Leonard Cohen - Joan of Arc

　　Joan of Arc是Leonard Cohen第三张专辑Songs of Love and Hate的结尾曲，虽然不如同专辑里的Famous Blue Raincoat那样脍炙人口但也是他的代表作之一。Cohen给Nico（和许多其他女人）写过不少歌，One of Us Cannot Be Wrong, Take This Longing, Last Year’s Man里出现的圣女贞德和本歌描写的都是Nico，虽然她从未钟情于他。 　　T. S. Eliot的四个四重奏里的著名结尾如下：When the tongues of flame are in-folded / Into the crowned knot of fire / And the fire and the rose are one. 此处可以阐释火焰为炼狱的净火，玫瑰为上帝的纯粹之爱；也有阐释为火焰为信仰的强度和纯粹，而玫瑰为世俗生活与爱情。如果我们移用这些阐释，圣女贞德的殉难虽然使她的身体化为灰烬，但也使她与自己的信仰成为一体，所以她会退缩，会哭泣，但也有荣耀在眼里。 　　歌词的优秀自不用多言，原歌词每节的第一二行与第三四行分别押韵，翻译时尽量保留了这一特点。此外较难理解的地方将标注我个人的理解。

Now the flames they followed Joan of Arc As she came riding through the dark No moon to keep her armour bright No man to get her through this very smoky night

如今火焰追逐着圣女贞德 当她骑马在黑暗中穿梭 没有月光使她铠甲明亮 无人领她穿过这多烟的夜

She said, "I'm tired of the war I want the kind of work I had before A wedding dress or something white To wear upon my swollen appetite"

她说：“我已厌倦了战争 我想去过之前的生活 一件婚纱，或一袭白衣 来掩盖我膨胀的食欲”[1]

Well, I'm glad to hear you talk this way You know I've watched you riding every day And something in me yearns to win Such a cold and lonesome heroine

“我很高兴听你这么说 每天我看你骑马穿梭 我的内心想去拥有 你这冷峻、离群的女英雄”

"And who are you?" she sternly spoke To the one beneath the smoke "Why, I'm fire", he replied "And I love your solitude, I love your pride"

“你是谁？”她神色淡漠 对烟下的那人说 “我是火”他答道 “我爱你的孤独和骄傲”

"Then fire, make your body cold I'm going to give you mine to hold" Saying this she climbed inside To be his one, to be his only bride

“火啊，请你变冷些 我将和你紧紧相贴” 说完，她攀入火中央 成为他唯一的新娘

And deep into his fiery heart He took the dust of Joan of Arc And high above the wedding guests He hung the ashes of her wedding dress

深深的在他猛烈的心里 他取了圣女贞德的尘埃 高高的在婚礼宾客之上 他扬洒了她婚纱的灰烬[2]

It was deep into his fiery heart He took the dust of Joan of Arc And then she clearly understood If he was fire, oh then she must be wood

深深的在他猛烈的心里 他取了圣女贞德的尘埃 然后她了然于心 若他是烈火，她将是柴薪

I saw her wince, I saw her cry I saw the glory in her eye Myself, I long for love and light But must it come so cruel, and oh so bright?

她的退缩、她的哭泣 她眸中的荣耀都在我眼里 虽然我向往爱和光 但它非得如此残忍，如此明亮？

[1] 在莎士比亚的亨利六世中，圣女贞德在火刑前怀孕，孩子的父亲身份未知。 [2] 与火焰的婚礼，若行刑者是宾客，婚纱是圣女贞德的身体，那“婚纱的灰烬”即为圣女贞德火化产生的灰。