天鹅之歌

The white swan—with its long， graceful neck—is among the most beautiful of birds. The swan is mostly silent through its life. It floats quietly on the water， unable to sing sweet songs like most other birds.

In ancient times， however， people believed that the swan was given a special gift of song at the end of its life. They believed a swan sings a most beautiful song just before it dies.

The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates talked of this more than 2300 years ago. Socrates explained that the swan was singing because it was happy. The bird was happy because it was going to serve the Greek God Apollo. Swans were holy to Apollo， the god of poetry and song.

The story of the swans last song found a place in the works of other writers， including the early English writers Chaucer and Shakespeare.

And， the expression swan song has long been a part of the English language. At first， swan song meant the last work of a poet， musician or writer. Now， it means the final effort of any person. Someones swan song usually is also considered that persons finest work.

A political expression with a similar meaning is the last hurrah. The expression may be used to describe a politicians last campaign， his final attempt to win the cheers and votes of the people. The last hurrah also can mean the last acts of a politician， before his term in office ends.

Writer Edwin OConnor made the expression popular in 1956. He wrote a book about the final years in the political life of a long-time mayor of Boston， Massachusetts. He called his book， The Last Hurrah.

Some language experts say the expression came from a name given to noisy supporters of Andrew Jackson—Americas seventh president. They cheered hurrah so loudly for Andy Jackson during his presidential campaign that they became known as the hurrah boys.

Jacksons hurrah boys also played a part in the election to choose the next president. Jacksons choice was his vice president， Martin VanBuren.

A newspaper of the time reported that VanBuren was elected president， in its words： “…by the hurrah boys， and those who knew just enough to shout hurrah for Jackson.” So， President Jackson really heard his last hurrahs in the campaign of another candidate， the man who would replace him in the White House.

swan song 是天鵝临死时的叫声，意指绝笔，最后的作品。它是个古老的成语，源远流长。早在公元前6世纪，古希腊寓言作家伊索的寓言故事中，就有“天鹅临死才唱歌”的说法。古罗马政治家、著作家西塞罗在其《德斯肯伦别墅哲学谈》等论文中，就使用了“天鹅之歌”来比喻临死哀歌。在英国，乔叟、莎士比亚等伟大诗人、剧作家，都使用过这个成语典故。这个成语用于比喻某位诗人、作家、作曲家临终前的一部作品，或者是某个演员、歌唱家演艺生涯中最后一次演出。例如：All the tickets have been sold for the singers performance in Paris this week—the public clearly believes that this will be her swan song.（这位歌唱家本星期在巴黎演唱的全部门票都销售一空——显然，公众认为这将是她的告别演出。）而现在，它可以表示任何人的最后成就。