那些奇异的名字

班卓的诗歌(17) ——来自澳洲荒原的劳动号子

那些奇异的名字  吴仲湛  译

 

 

那些奇异的名字

吴仲湛  译

 

剪羊毛人围坐篝火旁，热诚硬朗又强壮，

一天艰苦劳作之后，讲讲笑话打发时光。

摇铃人剪了一百头，是从未修剪的新羊，

那个生手干活挺卖力，据说也有十来头。

上沥青的男孩、厨师、加油工、打扫工，

捡毛工、赶羊工，还有其他各种勤杂工，

都是内地来人，那儿的天空像熔炉放光。

还有雪河来客，他来自冻雪覆盖的土地，

黝黑的昆州放牛人，赶路以英里来计算，

默里来的农家儿子，故乡葡萄园甜蜜蜜。

当厌烦了打牌赌博，他们就开始讲故事，

为给故事加点精，他们掺和些本土地名。

有个荒凉的莫那洛的来客家在桌山那边，

他眼睛盯着天花板，一边玩弄两只手掌。

 

他给他们讲连接牙齿邦的松林山结冰霜，

夏天，雪的重量常会把树木的枝干压断，

（江湖侠客注：澳大利亚在南半球，所以下雪在夏天。）

他暖和过来要说话，好让他们领教一番：

绝代佳人骗人酒石，几千万年打鼓敲锣，

他深情搜索一个个名字在脑海里的珍藏，

老灌木丛农场的回忆和留在家乡的姑娘。

剪毛工都静默坐着直到角落有人站起来；

他说，我到处旅行但未曾听说这种怪名，

在遥远的西部区域，或者在卡斯瑞地区，

大多数地名容易记，很短也不难说出口。

你们肯定听过曼格里邦骨头蓝色枪筒松，

阔伯台，几里羊的骨头和塔拉曼矿石坑，

牙龈骨头，尤诺尼哈利哈，喂哇班蒂卓...

 

但别人制止他：“看在下颌的面上说慢点，

如果你以为这些地名比刚才的简短且优越，

就拿几个长的试一试你的记性再吹牛皮。”

 

于是乎那位西部来客，一句话也不敢再聊，

眨了眨他的右侧眼皮，乖乖地退回去睡觉。

 

 

    江湖侠客志：“班卓的诗歌——来自澳洲荒原的劳动号子”的诗均为中国译协会员、广东译协理事吴仲湛汉语首译。以班卓的“Waltzing Matilda（跳华尔兹的玛蒂尔达）”为主题曲。关于班卓，请点击本博客首页“我的文章专辑”中的“班卓的诗歌”，参阅。

 

 

澳洲塑料纸币上的帕特森．班卓像

 

Those Names

Banjo Paterson

(Australia)

 

The shearers sat in the firelight, hearty and hale and strong,

After the hard days shearing, passing the joke along:

The “ringer” that shaore a hundred, as they never were shorn before,

And the voice who, toiling bravely, had tommyhawked half a score,

The tar boy, the cook, and the slushy, the sweeper that swept the board,

The picker-up, and the penner, with the rest of the shearing horde.

There were men from the inland stations where the skies like a furnace glow,

And men from the Snowy River, the land of the frozen snow;

There were swarthy Queensland drovers who reckoned all land by miles,

And fammers’ sons from the Murray, where many a vineyard smiles.

They started at tellig stories when they wearied of cards and games,

And to give these stories a flavour they threw in some local names,

And a man from the bleak Monaro, away on the tableland,

He fixed his eyes on th ceiling, and he started to play his hand.

 

He told them of Adjintoothbong, where the pine-clad mountains freeze,

And the weight of the snow in summer breaks branches off the trees,

And, as he warmed to the business, he let them have it strong __

Nimitybelle, Conargo, Wheeo, Bongongolong;

He lingered over them fondly, because they recalled to mind

A thought of the old bush homestead, and the girl that he left behind.

Then the shearers all sat silent till a man in the corner rose;

Said he, “I’ve travelled aplenty but never heard name like those,

Out in the weatern districts, out on the Castlereagh

Most of the names are easy __ short for a man to say.

You’ve heard of Mungrybambone and the Gundabluey pine,

Uobbotha, Girilambone, and Terramungamine,

Quambone, Eunonyhareenha, Wee Waa, and Buntijo __”

 

But the rest of the shearers stopped him, “For the sake of your jaw, go slow,

If you reckon those names are short ones out where such names prevail,

Just try and remember some long ones before you begin the tale.”

 

And the man from the western district, though never a word he said,

Just winked with his dexter eyelid, and then he retired to bed.

 

 

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