Pistols shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood
Cries out "My God they killed them all"
Here comes the story of the Hurricane
The man the authorities came to blame
For something that he never done
Put him in a prison cell but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.
Three bodies lying there does Patty see
And another man named Bello moving around mysteriously
"I didn't do it" he says and he throws up his hands
"I was only robbing the register I hope you understand
I saw them leaving" he says and he stops
"One of us had better call up the cops"
And so Patty calls the cops
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashing
In the hot New Jersey night.
Meanwhile far away in another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are driving around
Number one contender for the middleweight crown
Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
Just like the time before and the time before that
In Patterson that's just the way things go
If you're black you might as well not shown up on the street
'Less you wanna draw the heat.
Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the corps
Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowling around
He said "I saw two men running out they looked like middleweights
They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates"
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head
Cop said "Wait a minute boys this one's not dead"
So they took him to the infirmary
And though this man could hardly see
They told him that he could identify the guilty men.
Four in the morning and they haul Rubin in
Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs
The wounded man looks up through his one dying eye
Says "Wha'd you bring him in here for ? He ain't the guy !"
Yes here comes the story of the Hurricane
The man the authorities came to blame
For something that he never done
Put in a prison cell but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.
Four months later the ghettos are in flame
Rubin's in South America fighting for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
And the cops are putting the screws to him looking for somebody to blame
"Remember that murder that happened in a bar ?"
"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"
"You think you'd like to play ball with the law ?"
"Think it might-a been that fighter you saw running that night ?"
"Don't forget that you are white".
Arthur Dexter Bradley said "I'm really not sure"
Cops said "A boy like you could use a break
We got you for the motel job and we're talking to your friend Bello
Now you don't wanta have to go back to jail be a nice fellow
You'll be doing society a favor
That sonofabitch is brave and getting braver
We want to put his ass in stir
We want to pin this triple murder on him
He ain't no Gentleman Jim".
Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much
It's my work he'd say and I do it for pay
And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along a trail
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse.
All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance
The trial was a pig-circus he never had a chance
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger
And though they could not produce the gun
The DA said he was the one who did the deed
And the all-white jury agreed.
Rubin Carter was falsely tried
The crime was murder 'one' guess who testified
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers they all went along for the ride
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand ?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game.
Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
An innocent man in a living hell
That's the story of the Hurricane
But it won't be over till they clear his name
And give him back the time he's done
Put him in a prison cell but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.
この「The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll（ハッティ・キャロルの哀れな死）」という曲は、事実に基づいて書かれたものです。 ウイリアム・ザンジンガーという殺人犯は実在し、ネットで調べると詳しい情報が載っています。 悪人は骨の髄まで悪人だということがよくわかります。 The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll With a cane that he twirled around his diamond ring finger At a Baltimore hotel society gathering And the cops were called in and his weapon took from him As they rode him in custody down to the station And booked William Zanzinger for first-degree murder But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears Take the rag away from your face Now ain't the time for your tears William Zanzinger, who at twenty-four years Owns a tobacco farm of six hundred acres With rich wealthy parents who provide and protect him And high office relations in the politics of Maryland Reacted to his deed with a shrug of his shoulders And swear words and sneering, and his tongue it was snarling In a matter of minutes, on bail was out walking But you who philosophize disgrace and criticize fears Take the rag away from your face Now ain't the time for your tears Hattie Carroll was a maid in the kitchen She was fifty-one years old and gave birth to ten children Who carried the dishes and took out the garbage And never sat once at the head of the table And didn't even talk to the people at the table Who just cleaned up all the food from the table And emptied the ashtrays on a whole other level Got killed by a blow, lay slain by a cane That sailed through the air and came down through the room Doomed and determined to destroy all the gentle And she never done nothing to William Zanzinger And you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears Take the rag away from your face Now ain't the time for your tears In the courtroom of honor, the judge pounded his gavel To show that all's equal and that the courts are on the level And that the strings in the books ain't pulled and persuaded And that even the nobles get properly handled Once that the cops have chased after and caught 'em And that the ladder of law has no top and no bottom Stared at the person who