LESSON 16 THE CORN SONG 玉米颂
1.Heap high the farmer’s wintry hoard[1]!
Heap high the golden corn!
No richer gift has Autumn poured
From out her lavish[2] horn!
2.Let other lands, exulting, glean
The apple from the pine,
The orange from its glossy green,
The cluster from the vine;
3.We better love the hardy gift
Our rugged vales bestow,
To cheer us, when the storm shall drift
Our harvest fi elds with snow.
4.Through vales of grass and meads[3] of fl owers
Our plows their furrows made,
While on the hills the sun and showers Of changeful April played.
5.We dropped the seed o’er hill and plain,
Beneath the sun of May,
And frightened from our sprouting grain
The robber crows away.
6.All through the long, bright days of June,
Its leaves grew green and fair,
And waved in hot midsummer’s noon
Its soft and yellow hair.
7.And now, with Autumn’s moonlit eves,
Its harvest time has come;
We pluck away the frosted leaves
And bear the treasure home.
8.There, richer than the fabled gift
Apollo[4] showered of old,
Fair hands the broken grain shall sift,
And knead its meal of gold.
9.Let vapid[5] idlers loll in silk,
Around their costly board;
Give us the bowl of samp[6] and milk,
By homespun beauty poured!
10.Where’er the wide old kitchen hearth
Sends up its smoky curls,
Who will not thank the kindly earth
And bless our farmer girls!
11.Then shame on all the proud and vain,
Whose folly laughs to scorn
The blessing of our hardy grain,
Our wealth of golden corn!
12.Let earth withhold her goodly root;
Let mildew blight the rye,
Give to the worm the orchard’s fruit,
The wheat fi eld to the fl y:
13.But let the good old crop adorn
The hills our fathers trod;
Still let us, for his golden corn,
Send up our thanks to God!
(From Whittier’s “Songs of Labor”)
【中文阅读】
1.将冬天的农家囤垛堆高！
将金黄的玉米垛堆高！
再没有什么礼物，
比秋之女神倾泻出的粮食更丰饶！
2.无数双手，欢欣翻飞，
从果园里摘下苹果，
从光泽的绿叶中采下橙子，
从葡萄藤上撷下串串葡萄。
3.我们更爱这崎岖的山谷
馈赠给我们的厚实礼物。
当大雪覆盖住稻田里的庄稼，
这秋收的玉米却让我们欢欣鼓舞。
4.在铺满鲜花的青翠溪谷间，
我们深犁出整齐的玉米田。
温暖的阳光和细密的春雨，
带给我们善变的四月天。
5.在五月和煦的阳光下，
我们在山谷平原间撒下种子；
还为发芽长叶的谷物，
赶走田野间的乌鸦。
6.六月的烈日，炙热漫长，
玉米田里一片绿意盎然；
在盛夏热浪袭来的午后，
玉米们摇曳着柔软的金色苞须。
7.现在，在秋夜的月光下，
收获的季节已经到来。
我们摘掉霜打的粟叶，
将丰收的果实搬运回家。
8.快看！我们的收获，
比传说中阿波罗撒下的礼物更丰盛。
辛勤的双手从粟谷上剥开
无数香甜可口的金色宝石。
9.就让那些慵懒之徒裹着绫罗绸缎，
无所事事地躺在他们华贵的大床上吧。
我们只要一碗香浓的牛奶玉米羹，
便能享受到亲手造出的天堂！
10.每家每户的古老烟囱上，
处处升起袅袅炊烟；
为这食物，我们感谢富饶的大地，
还有辛劳的农家女孩！
11.那些骄傲、虚荣之辈该感到可耻，
他们愚蠢地嘲笑着，
我们手上这晶莹的粮食，
我们的财富，这金黄的玉米！
12.大地啊，请留下这片良种；
让霉病去折磨黑麦，
让害虫去闹腾果实，
让蝗虫去侵扰麦田。
13.但是，请留下这古老金黄的玉米，
装点我们父辈曾踩踏过的土地；
让我们，为他赐下的这玉米，
感谢全能的上帝！
（摘自惠蒂尔的《劳动之歌》）
【注释】
[1] Hoard, a large quantify of anything laid up.
[2] Lavish, profuse.
[3] Meads, meadows.
[4] A ccording to the ancient fable, Apollo, the god of music, sowed the isle of Delos, his birthplace, with golden f lowers, by the music of his lyre.
[5] Vapid, spiritless, dull.
[6] Samp, bruised corn cooked by boiling.