My grandfather' s clock
Was too large for the shelf,
So it stood ninety years on the floor;
It was taller by half
Than the old man himself,
Though it weighed not a 1)pennyweight more.
It was bought on the morn
Of the day that he was born,
And was always his treasure and pride;
But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
我爷爷的钟
大得连架子都放不下,
所以九十年来它都竖立在地板上。
它比爷爷本人
要高出半个身子,
尽管它并不比老人重。
在爷爷出生那天早晨,
它被买进家门,
自此,它成了他的宝贝和骄傲。
但当老人去世时,
它忽然停止了,
再也不走了。
In watching its 2)pendulum
Swing 3)to and fro,
Many hours had he spent while a boy;
And in childhood and manhood
The clock seemed to know,
And to share both his grief and his joy.
For it struck twenty-four
When he entered at the door,
With a blooming and beautiful bride;
But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
当他还是个孩童,
他长时间
看着钟摆来回摆动;
从少年走到成年,
大钟似乎也知晓
并分享他的悲伤和欢乐。
当他把一位美丽妙龄新娘
带回家时,
它敲了二十四响。
但当老人去世时,
它忽然停止了,
再也不走了。
* Ninety years without 4)slumbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
His life seconds numbering,
Tick, tock, tick, tock,
It stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died. *
* 九十年来没有打过盹儿
滴答,滴答,滴答,滴答
数着他生命的每一秒钟
滴答,滴答,滴答,滴答
但当老人去世时,
它忽然停止了,
再也不走了。*
My grandfather said
That of those he could hire,
Not a servant so faithful he found;
For it wasted no time,
And had but one desire,
At the close of each week to be wound.
And it kept in its place,
Not a frown upon its face,
And its hands never hung by its side.
But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
我爷爷说,
在他雇佣的那些人中,
没有谁像他的钟那样忠心耿耿,
因为它从不浪费时间,
从来只有一个请求:
在周末时,它需要上发条。
它一直留在原地,
从不皱眉蹙额,
从不游手好闲。
但当老人去世时,
它忽然停止了,
再也不走了。
It rang an alarm
In the dead of the night,
An alarm that for years had been dumb;
And we knew that his spirit
Was pluming for flight,
That his hour of departure had come.
Still the clock kept the time,
With a soft and 5)muffled 6)chime,
As we silently stood by his side.
But it stopped short
Never to go again,
When the old man died.
夜深人静时
它鸣响了
数年来一直无声的大钟。
让我们知晓
他的灵魂正准备飞翔,
离别的时刻已经到来。
大钟依旧走着,
声音柔和且低沉,
而我们默默地站在老人身旁。
但当老人去世时,
它忽然停止了,
再也不走了。
Repeat *
重复*
当旋律响起的时候，是不是感觉时间仿佛定格在了记忆中的某一刻？没错，看过《樱桃小丸子》的读者肯定不会陌生，小丸子和三年四班的同学在班级歌唱比赛唱的就是这首歌的日文版本《大きな古时计》，这首歌的原作是美国19世纪有名的作曲家Henry Clay Work （亨利·克莱·沃克）于1876年制作完成的一首著名的童谣。
关于这首歌的创作还有一个美丽的传闻，讲述的是一对兄弟和钟的故事。在英国一个叫Piercebridge的村庄，兄弟俩共同经营着一家叫乔治的小旅馆，馆内有座落地大钟，这座钟一直都非常准时。直到有一天，兄弟中的哥哥死去，本来精确的大钟开始越走越慢。就在九十高龄的弟弟死去的那一天，这台钟就完全停止了摆动，再也没走过。虽然旅馆的新主人试图找人来修过，但都徒劳无功。据说1875年亨利到英国旅游期间，住进了这家旅馆，听到这个故事后便以此为根据创作了这首广为流传的童谣。
这首童谣被改编成多个版本在许多国家流传开去，并广受欢迎。值得一提的是日本天王级歌手平井竖也于2002年重新演绎了这首歌，发行了单曲《古老的大钟》。此曲把他的歌唱事业推进到另一个阶段，同时该曲也是当年全年单曲销量十大之一，其知名度得到了大大的提升。
每个人在成长的道路上都有陪伴自己走过的玩伴。是邻居家的小孩？是那只淘气的小猫？或是柜里的储钱罐？在这炎炎夏日就让大钟“滴答滴答”的声音带你穿梭时空的隧道，重温属于你的故事。