killed for no reason Who just happened to be feelin' that way without warnin' And he spoke through his cloak, most deep and distinguished And handed out strongly, for penalty and repentance William Zanzinger with a six-month sentence Oh, but you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears Bury the rag deep in your face For now's the time for your tears ハッティ・キャロルの哀れな死 ウイリアム・ザンジンガーは哀れなハッティ・キャロルを殺した きらびやかなダイヤの指輪をはめた手で ステッキを振り下ろし惨殺した ボルティモアホテルの社交パーティーでの出来事だった 警察が来て凶器のステッキを取り上げ 拘束され署へ連行された そしてウイリアム・ザンジンガーは殺人罪で起訴された でも民衆の不公平感や不安について考え議論する人たちよ ハンカチで顔を覆い涙を流すのはまだ早い 24歳のウイリアム・ザンジンガーは 600エーカーのタバコ農場を所有していた 資産家の両親からは溺愛され メリーランド州の政界とも特別な関係を構築していた 彼は自分の行為にただ肩をすくめるだけで 警察を怒鳴りつけ 罵り 罵倒し 結局保釈金を積み ものの数分で釈放された でも民衆の不公平感や不安について考え議論する人たちよ ハンカチで顔を覆い涙を流すのはまだ早い 黒人のハッティ・キャロルは調理場の雑用係 51歳の彼女は10人の子供を育てていた テーブルの椅子に座ったこともなく ただ黙々と残飯を片付け テーブルを綺麗にし 灰皿を何度も取替え 気配りも忘れなかったというのに ウイリアムに振り下ろされたステッキで叩きのめされ 一撃のもとに撲殺された 何一つ悪いことをしていたわけでもないのに でも民衆の不公平感や不安について考え議論する人たちよ ハンカチで顔を覆い涙を流すのはまだ早い 判事は法廷で裁判はすべて公平で平等であり 判決が何かに糸引かれたり 誰かの口利きによって変わることはなく ひとたび警察に囚われた身分である以上は どんなに身分が高いものでもしかるべく扱われるべきであり 法の下に上下の区別はないと説明をしながら 仰々しく小槌を叩き 何の罪もなく無防備な人間に 衝動的に殺戮したものを睨みつけ 黒いマントの奥から厳かにそして明確に はっきりとした口調でこう宣告したのであった 「ウイリアム・ザンジンガーを6ヶ月の刑に処する」 民衆の不公平感や不安について考え議論する人たちよ 今こそハンカチに顔を深々と埋め泣き崩れる時なのだ
前回の「彼女に会ったらよろしく」に続き、今回もボブ・ディランの「ブルーにこんがらがって」という曲を自分なりに訳してみました。この曲は私が高校時代に、吉田拓郎がDJをしていたオールナイトニッポンで流れた曲で、衝撃を受けたことを今でも鮮明に覚えています。「ブルーにこんがらがって」の英文はTangle Up In Blueといい、直訳をすれば「憂鬱の中の錯綜」という言葉になりますが、やはり「ブルーにこんがらがって」という訳し方が個人的にはすごく好きです。 なぜボブ・ディランはノーベル文学賞が取れたのか。 その才能の片鱗を少しでも読み取ることができれば嬉しいです。
Tangled Up In Blue
Early one morning the sun was shining I was laying in bed Wond'ring if she'd changed it all If her hair was still red Her folks they said our lives together Sure was gonna be rough They never did like Mama's homemade dress Papa's bankbook wasn't big enough And I was standing on the side of the road Rain falling on my shoes Heading out for the East Coast Lord knows I've paid some dues getting through Tangled up in blue.
She was married when we first meet Soon to be divorced I helped her out of a jam I guess But I used a little too much force We drove that car as far as we could Abandoned it out West Split it up on a dark sad night Both agreeing it was best She turned around to look at me As I was walking away I heard her say over my shoulder "We'll meet again someday on the avenue" Tangled up in blue.
I had a job in the great north woods Working as a cook for a spell But I never did like it all that much And one day the ax just fell So I drifted down to New Orleans Where I happened to be employed Working for a while on a fishing boat Right outside of Delacroix But all the while I was alone The past was close behind I seen a lot of women But she never escaped my mind my love just grew Tangled up in blue.
She was working in a topless place And I stopped in for a beer I just kept looking at her side of her face In the spotlight so clear And later on as the crowd thinned out I's just about to do the same She was standing there in back of my chair Saying "Jimmy, Don't I know your name ?" I muttered something underneath my breath She studied the lines on my face I must admit I felt a little uneasy When she bent down to tie the laces of my shoe Tangled up in blue.
She lit a burner on the stove and offered me a pipe "I thought you'd never say hello" she said "You look like the silent type" Then she opened up a book of poems And handed it to me Written by an Italian poet From the thirteenth century And every one of them words rang true And glowed like burning coal Pouring off of every page Like it was written in my soul from me to you Tangled up in blue
I lived with them on Montague Street In a basement down the stairs There was music in the cafes at night And revolution in the air Then he started into dealing with slaves And something inside of him died She had to sell everything she owned And froze up inside And when finally the bottom fell out I became withdrawn The only thing I knew how to do Was to keep on keeping on like a bird that flew Tangled up in blue.
So now I'm going back again I got to get her somehow All the people we used to know They're an illusion to me now Some are mathematicians Some are carpenter's wives Don't know how it all got started I don't what they're doing with their lives But me I'm still on the road Heading for another joint We always did feel the same We just saw it from a different point of view Tangled up in Blue.
この曲は1976年に発売されたボブディランのBlood on the Tracksの中の一曲です。このアルバムは私がディランフリークに陥った記念すべきアルバムで、ファーストトラックの「ブルーにこんがらがって」のイントロをラジオで初めて聴いた衝撃は一生忘れることはないでしょう。当時私はアメリカではイーグルス、カーペンターズ、ドゥービー・ブラザーズなどを聞きかじり、ヨーロッパではレッドツェッペリン、キングクリムゾン、タンジェリンドリームなどを嗜み、日本ではユーミン、井上陽水、吉田拓郎、はっぴーえんど、CREATIONなどポピュラーなものからマニアックなものまでまさに雑食系だったのですが、Blood on the Tracksを耳にしてからというもの一気にディランの魅力に引き込まれてしまい、しばらくはディラン一辺倒でした。（ただ不思議なことに初期のディランは当時まったく受け付けませんでした）つまりBlood on the Tracksこそが私とディランを引き付けた最初のアルバムなのです。
If You See Her, Say Hello
If you see her, say hello, she might be in Tangier
She left here last early Spring, is livin' there, I hear
Say for me that I’m all right though things get kind of slow
She might think that I’ve forgotten her, don’t tell her it isn’t so
We had a falling-out, like lovers often will
And to think of how she left that night, it still brings me a chill
And though our separation, it pierced me to the heart
She still lives inside of me, we've never been apart
If you get close to her, kiss her once for me
I always have respected her for busting out and gettin' free
Oh, whatever makes her happy, I won't stand in the way
Though the bitter taste still lingers on from the night I tried to make her stay
I see a lot of people as I make the rounds
And I hear her name here and there as I go from town to town
And I’ve never gotten used to it, I’ve just learned to turn it off
Either I'm too sensitive or else I'm gettin' soft
Sundown, yellow moon, I replay the past
I know every scene by heart, they all went by so fast
If she’s passin’ back this way, I'm not that hard to find
Tell her she can look me up if she's got the time
