童謠賞析(1)

London Bridge Is Broken Down

London Bridge is broken down,

    Broken down, broken down,  

London Bridge is broken down,

    My fair lady.

 

Build it up with wood and clay,

    Wood and clay, wood and clay,

Build it up with wood and clay,

    My fair lady.

 

Wood and clay will wash away,

    Wash away, wash away,

Wood and clay will wash away,

    My fair lady.

 

Build it up with bricks and mortar,

    Bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar,

Build it up with bricks and mortar,

    My fair lady.

 

Bricks and mortar will not stay,

    Will not stay, will not stay,

Bricks and mortar will not stay,

    My fair lady.

 

Build it up with iron and steel,

    Iron and steel, iron and steel,

Build it up with iron and steel,

    My fair lady.

 

Iron and steel will bend and bow,

    Bend and bow, bend and bow,

Iron and steel will bend and bow,

    My fair lady.

 

Build it up with silver and gold,

    Silver and gold, silver and gold,

Build it up with silver and gold,

    My fair lady.

 

Silver and gold will be stolen away,

    Stolen away, stolen away,

Silver and gold will be stolen away,

    My fair lady.

 

Set a man to watch all night,

    Watch all night, watch all night,

Set a man to watch all night,

    My fair lady.

 

Suppose the man should fall asleep,

    Fall asleep, fall asleep,

Suppose the man should fall asleep,

    My fair lady.

 

Give him a pipe to smoke all night,

    Smoke all night, smoke all night,

Give him a pipe to smoke all night,

    My fair lady.

倫敦大橋垮下來,

    垮下來,垮下來,

倫敦大橋垮下來,

    我的好姑娘。

木頭黏土重新造,

    木和土,木和土,

木頭黏土重新造,

    我的好姑娘。

木頭黏土會沖走,

    會沖走,會沖走,

木頭黏土會沖走,

    我的好姑娘。

磚和泥來重新造,   

    磚和泥,磚和泥,

磚和泥來重新造,   

    我的好姑娘。

磚和泥呀耐不住,

    耐不住,耐不住,

磚和泥呀耐不住,

    我的好姑娘。

鐵和鋼來重新造,

    鐵和鋼,鐵和鋼,

鐵和鋼來重新造,

    我的好姑娘。

鐵和鋼呀會彎曲,

    會彎曲,會彎曲,

鐵和鋼呀會彎曲,

    我的好姑娘。

銀和金來重新造,

    銀和金,銀和金,

銀和金來重新造,

    我的好姑娘。

銀和金呀會被偷,

    會被偷,會被偷,

銀和金呀會被偷,

    我的好姑娘。

派人整夜緊看守,

    緊看守,緊看守,

派人整夜緊看守,

    我的好姑娘。

他若睡著怎麼辦,

    怎麼辦,怎麼辦,

他若睡著怎麼辦,

    我的好姑娘。

給他煙斗抽整夜,

    抽整夜,抽整夜,

給他煙斗抽整夜,

    我的好姑娘。

 

    這是極著名的遊戲童謠。由兩人手拉手搭成拱門的樣子,讓其他人邊唱邊穿過

其下。這首歌每唱完一節,搭拱門的兩人就把手臂放下來抓住其下的人,這個遊

戲在世界各國廣為流傳,隨處可見。也有人把開頭改寫為 "London Bridge is

falling down"。

 

    根據『牛津童謠辭典』編者歐比的說法,過去因架橋工程艱難,不得不幾度重

造,因而曾有過所謂的「人柱」祭典,這首歌裡還殘留著這段久遠記憶。所以這

首看似單純的歌,其實洋溢著可怕的氣息。

 

    提到倫敦大橋的現代詩中最有名的當推艾略特的作品─「荒原」。他在詩的最

後〈426行〉寫道 "London Bridge is falling down falling down falling down"。

 

選自:英語名句賞析辭典/牛頓出版公司