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1. We are Written
"It was always going to be like this, whatever you bring yourself to say. Why don't you point that
thing the other way and telescope this tangled story? You've got the whole thing at your fingertips, already
scripted in an alien Braille, snagged up under your fingernails." Oh, so blissful, in ignorance we
pin the tail, with smudgy marks we scratch the surface. We are what we were born to be, we are what we
become over time, under our own thumbs. We are written in our fingerprints, in everything we do and see;
we are written in our fingerprints, so very singular the marks of our destiny. So open the hands: this
is a lifespan.I found the future in my grasp, the line of least resistance, naturally; joined up the dots
and never thought to ask could I somehow do this differently? In the heat of the moment it's impressed
on me what's done is done in understanding. And if I had a choice to make I ignored it as such. So our
lifelines accumulate like the dust on the things we've touched. We are written in our fingerprints, all
of our virtues, all our vice. We are written in our fingerprints. Once upon a time the story: we won't
go through these motions twice. We are written in our fingerprints. We don't get to do this thing twice,
so let's play out the hand, unconsciously pre-planned. |
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2. Crossed Wires
"I don't know, somehow our wires got crossed: you've been mistaking me for someone who never gave
a toss. Life's too short for me to rewrite this page out of pig ignorance into all the useless wisdom
of age. Something I said off the cuff, without thinking, has driven us apart. Oh, you took it so much
to heart. To get this straight we need to find some common ground, some understanding ...but that remains
unfound. It's ancient history, feels like it happened so long ago; of insignificance I've forgotten more
than you'll ever know. Say what you like, I found the debate absurd; if we settled all our differences
we'd never get back where we once were. Let's get it straight without a shadow of a doubt. Sooner or later
the naked truth will out - incomprehension is what it's all about."I was only speaking my mind: over
my tongue I tripped. I put my foot in it the moment that the words left my lips. The moment that the words
left my lips I knew that language had eluded my grip. I know what I meant but perhaps in the telling the
wheels fell off the cart...oh, but you took it so much to heart."Getting it straight our smiles are
just like Cheshire Cats', half of the time we're both talking through our hats...I tell you this I never
meant to tell you that I got it straight, I put the whole damn thing to bed. Sooner or later we're going
to lose our heads, sooner or later the lines'll all go dead. Getting it straight I don't take back a word
I said: sooner or later the lines'll all go dead." Sooner or later the line goes dead. |
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3. Driven
"I know you haven't got the thread of the story so far. Just throw your luggage into the back of
the car. We'll drive around until you think I've gone too far but you can't go home, no, there's no way
home. You haven't lost the plot but there's detail you lack. This is a one-way trip and there's no turning
back. No protestation can divert us from the track we're set upon. Soon it's done and dusted and we're
gone. No-one ever knows the road they're on." I'm driven by my younger self into a corner. I remember
dreaming the open road. I liked to think I had control but my hands on the wheel were guided by some outside
force as my future revealed. I slalomed through life's obstacles more on instinct than feel. I picked
myself up as a hitcher and it's really quite a deal to see this lifelong journey through his eyes. Just
as we got going we've arrived. We're driven by our older selves into what we become and all our careful
planning turns out strictly rule of thumb. We're driven by ourselves but dream we're free, on the open
road. Free, on the open road. |
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4. Once you called me
I wish that I remembered better. You've grown so fast before my very eyes. The woman that you're now becoming
suddenly takes me by surprise. I thought that there'd be time and tide a-plenty to grow into a proper
fatherhood but underneath our feet the sands were shifting. You spread your wings, soon you'll be gone
from me for good. And when I tucked you in at night and swore I'd always love you madly I'd wonder would
this be the last time that you'd ever call me "Daddy"? A bittersweetnes runs through every memory:
a daughter's father wants to be so strong, then suddenly he's just an ancient relic. You spread your wings,
you weren't a little girl for very long. And if trouble's on its way you know I'd lay my life down for
you gladly. I only wish that I could still remember the last time that you called me "Daddy".
Once you called me "Daddy". Oh, my precious girl. |
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5. The Ice Hotel
Mercury's down to zero, absolute time will tell we're only over-wintering as guests in the Ice Hotel.
All that we build will crumble, every empire fades; humbled, we should admit impermanence marks the man-made.
Under the Ice Hotel the permafrost is stacked but down along the walls the first melt starts to track.
The wind's whipped voices up and swept them down the years but in the Ice Hotel the guests all have cloth
ears. Are we all so cloth-eared? We're only here a season, paupers and presidents. Reason allows us only
a temporary residence. Inside the Ice Hotel the mirror ball revolves while in the cinema the screen goes
to dissolve. Over and over what's destroyed will be remade and in the Ice Hotel we're only passing trade.
The walls are sweating as the Celsius starts to climb. Of all our works this is the transient paradigm.
Each year another team will build it up anew, for in the Ice Hotel we're all just passing through, we're
just passing through. |
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6. This is the Fall
All humans are siblings, this is a truth that I've assumed; all fighting over the legacy of a lifelong
and timeless family feud in the name of I don't know what. I don't believe in God but if I did I'd surely
say there is only one Power up above us, one face refracted in each different Faith. But for every holy
confessor there's a priest of self-worth trading in the eternal for power on earth.Soaked, the blood of
believers in the ground where prophets trod. How in God's name did religion get so far away from God?
