淳朴真挚的美国乡村音乐

文/五花肉

美国乡村音乐源自英国移民带入北美殖民地的民歌与民谣，其发展深受美国黑人音乐文化的影响，是工业社会中最具生命力的艺术表现形式之一。

American country music originated from ballads that the British immigrants brought into the North American colonies, and its development was deeply influenced by the African-American music culture.It is one of the energetic art forms in the industrial society.

独特的标准唱法 Distinctive Standard Singing

美国乡村音乐起源于18世纪末，它的创造者是居住在美国东海岸一带的苏格兰人和爱尔兰人后裔。最初的乡村音乐仅作为自娱节目，在家庭、教堂及乡村聚会时表演。

Born in the end of 18th century, American country music was created by the Scottish and Irish descendants living in the east coast of the United States. The original country music, only as an activity for fun, was performed at the parties in family, church and village.

1925年，“现代乡村音乐之父”罗杰斯第一次把乡村音乐带上舞台，他运用独特的山区民间唱法，使歌声在真假声区间来回转换。这种深受好评的唱法获得人们的竞相效仿，以至于引领了一时潮流，最终成为区分乡村音乐与其他音乐的标准之一。

In 1925, Jimmie Rogers, known as "the father of modern country music", first brought country music on stage. He applied distinctive yodeling which involved repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. This well-received singing style was followed and emulated, which led a trend at that time, eventually it became one of the standards distinguishing country music from other music.

简单质朴的结构 Simple and Unsophisticated Structure

在曲式结构方面，美国乡村音乐形成了一套划分标准，即歌谣体、二部曲式和三部曲式。歌谣体大多以风土人情为主题，歌唱极具民族特色，简短而押韵；二部曲式由两个乐段构成，第一乐段在音乐上具有鲜明的初步陈述性质，材料简单，结构方整。第二乐段则具有再现性或对比性；三部曲式由两个同等重要的曲体和一段强烈对比的曲体构成，形成ABA的构造。

In terms of musical form structure, American country music has formed a set of standard, namely ballad form, binary form and ternary form. The most prominent theme of ballad style is local customs and practices. Singing is full of regional characteristics,brief and of rhyming; binary form consists of two sections, the fi rst section is the distinctive preliminary statement with simple material and a regular structure.The second section features repetition and contrast;ternary form consists of two equally important sections and a strongly contrastive section, which forms "ABA" structure.

鼓励追逐梦想 Pursuit of Dream

美国乡村歌曲在内容上多以讲述普通人坎坷生活经历为主，歌手通过歌唱，提醒自己也提醒人们不能忘本，鼓励人们勇于追逐梦想。这一类作品往往成为乡村歌曲中的佳品，如《生活在普通人爱情中间》，这首歌突出表现了家庭成员之间的爱与自豪，呼唤改造生活、改变命运的责任感。

American country music usually tells the stories of common people's rough living experiences. Through singing, singers remind people and themselves not to forget their origins and encourage people to chase their dreams. This kind of work often is regarded as masterworks, such as "living in the love of common people". This song emphasizes the love and pride between family members, calling for the sense of responsibility to change the life and fate.

高远的词曲意境 Profound Prospect

美国乡村音乐在当代依然流行，主要原因是其价值理念受到多数人的认同。如被誉为“口头传说”的乡村歌曲《心满意足》，就是一首以体现人类价值观评价标准为主题的乡村歌曲。这首歌曲传达的“心满意足”价值理念，与现代社会中沉迷物欲的观点截然相反，表达了创作者高远的理想和人生境界。

Because American country music's value concept is recognized by the majority, it is still popular in the modern society. For example, "Satisfied", known as the "oral legend" of the country songs, embodies the theme of the human value criteria, conveys the value of "satisfied" which is diametrically opposite the opinion of obsession with material desires in modern society, and expresses the creator's lofty ideal and life realm.

结 语 Conclusion

淳朴的旋律、真挚的歌词以及返璞归真的本嗓演唱，为美国乡村音乐赢得了万千拥趸。它表达了美国普通民众对竞争生活的厌恶和对幸福生活的向往，深深地触动着人们的心灵，是音乐大家庭中一笔宝贵的艺术财富。

Simple lyrics, sincere melodies and natural voice gained popularity for American country music.It expresses ordinary Americans' aversions to the competitive life and yearnings for a happy life, deeply touching people's hearts. Therefore, it is a precious art treasure of the music family.