2016年諾貝爾文學獎頒給了美國歌手卜戴倫（Bob Dylan），不少人感意外，因為過去諾貝爾文學獎都「很文學」，頒給流行歌手是首次。這在各地引起很多爭論，不少人認為卜戴倫的歌詞雖好，但到底始終是音樂人/歌手，頒給他將會打開音樂人/歌手泛濫湧入文學殿堂之先例；而且，卜戴倫的歌詞又怎能跟偉大的小說家傳世作品相比呢？

拿卜戴倫的歌詞跟偉大小說相比的確比較難，不過，拿卜戴倫的歌詞跟詩人的詩作相比，就相對容易比較了。如果詩人可以得到諾貝爾文學獎，那麼卜戴倫值得得到諾貝爾文學獎麼？這樣看答案就明確了：卜戴倫應得諾貝爾文學獎！因為他的歌詞，完全可跟近代出色詩人作品相比。若講到對全世界的影響力，那麼卜戴倫比任何當代詩人更高！諾貝爾文學獎頒給出色詩人是大家都接受的話，卜戴倫得獎也就是應該的了。

在對卜戴倫得獎的討論中，我甚少見到有人談到他寫的自傳 “Chronicles, Volume One” ，這本由卜戴倫親手執筆的回憶錄，展示了卜戴倫內心與思想是如何廣大深邃。這本書本身容或未足以這令他得到諾貝爾文學獎，但它讓我們看到卜戴倫真不是一位聰明或有才華的歌手這麼簡單，他廣學多聞，二十來歲已博覽羣書，知識廣博，胸襟開放，具有哲學家級思惟。讀過“Chronicles, Volume One”的都會了解卜戴倫同時是位學者和知識分子。他能得到他得到諾貝爾文學並非偶然。

在宗教上，卜戴倫曾信基督教，數年後離開，他又曾靠近猶太教、回教。至於佛教，卜戴倫沒公開過自己是佛教徒，不過他早期曾接觸過一點佛法，他早年面對傳媒時更經常給「充滿禪機」式的回答，成為佳話。在上世紀六十年代時，卜戴倫與當時的一班Beat- Generation 詩人/作家如Allen Ginsberg、Jack Kerouac、Neal Cassady等甚為投契，交往甚密，這班嬉皮士 詩人/作家均深受東方宗教包括佛教影響。卜戴倫一直跟佛教有一定的接觸與呼應，他的作品固然有佛教思想痕迹，他還畫過一些佛教僧侶的畫。 2011年卜戴倫在紐約舉行了畫展名為‘ Bob Dylan: The Asia Series’, 展出了他到日本、中國、韓國及越南後所繪畫的畫，當中就有出家僧人畫像。

對卜戴倫與佛因緣的研究，Steven Heine 是這方面首席學者。Steven Heine 是佛羅里達國際大學Professor of Religion and History 及Director of the Institute for Asian Studies ，專研東方宗教及佛教，尤其專於道元禪師 研究。 Steven Heine著有'Bargainin: Bob Dylan, A Zen Master? ’ 一書，解構卜戴倫與佛之因緣與解讀其作品之佛義。其書深入詳盡，對一般讀者而言是太細析了，未必會感興趣，有興趣的讀者可自行找來閱讀。

就卜戴倫的代表作，大多數人會想到'Blowing in the Wind', 'The Times They Are A-Changin''等，我今且選譯一首卜戴倫較少人論及的歌，讓大家一窺卜戴倫的作品的深邃遠大，這歌名為'No Time to Think',1978 年 推出，收錄於'Street Legal'專輯。原調共十八段，於流行曲而言是首鉅著，現粗略試譯前四段讓大家感受一下卜戴倫的「文學感」：

"No Time To Think" Bob Dylan

In death you face life with a child and a wife

Who sleep-walks through your dreams into walls

You're soldier of mercy, you're cold and you curse

He who cannot be trusted must fall.

Loneliness, tenderness, high society, notoriety

You fight for the throne and you travel alone

Unknown as you slowly sink

And there's no time to think.

In the Federal City you been blown and shown pity

For secret, for pieces of change

The empress attracts you but oppression distracts you

And it makes you feel violent and strange.

Memory, ecstasy, tyranny, hypocrisy

Betrayed by a kiss on a cool night of bliss

In the valley of the missing link

And you have no time to think.

Judges will haunt you, the country priestess will want you

Her worst is better than best

I've seen all these decoys through a set of deep turquoise eyes

And I feel so depressed.

China doll, alcohol, duality, mortality

Mercury rules you and destiny fools you

Like the plague, with a dangerous wink

And there's no time to think.

Your conscience betrayed you when some tyrant waylaid you

Where the lion lies down with the lamb

I'd have paid off the traitor and killed him much later

But that's just the way that I am.

Paradise, sacrifice, mortality, reality

But the magician is quicker and his game

Is much thicker than blood and blacker than ink

And there's no time to think.

Anger and jealousy's all that he sells us

He's content when you're under his thumb

Madmen oppose him, but your kindness throws him

To survive it you play deaf and dumb.

Equality, liberty, humility, simplicity

You glance through the mirror and there's eyes starring clear

At the back of you head as you drink

And there's no time to think.

Warlords of sorrow and queens of tomorrow

Will offer their heads for a prayer

You can't find no salvation, you have no expectations

Anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

Mercury, gravity, nobility, humility

You know you can't keep her and the water gets deeper

That is leading your onto the brink

But there's no time to think.

You've murdered your vanity, buried your sanity

For pleasure you must now resist

Lovers obey you but they cannot sway you

They're not even sure you exist.

Socialism, hypnotism, patriotism, materialism

Fools making laws for the breaking of jaws

And the sound of the keys as they clink

But there's no time to think.

The bridge that you travel on goes to the Babylon

With the rose in her hair

Starlight in the East you're finally released

You're stranded but with nothing to share.

Loyality, unity, epitome, rigidity

You turn around for one real last glimpse of Camille

'Neath the moon shining bloody and pink

And there's no time to think.

Bullets can harm you and death can disarm you

But no, you will not be deceived

Stripped of all virtue as you crawl through the dirt

You can give but you cannot receive.

No time to choose when the truth must die

No time to lose or say goodbye

No time to prepare for the victim that's there

No time to suffer or blink

And no time to think.

沒時間去想

在死亡你遇到生命帶同妻兒由你夢中夢遊進入牆壁

你是仁慈的士兵你冷酷你咒詛

不被信任的必將滅亡

孤獨、柔情、上流社會、惡名昭著

你獨行為捍衛王座而戰

不知正在慢慢沉淪

而一切沒時間去想

在聯邦城你為了秘密和一些轉變被摧毀被可憐

女皇吸引著你但壓抑分散你注意令你感暴力與怪誕

思憶、狂喜、暴政、偽善

在缺連山谷涼風之夜你被一吻出賣

而你沒時間去想

在三十多年前已寫出今天人們面對的困難處境——沒時間去想'No Time to Think'，卜戴倫觀察力確非常人。此歌詞意象之複雜、用詞之多及深奧絕對超越流行歌詞範疇，足供長時間細味消化，而具此規模與視野之作品，卜戴倫多的是。卜戴倫得諾貝爾文學獎，是人類文化一可喜突破。

#####

佛門網, 2016

[ #音樂 ]