4.《失和》(Ancient Chinese)

[短引 — 西市歸後] 西市燈初歇， 餘歌尚滿衣。 五人閉門坐， 各帶一新聲。 一人笑曰： 「明日復歌， 何不五聲盡同？」 眾皆以為可。 拍板遂起。 [主歌一] 一人守路調， 一人攜市腔。 一人收高轉， 一人減餘長。 末者聽其四， 移句就中央。 初試尚五色， 再試漸同章。 削一轉，改一音， 平其角，去其隙。 五口愈齊整， 一曲反微茫。 [預副歌] 拍拍不相失， 句句正相齊。 五口同一聲—— 竟無人相應。 [副歌] 同聲，同聲，何故無歌？ 五口如一，誰復與和？ 一聲已落，無人相應， 燈下只聞拍板之聲。 同聲，同聲，何故聲疏？ 昨日隔街，尚識相呼。 今夕咫尺，曲皆如一， 誰聲誰意，漸不可知。 [主歌二] 一人欲留鄉轉， 一人恐亂其章。 一人記童兒錯調， 一人默然刪之。 未有爭先意， 但恐此曲傷。 各欲成其美， 遂使異處亡。 曲愈清， 室愈靜。 [預副歌二] 昔隔橋東西， 一句便相尋。 今夕同席坐， 開聲不識心。 有人唱起， 四人皆知其音—— 卻不知其人。 [副歌] 同聲，同聲，何故無歌？ 五口如一，誰復與和？ 一聲已落，無人相應， 燈下只聞拍板之聲。 同聲，同聲，故路何在？ 拍節皆正，無一步差。 一燈五影，相並不移， 誰當舉足，竟不能知。 [橋段 — 拍板忽止] 終有一人 放下拍板。 無人言。 夜已深， 一人忽低唱 初逢野店半句。 四人同欲開口—— 又皆止。 半句懸空， 久無所應。 席隅忽起一聲。 不與前同。 前聲自此 不復孤矣。 [尾聲] 一聲未盡—— 何人相應？ 窗外更鼓。 窗內， 二聲。 ———————— English Translation ———————— Harmony Lost [Short Intro — After the Western Market] The market lamps are going dark, but borrowed melodies still cling to their clothes. The five sit together behind a closed door, each carrying some new phrase. One of them laughs: “Tomorrow, if we sing again, why not make every voice perfectly alike?” No one thinks it a bad idea. The beat begins. [Verse 1] One keeps the tune they sang upon the road. One brings back a turn he heard in the market. One smooths a rising phrase; another shortens a lingering note. The fifth listens to all four and moves his line toward the middle. The first attempt still bears five colors. By the second, they resemble one another. A turn is trimmed; a note is changed. Edges are softened, openings closed. Five mouths grow ever more precise— and the song grows strangely pale. [Pre-Chorus] Every beat falls in its place. Every ending meets the next. Five mouths make the very same sound— and no one answers anyone. [Chorus] Same voice, same voice—why is there no song? Five mouths become one; who is left to harmonize? One voice has faded. No one answers. Beneath the lamp, only the clappers remain. Same voice, same voice—why do we feel so far? Yesterday, across a crowded street, we knew each other by a call. Tonight we sit within arm’s reach, the song entirely alike— whose voice, whose thought? It grows harder to tell. [Verse 2] One wants to keep a turn from his homeland. Another fears it will disturb the line. One remembers the child’s crooked market tune. Another quietly removes it. No one is fighting to stand above the rest. Each only fears the song may fail. Each wants to make it beautiful— and so the places where they differ disappear. The melody grows clearer. The room grows still. [Pre-Chorus 2] Once, from opposite ends of a bridge, a single phrase was enough to find one another. Tonight they sit a few feet apart. Someone sings. The others know the note— but not the person inside it. [Chorus] Same voice, same voice—why is there no song? Five mouths become one; who is left to harmonize? One voice has faded. No one answers. Beneath the lamp, only the clappers remain. Same voice, same voice—where did the old road go? The rhythm is right; not one step strays. Five shadows sit together beneath one lamp, yet none can tell who should take the first step. [Bridge — The Beat Stops] At last, one hand lowers the clappers. No one speaks. Much later, one of the five softly sings half the phrase from the rainy inn where they first met. The other four draw breath at once— then stop. For a long moment, the half-phrase hangs alone. From the far side of the room, another voice finally answers. Not with the same melody. The first voice is no longer alone. [Outro] One voice has not yet faded— who will answer? Outside, the night-watch drum. Inside, two voices.