每日英語 #082: I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy

2024/08/07閱讀時間約 6 分鐘

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I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy

A popular song in the early part of the 20th century was written by a famous American composer, George M. Cohan, called “The Yankee Doodle Boy.” It was written for a Broadway “musical” (a play with a lot of singing, music, and dancing) called *Little Johnny Jones*. It “opened” (had its first show) in November of 1904. The song became popular, however, in 1942 when there was a movie made about Cohan’s life called *Yankee Doodle Dandy*. Cohan was an actor, singer, songwriter, and producer, who was sometimes called the “man who owns Broadway.” Broadway is the famous street in New York City where there are many famous theaters that have musical shows.

二十世紀初期，一位著名的美國作曲家喬治·M·科漢寫了一首名為《洋基嘟德男孩》的流行歌曲。這首歌是為一部名叫《小約翰尼·瓊斯》的百老匯音樂劇（音樂、舞蹈劇）所寫的。該劇於1904年11月“首演”（首次上演）。然而，這首歌在1942年科漢生平的電影《洋基嘟德爛漫男孩》上映時變得流行起來。科漢是一位演員、歌手、作曲家和製作人，他有時被稱為“擁有百老匯的人”。百老匯是位於紐約市的一條著名街道，街上有許多著名的劇院舉辦音樂劇。

Cohan was an Irish-American who wrote many plays and songs, and even “starred in” (was the main actor in) Hollywood movies. In the movie about his life, another Irish-American actor named James Cagney “played the part of” (acted as the character of) Cohan. Several of Cohan’s famous songs can be heard in the movie, including “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “Your Grand Old Flag,” and “Over There.”

科漢是一位愛爾蘭裔美國人，他創作了許多戲劇和歌曲，甚至在好萊塢電影中“擔任主演”（擔任主角）。在描繪他生活的電影中，另一位愛爾蘭裔美國演員詹姆斯·卡格尼“扮演了”（演出了科漢的角色）科漢。在這部電影中可以聽到科漢的幾首著名歌曲，包括《向百老匯致意》、《你那宏偉的國旗》和《在那邊》。

The song “The Yankee Doodle Boy” was in part about Cohan himself. He was, according to his parents, but not his “birth certificate” (the official document the government creates when you are born), born on America’s Independence Day, July 4th. The “lyrics” (words) of the song refer to another song, “Yankee Doodle,” from the time of the American Revolution of the late 18th century. A “doodle” was a foolish or stupid person, and “Yankee” (in the Revolutionary War) referred to the American colonists fighting for their independence from the British. So a “Yankee Doodle” meant a stupid American, but because the Americans were smart enough to win the war, the song is often sung with pride.

《洋基嘟德男孩》這首歌部分是關於科漢本人的。根據他的父母所說（但他的“出生證明”即官方文件上並未記載），科漢出生在美國的獨立日，也就是7月4日。這首歌的“歌詞”（文字）提到了另一首歌《洋基嘟德》，該歌曲來自18世紀末的美國革命時期。“doodle”意為愚蠢或傻瓜，而“Yankee”（在革命戰爭中）指的是為擺脫英國而爭取獨立的美國殖民者。所以，“洋基嘟德”原意是指愚蠢的美國人，但由於美國人聰明地贏得了戰爭，這首歌經常被驕傲地唱起來。