《The Manuscript》无疑是一首极为契合且精彩的专辑收尾曲。歌曲以“她”重读手稿作为开始,随着她的视角,听众随她经历了回忆中的几个碎片场景,看着她从被嫌弃不够成熟到走向早熟。碎片拼聚成手稿,然而时光流逝,岁月不再,唯独留下泛黄的手稿,这是“她”曾漂泊到他彼岸的唯一遗留。“她”遗憾、悲伤却又豁达。她说:”这份手稿再也不属于我了。”随着人称的转换,手稿成了歌手在听众面前与过去的自己的一次对话,前面的句子不只是唱给听众还是唱给曾经的自己。不再属于她的不只是这份手稿,还有以手稿结束的整张专辑,甚至她过往的所有音乐。她唱出她的故事,听众在歌曲中寻找自己的故事。
专辑封面:
歌词:
Now and then, she re-reads the manuscript, of the entire torrid affair. 有时她会重读那份手稿,上面记录着一整段狂热恋情。
They compared their licenses. 他们在对比彼此的执照(也是在对比年龄)。
He said "I'm not a donor, but I'd give you my heart if you needed it." 他说:“我不是个捐赠者,但如果你需要,我可以为你献出我的心。”
She rolled her eyes and said, "you're a professional." 她翻了个白眼,说:“你是个撩妹专家。”
He said "no just a Good Samaritan." 他说:“不,我只是个好心人。”
He said that if the sex was half as good as the conversation was, soon they'd be pushing strollers. 他说,如果他们之间的性生活有对话的一半和谐,他们很快就要推上婴儿车了。
But soon it was over. 但很快,这段恋情就结束了。
In the age of him, she wished she was thirty, and made coffee every morning in a French press. 和他在一起的时候,她希望自己有三十岁,每天早上用法式压滤壶煮咖啡。
Afterward, she only ate kids' cereal, and couldn't sleep unless it was in her mother's bed. 和他分手之后,她只吃儿童麦片,不在母亲的床上便无法入睡。
Then she dated boys who were her own age, with dartboards on the backs of their doors. 后来她与同龄的男孩约会,他们的门后还挂着飞镖靶。
She thought about how he said since she was so wise beyond her years, everything had been above board. 她想起他曾说,既然她有超出年龄的智慧,他们在一起也是无可指摘的。
She wasn't sure. 她现在不确定这是否是真的了。
And the years passed like scenes of a show. 时光像一场演出的一幕幕场景一般流逝。
The professor said to write what you know. 专家说,把你的经历和想法写下来。
Looking backwards might be the only way to move forward. 回顾过去或许是前行的唯一道路。
Then the actors were hitting their marks, 演员们出色地完成了演出,
and the slow dance was alight with the sparks, 曼舞因明亮的火花而熠熠生辉,
and the tears fell in synchronicity with the score. 泪水随着背景乐的节奏缓缓落下。
And at last, she knew what the agony had been for. 最终,她明白了那份刻骨铭心的痛苦是因为什么。
The only thing that's left is the manuscript, one last souvenir from my trip to your shores. 现在唯一剩下的就是这份手稿了,是从我的旅途到你的港湾的最后一份纪念品。
Now and then I re-read the manuscript, but the story isn't mine anymore. 偶尔我会重读这份手稿,但其中的故事已不再属于我。