The Pop Revolution

流行音乐革命

Even if the word “pop” disappears from the English vocabulary, the influence of pop will remain. Pop has become part of British—and American—history.

“流行音乐”这个词即使从词汇中消失，它的影响将仍然存在。流行音乐已经成为英国——以及美国——历史的一个组成部分。

There has always been a close cultural link, or tie, between Britain and English—speaking America, not only in literature but also in the popular arts, especially music. Before the Second World War the Americans exported jazz and the blues¹. During the 1950s they exported rock ’n’ roll, and star singers like Elvis Presley were idolized by young Britons and Americans alike.

在英国和说英语的美国之间，不仅在文学方面，而且在流行艺术，特别是音乐方面，一直有着密切的接触或联系。第二次世界大战前，美国的爵士音乐和布鲁士乐曾流传到国外。在五十年代，他们又输出了摇滚乐。像普雷斯利这样的歌星，在英美两国同样受到年轻人的崇拜。

Then in the early 1960s a new sound was heard, very different from anything which had so far come from the American side of the Atlantic. This was the Liverpool, or Merseyside, “beat”. Situated² on the River Mersey in the north—eastern corner of the industrial Black Country, Liverpool was not a place which anyone visited for fun. Until the 1960s it was known only as one of Britain’s largest ports. Then, almost overnight, it became world famous as the birthplace of the new pop culture which, in a few years, swept across Britain and America, and across most of the countries of the western world.

后来，在六十年代初期，人们听到一种新的声音。它和过去从大西洋彼岸的美国传来的声音很不相同。这是利物浦或默西塞德郡的“节拍”。利物浦位于工业区黑乡东北角和默西河畔，并不是一个游览胜地。在19世纪60年代以前，利物浦都只不过是以英国最大的港口而被人们所熟知，但是，一夜之间，利物浦以新流行文化的摇篮而世界闻名，这股流行文化风在短短的几年内，横扫英美，在西方世界的大多数国家流行起来。

The people responsible for the pop revolution were four Liverpool boys who joined together in a group and called themselves The Beatles. They played in small clubs in the back streets of the city. Unlike the famous solo stars who had their songs written for them, the Beatles wrote their own words and music. They had a close personal relationship with their audience, and they expected them to join in and dance to the “beat” of the music. Audience participation³ is an essential characteristic of pop culture.

发动通俗音乐这场革命的人是利物浦的四名男青年。他们组成一个小组，自称为“披头士乐队。”他们穿街走巷，在城市的小俱乐部里演奏。有名的独唱歌星们有别人为他们创作歌曲。披头士乐队却和他们不同，自己写词谱曲。他们与听众之间有密切的直接联系，他们欢迎听众参加进来，和他们一起随着音乐的节拍起舞。听众参加是通俗文化的一个基本特点。

Some pop groups, in particular the Rolling Stones, did more than just entertain. They wrote words which were deliberately⁴ intended to shock. They represented the anger and bitterness of youth struggling for freedom against authority, and for this reason they were regarded by some people as the personification of the “permissive society”.

有些流行音乐团体，特别是滚石乐队，并不只提供娱乐。他们写的歌词，经过精心推敲，有意使人震惊。这些歌词表达了为争取自由，与传统权威进行斗争的广大青年的愤怒和怨恨。因此有些人认为他们是“放纵社会”的化身。

The Beatles, on the other hand, finally won the affection—and admiration—of people of all ages and social backgrounds. As they developed, their songs became more serious. They wrote not only of love, but of death and old age and poverty and daily life. They were respected by many intellectuals and by some serious musicians. Largely thanks to the Beatles, pop music has grown into an immense and profitable⁵ industry.

另一方面，披头士乐队最终还是赢得了不同年龄、不同社会经历的人们的喜爱和赞赏。随着乐队的发展他们的歌曲变得更加严肃。他们不仅写爱情，也写死亡、老年、贫穷和日常生活。他们获得许多知识分子和一些严肃的音乐家们的尊敬。流行音乐成为一支庞大的、有利可图的行业，主要应归功于披头士乐队。

The influence of British pop in America was immense. American pop groups soon became as famous as British groups. Both British and Americans are experimenting with new ideas, and pop is developing and changing, and merging⁶ with modern folk music.

英国的流行音乐对美国的影响很大。美国的流行音乐团体很快也像英国流行乐队那样有名。英美两国人民都在不断地试验着各种新的思想，因而流行音乐也在不断地发展、变化，而且日益与现代音乐结合起来。