Kilkelly,Ireland

1845年-1849年是爱尔兰的大饥荒时期,成千上万的人不是死去就是流亡。
1855年John Hunt离开爱尔兰的小镇Kilkelly去了美国,之后再也没有回去。
120年后,John Hunt的后裔在美国发现了John父亲写给他的10封信件。
信件讲述了发生在Kilkelly家中的各种事情,信间洋溢着父母对儿子的思念与爱。
然而,随着时间的推移,父亲与儿子的"距离"越来越远,在最后一封信中,John 30年未见的父亲已经死去。
John Hunt的曾孙Peter Jones把这些信件改编成了著名的爱尔兰民谣“Kilkely”。
这首感人的歌曲也是19世纪后期,遭受饥荒和贫困的无数爱尔兰家庭的真实写照。

Kilkelly Ireland, eighteen and sixty,
爱尔兰 Kilkelly镇。1860年。
my dear and lovin' son John
我亲爱的儿子约翰:
你的好朋友Pat McNamara校长,
Your good friend the Schoolmaster Pat McNamara,
so good as to write these words down.
他好心帮我写了这封信。
Your brothers have all gone to find work in England,
你的兄弟都去英格兰找工作了,
现在,屋子空荡荡的,让人神伤。
the house is so empty and sad,
地里的土豆遭受很强的虫害袭击,
The crop of potatoes is sorely affected,
a third to a half of them bad.
三分之一甚至一半都坏掉了。
And your sister Bridget and Patrick O'Donnell,
are goin' to be married in June,
你的妹妹Bridget 将于六月份和Patrick O'Donnell结婚。
Your mother says not to work on the railway,
你的妈妈说不久就不再去铁路上上班了,
and be sure to come on home soon
她确信这次真的是要待家里了。
Kilkelly Ireland, eighteen and seventy,
爱尔兰 Kilkelly镇。1870年。
my dear and lovin' son John
我亲爱的儿子约翰:
Hello to your missus and to your four children,
向你的妻子和四个孩子问好,
that they may grow healthy and strong
祝愿他们健康,祝愿他们壮实。
Michael has got in a wee bit of trouble,
Michael(约翰的兄弟)有点小小的麻烦,
我想他没有从以前的经验中汲取教训。
I suppose he never will learn
Because of the dampness there's no turf to
speak of and now we have nothing to burn.
因为气候太潮湿的缘故,这里没了干草,
现在我们没得可烧的东西了。
And Bridget is happy you named the child for her,
Bridget很高兴你给她的孩子取名,
尽管她已经有了六个孩子。
although she's got six of her own
你说你刚找到一份工作,
You say you've found work,
但是没说是什么样的工作,
but you don't say what kind,
也没说你什么时候回家。
or when you'll be comin' home
Kilkelly Ireland, eighteen and eighty,
爱尔兰 Kilkelly镇。1880年。
我亲爱的儿子约翰:
dear Michael and John my sons
我很抱歉要告诉你一个非常悲伤的消息,
I'm sorry to give you the very sad news
that your dear old mother has gone.
你亲爱的妈妈走了。
We buried her down at the church in Kilkelly,
我们把她葬在了Kilkelly镇的教堂边,
your brothers and Bridget were there,
你的兄弟们和Bridget那天都在。
You don't have to worry, she died very quickly,
你不要太忧虑,她走得很快,
你做祷告的时候不要忘记妈妈。
remember her in your prayers.
还有一件想必你听了高兴的事,
And it's so good to hear that Michael's returning
Michael挣了一些钱回来了,
with money he's sure to buy land
而且真的买了一块地。
For the crop has been poor and the people are selling,
因为地里的收成实在糟糕,人们都在卖地,
for any price that they can
只要给点底钱,他们几乎都会卖。
爱尔兰 Kilkelly镇。1890年。
Kilkelly Ireland, eighteen and ninety,
我亲爱的儿子约翰:
my dear and lovin' son John
我马上就要八十岁了,
I suppose that I must be close on eighty,
而你已经走了整整三十年。
it's thirty years since you've gone
正是因为你寄来的所有的钱,
Because of all of the money you sent me,
I'm still living' out of my own
我才能活到这个年龄,几乎超出了我的命数。
Michael has built himself a fine house,
Michael已经给自己盖了所很好的房子,
Bridget的小妮子们长得都很喜人。
and Bridget's daughters have grown
And thank you for sendin' your family picture,
谢谢吾儿你寄来的你的全家福,
they're lovely young women and men
他们是些非常可爱的年轻男女。
You say you might even come for a visit,
你说你甚至有可能回来看望我们,
what a joy to see you again
能再次见到你,这是多么让人高兴的事。
Kilkelly Ireland, eighteen and ninety two,
爱尔兰 Kilkelly镇。1892年。
my dear brother John,
我亲爱的兄弟约翰:
抱歉我没有及时写信给你,
I'm sorry I didn't write sooner,
告诉你父亲去世的事。
to tell you that father has gone.
He was living with Brigid, she said he was
他一直和Brigid生活在一起,
cheerful and healthy right down to the end
她说,父亲愉快而健康,直到寿终正寝。
And you should have seen him play with the grandchildren,
而且,你真应该看看他和你的朋友
Pat McNamara的孙辈们玩耍时的样子。
of Pat McNamara your friend.
我们把他葬在了妈妈旁边,
And we buried him alongside of mother,
down at Kilkelly churchyard
就是在咱们Kilkelly镇教堂的墓地里。
He was a strong and a feisty old man,
他是个很坚强的倔老头,
因为生活是如此的艰辛。
considering that life is so hard.
And it's funny the way he kept talkin' about you,
他总是提起你,而他提起你的时候总是很有趣,
he called for you at the end
临走的时候还在叫你的名字。
And why don't you think about comin' to visit,
为什么不考虑一下回来看看我们,
我们都真心盼着再见到你。
we'd all love to see you again

