泰勒·斯威夫特《Style》深度解析：英语精读讲义

The majority of Americans are getting their music on the radio.

大多数美国人都是通过广播听音乐的。

Like we have a huge population of people that hear

要知道，有很大一部分人

mostly top 40 hits. 文化背景

听到的主要都是排行榜前 40 名的热门歌曲。

And so what's in the top 40 語法

所以，哪些歌能进入前 40 名，

really matters to the way that people see the world

确实会影响人们看待世界的方式，

and the way that we kind of care.

以及我们关心事物的方式。

Style is such a pop song. 語法

《Style》就是一首非常典型的流行歌曲。

And when I listen to this song on repeat for hours a few years ago, 短語搭配

几年前，我曾把这首歌循环播放，一连听了好几个小时，

I realized that part of what I really like about the beginning of that song is that 語法

我意识到，我这么喜欢这首歌的开头，部分原因

there's almost a question and an answer format.

是它几乎采用了一问一答的形式。

And you hear this riff the whole way through the song. 短語搭配

而且，这段乐句贯穿了整首歌。

All of the songs on this album are 100% pop.

这张专辑里的所有歌曲都是百分之百的流行乐。

And though some of them tell stories,

虽然其中一些歌也在讲故事，

they aren't stories like the ones she was telling on Fearless or Speak Now.

但那些故事不像她在《Fearless》或《Speak Now》中讲的那些故事。

It's a video that doesn't make a lot of sense when you watch it. 短語搭配

这支音乐视频看起来让人有点摸不着头脑。

There's no storyline that it follows.

它没有一条贯穿始终的故事线。

But the word style many people have taken as a reference to Taylor Swift's relationship with Harry Styles, 短語搭配

不过，很多人认为，“Style”这个词是在影射 Taylor Swift 与 Harry Styles 的恋情，

the lead singer of One Direction.

后者是 One Direction 的主唱。

Taylor has been very consistent in saying,

Taylor 始终坚持说：

"You know, this song is about my life and I've never revealed who it's actually about." 語法

“你知道，这首歌写的是我的生活，但我从没透露过它究竟是关于谁的。”

And then 14 seconds into this video, 短語搭配

然而，这支视频播放到 14 秒时，

you see that paper airplane necklace. is the one that she and Harry Styles exchanged with each other.

你就会看到那条纸飞机项链，正是她和 Harry Styles 互赠的那一条。

She's giving you that clue.

她是在给你这个线索。

When you're creating a song and hoping to get high radio play, 用詞

当你创作一首歌，并希望它能在电台获得大量播放时，

what you want is for listeners to be hooked. 講解

你会希望听众一下子就被吸引住。

What that normally means is

这通常意味着，

you put the chorus of the song as close to the front as you can. 語法

你要尽可能早地让副歌出现。

A lot of songs start with the chorus.

很多歌一开头就是副歌。

In this song,

但在这首歌里，

the chorus doesn't come in for a full minute. 短語動詞

足足过了一分钟，副歌才出现。

And so she's kind of pushed that back. 講解

也就是说，她把副歌刻意往后推了。

And when I wrote this next song,

而我写接下来这首歌时，

I was thinking about how we have these kind of fashion staples that 用詞

想的是，我们总有一些经久不衰的时尚基本款，

never quite we never quite throw them out of our closet, right? 短語動詞

怎么都不会真的把它们从衣橱里淘汰掉，对吧？

Like no one's going to be like, 用詞

比如，没人会说：

"Why are you wearing a little black dress? 文化背景

“你为什么要穿小黑裙？

No one wears that.

现在根本没人那么穿。

That was so 2 years ago." 用詞

那都是两年前的潮流了。”

This is a pretty classic chorus structure

这是相当经典的副歌结构，

and it's using all major chords except for one line.

除了其中一行之外，用的全都是大三和弦。

On every single line,

每一句里，

you have this like positive feeling to the song.

你都能感受到歌曲传递出的积极情绪。

And then in the second half,

可到了后半段，

something changes.

情况发生了变化。

Tiny minor chord that gives you that question.

一个一闪而过的小三和弦，让你心里生出了那个疑问：

Is this really a happy song?

这真的是一首快乐的歌吗？

But that B minor says like, 習語

但那个 B 小三和弦仿佛在问：

"Is this a good thing?"

“这真的是件好事吗？”

She is notorious for writing songs 短語搭配

她可是出了名地爱写这类歌，

that are completely about affairs she has had in the past. 用詞

歌里写的全是她过去经历的恋情。

And here in this song,

而在这首歌里，

she says that he has cheated.

她说男方出轨了。

She has historically played the victim. 習語

过去，她总把自己塑造成受害者。

But in this song,

但在这首歌中，

you have her kind of taking a little bit of the blame. 短語搭配

她也承认自己要负一点责任。

What you heard is true,

你听到的都是真的，

but I can't stop thinking about you and I. 語法

可我还是忍不住想着你和我。

I said I've been there too a few times. 習語

我说，我也有过几次这样的经历。

Cuz you've got that James...

因为你有那种 James……

There's a lot of like sensual imagery going on here.

这里有很多带有性感意味的画面。

Taylor Swift like kind of hugging herself against the wall,

比如 Taylor Swift 靠着墙，双臂环抱着自己，

her like running her hands up her body.

还有她用双手沿着身体向上抚摸的镜头。

Taylor Swift isn't a sex symbol. 用詞

Taylor Swift 并不是性感象征。

But she's trying to show you like I am sexual.

但她想向你展示：我也有性感的一面。

Like she's trying to come out and say, 語氣意圖

她仿佛正站出来宣告：

"I'm an artist.

“我是一名艺术家。

I'm someone who is a mature adult."

我是一个成熟的成年人。”

And that's a lot of what this album is. 表達脈絡

而这正是这张专辑的一大主题。

It's kind of a coming out party for Taylor Swift to say like, 習語

这有点像 Taylor Swift 的一次正式亮相，她要告诉大家：

"Look at me, I'm a pop star.

“看看我，我是流行巨星。

I'm an adult.

我是成年人。

I'm no longer this country starlet. 用詞

我不再是那个唱乡村音乐的小明星。

I'm someone who has made mistakes 語法

我是一个犯过错的人，

and been in hard situations and failed."

经历过困境，也遭遇过失败。”