The Pretender
大概30年前，看過一部電影叫 Mr Holland's Opus。講一位音樂人，他的夢想是成為交響樂的音樂家。他認識了一位他喜歡的女孩，兩人開始交往，然後生活就順其自然的：結婚，生子。那是搖滾Rock n' Roll 的年代，年輕人反越戰，尼克森總統因醜聞辭職。為了生活，他在一家學校裡教音樂，他夢想自己下課了後，有自己的時間，還是可以繼續創作。兒子4歲時，兩夫婦突然發現原來他是聾子。他很失望，因為覺得沒法跟兒子分享他對音樂的熱愛。家裡有位需要特別關愛的孩子，需要投入比一般孩子更多的時間和精力。老婆為了他能夠有屬於自己的時間，很多孩子的事情都默默的扛起來，而他對兒子總是保持距離，連學手語都不太上心。漸漸的他發現自己老了，當年譜交響樂的夢想越來愈遠，年到40了，還沒譜一篇交響樂。最糟糕的是，他發現自己跟孩子有很嚴重的隔閡。
忘了結局是怎樣，但這電影是關於音樂的，裡面當然有很多很好聽的歌。其中一首叫 The Pretender， 是Jackson Browne 1976年唱的一首老歌。不知道為什麼今天想起這部電影，這首歌，把歌詞當成一首詩，紀錄一下。
The Pretender
I'm going to rent myself a house
In the shade of the freeway
Gonna pack my lunch in the morning
And go to work each day
And when the evening rolls around
I'll go on home and lay my body down
And when the morning light comes streaming in
I'll get up and do it again, Amen
Say it again, Amen
I want to know what became of the changes
We waited for love to bring
Were they only the fitful dreams
Of some greater awakening?
I've been aware of the time going by
They say, in the end, it's the wink of an eye
When the morning light comes streaming in
You'll get up and do it again, Amen
Caught between the longing for love
And the struggle for the legal tender
Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring
And the junk man pounds his fender
Where the veterans dream of the fight
Fast asleep at the traffic light
And the children solemnly wait
For the ice cream vendor
Out into the cool of the evening
Strolls the pretender
He knows that all his hopes and dreams
Begin and end there
ah, the lovers as they run through the night
(Leaving nothing) leaving nothing but to choose off and fight
And tear at the world with all their might
While the ships bearing their dreams
Sail out of sight
I'm gonna find myself a girl
Who can show me what laughter means
And we'll fill in the missing colors
In each other's paint-by-number dreams
And then we'll put our dark glasses on
And we'll make love until our strength is gone
And when the morning light comes streaming in
We'll get up and do it again
Get it up again
I'm gonna be a happy idiot
And struggle for the legal tender
Where the ads take aim and lay their claim
To the heart and the soul of the spender
And believe in whatever may lie
In those things that money can buy
Where true love could have been a contender
Are you there? Say a prayer for the pretender
Who started out so young and strong only to surrender
Say a prayer for the pretender
Are you there for the pretender?
Say a prayer for the pretender
Are you there for the pretender?
Are you prepared for the pretender?
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