’m an actor in a well-scripted live divine comedy有時候我會懷疑,自己只是一齣寫好的神聖喜劇裡的演員When I look back, that frozen slice of time and try to defrost the senses lost當我回頭看那段被凍住的時光,試著解凍那些已經失去的感覺Now enough with the metaphors, the motivation that I wrote this letter for譬喻就到這裡,我寫這封信的原因是For you to know that the music helps carry on要讓你知道:音樂幫我們繼續走下去Like you say a new day will bring us tomorrow就像你說的,新的一天會帶來明天
Yo, ’cause my beat plus your melody聽好,因為我的節拍加上你的旋律Makes me speak of L.O.V.E. eloquently so evidently就讓我把 L.O.V.E. 說得如此流暢、如此明白Yeah, ’cause your beat plus my melody是的,因為你的節拍加上我的旋律Makes me speak of L.O.V.E. eloquently so evidently就讓我把 L.O.V.E. 說得如此流暢、如此明白‘Cause your beat plus my melody因為你的節拍加上我的旋律Makes me speak of L.O.V.E. eloquently so evidently就讓我把 L.O.V.E. 說得如此流暢、如此明白(I mean that from my heart ’cause you make me feel good as a person)(這是真心話,因為你讓我覺得自己是個值得的人)‘Cause your beat plus my melody因為你的節拍加上我的旋律Makes me speak of L.O.V.E. eloquently so evidently就讓我把 L.O.V.E. 說得如此流暢、如此明白(I mean that from my heart ’cause you make me feel good as a person)(這是真心話,因為你讓我覺得自己是個值得的人)(You know what I mean? Makes me say ‘well, that shit wasn’t that bad)(你懂我的意思嗎?讓我忍不住說:欸,這事其實也沒那麼糟)