Kilkelly

Peter Jones

Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 60, my dear and loving son John
Your good friend the schoolmaster Pat McNamara's so good
As to write these words down.
Your brothers have all gone to find work in England,
The house is so empty and sad
The crop of potatoes is sorely infected,
A third to a half of them bad.
And your sister Brigid and Patrick O'Donnell
Are going to be married in June.
Your mother says not to work on the railroad
And be sure to come on home soon.

Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 70, dear and loving son John
Hello to your Mrs and to your 4 children,
May they grow healthy and strong.
Michael has got in a wee bit of trouble,
I guess that he never will learn.
Because of the dampness there's no turf to speak of
And now we have nothing to burn.
And Brigid is happy, you named a child for her
And now she's got six of her own.
You say you found work, but you don't say
What kind or when you will be coming home.

Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 80, dear Michael and John, my sons
I'm sorry to give you the very sad news
That your dear old mother has gone.
We buried her down at the church in Kilkelly,
Your brothers and Brigid were there.
You don't have to worry, she died very quickly,
Remember her in your prayers.
And it's so good to hear that Michael's returning,
With money he's sure to buy land
For the crop has been poor and the people
Are selling at any price that they can.

Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 90, my dear and loving son John
I guess that I must be close on to eighty,
It's thirty years since you're gone.
Because of all of the money you send me,
I'm still living out on my own.
Michael has built himself a fine house
And Brigid's daughters have grown.
Thank you for sending your family picture,
They're lovely young women and men.
You say that you might even come for a visit,
What joy to see you again.

Kilkelly, Ireland, 18 and 92, my dear brother John
I'm sorry that I didn't write sooner to tell you that father passed on.
He was living with Brigid, she says he was cheerful
And healthy right down to the end.
Ah, you should have seen him play with
The grandchildren of Pat McNamara, your friend.
And we buried him alongside of mother,
Down at the Kilkelly churchyard.
He was a strong and a feisty old man,
Considering his life was so hard.
And it's funny the way he kept talking about you,
He called for you in the end.
Oh, why don't you think about coming to visit,
We'd all love to see you again.