Oh, mercy, mercy, mercy now! Oh, mercy, mercy, mercy! I don't believe in God but, with all respect to
those who do, surely no purpose could be served under heaven if there's no mercy in this place we're passing
through? Oh, now for every sainted ascetic drawing heavenly breath there's a literal fanatic in love with
death.Soaked, the blood in the pages pored with all-too-human pride...in what book of what religion is
the blood-lust sanctified? In the name of creation, for whatever that is worth, why in God's name is religion
bound so mortally to earth? Soaked, the blood of believers in the ground where prophets trod. How in God's
name did religion fall so far away from God? This is the Fall from God. |
6. これぞ堕落 （中村元 訳 2004/4/3）
人類はすべて血でつながっている――これは真実だと僕は思う。
全ての争いは、何と呼ぶべきか分からぬが、
生涯に渡り時代を越える家族の確執から来る遺産争奪。
僕は神を信じないが、もし信じるとしてみよう。
間違いなく僕らの上には、たった一つの「力」が働いている。
異なった信仰へと屈折する一つの顔。
だが、聖なる告白者には決まって、自尊心に満ちた聖職者が付き、
永遠を下取りにして現世の権力を手に入れようとする。
吸い込まれる、信者の血は預言者の踏みつける地面に。
宗教は一体どれほど神から遠いのか？
ああ、哀れみよ、哀れみよ、哀れみよ。
僕は神を信じないが、信者の立場になってみよう。
もし、僕らが通り過ぎるこの地上に哀れみがないなら、
天の下、何の目的も与えられないことではないか？
おお、神々しく息をつく聖なる行者は皆
死を愛好する文字通りの狂信者だ。
吸い込まれる、血はあまりに人間じみたプライドに
読み擦り減らされたページに。
どの宗教のどの教典が血に飢えるほどに神聖なのだ？
創造の名の下、それにどんな価値があるにせよ、
宗教は一体なぜ致命的に地上につながっているのか？
吸い込まれる、信者の血は預言者の踏みつける地面に。
宗教は一体どれほど神から堕ちてしまったのか？
これこそ神からの堕落だ。 |
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6. これは堕落である (野田慎吾 訳 2004/5/1)
人類は同胞である
真実であるとすれば
皆、綿々と続く家族の確執を受け継ぎ争っているのか
何の名の下かは分からぬが。
わたしは神を信じない
が、あるとすれば、違うことなく
我々の上にある唯一の力、
唯一の御顔、異なる教義に屈折しても。
しかし、聖なる告白者らの前には
現世の権力を求め「永遠」を商う聖職者がいるのだ。
信者の血に染まるのだ、
予言者が踏み歩むこの地が。
いかに、神の名のもとに
宗教は神から遠く離れてしまったことか。
今こそ慈悲を！慈悲を！
許しを！
わたしは神を信じない
が、信ずる者を敬するとも、違うことなく、
天国の下に、いかなる意図も存在しえぬ
我々の通り抜けるこの地に慈悲なき限り。
ああ、今や天の息吹を吸う聖なる修道者の前には
死をもって愛を唱える文字通りの狂信者がいるのだ。
信者の血に染まるのだ
あまりに人間的な高慢により精読された頁が・・
いかなる宗教のいかなる書物が、
血と欲で清められているというのか。
創造の名の下に、何に価値を置こうとも、
神の名の下に、なぜ宗教は致命的なほど
現世に結びついているのか。
信者の血に染まるのだ、
予言者が踏み歩むこの地が。
いかに、神の名のもとに
宗教は神から転落し、遠く離れてしまったことか。
これは神からの堕落である。 |
7. Just a Child
This is more than merely wrong, as sin on sin's grotesquely piled. Don't look so surprised when you find
yourself reviled. Don't look to me for comfort in your trial - the girl was just a child. Uttering remorse
with weasel words and shameless guile... it was "a mistake", no, paedophilia's "not your
style"; all's undercut by your crookedness of smile - the girl was just a child. Close to being grown
up, occasionally wild, but the girl was just a child, the girl was just a child.
Now here come the limp excuses with a euphemistic turn of phrase. The fact is sexual abuse undoes its
victims, down through all their days. Darkness clouds her face, no longer fresh and juvenile. Home's no
longer safe, her innocence is lost, with rising bile. This is not a hurt that will ease after a while
- the girl was just a child. Offer your contrition, in remorse you're meek and mild but the girl was just
a child and you can't restore the treasure, the flower you defiled - the girl was just a child. More than
merely wrong, this is simply vile - the girl was just a child. |
7. ほんの子供に (野田慎吾
訳 2004/7/26)
これは単なる悪行を超えたものであり、醜悪に積み重なった罪の中の罪である。驚くな、自らが罵られていることを知っても。向けるな、裁きの最中に慰めを請う目を・・少女はまだほんの子供だったのだ。逃げ口上と恥知らずな二枚舌による悔恨の言葉....それは「過ち」だった?...
違う！...小児性愛者の「他の人の趣味と違うのです」だと？ゆがんだ笑顔は全ての底にあるものを切り取り隠してしまう・・少女はまだほんの子供だったのだ。成長期に近づき、ときに荒れることはあっても、少女はまだほんの子供だったのだ、ほんの子供なのだ。
今度は婉曲的な言い回しでくどくどと続く釈明だ。だが事実はこうなのだ・・性的虐待はその犠牲者を破滅させる、今までの人生全てにわたって。暗闇が彼女の顔に陰を落とし、生き生きとした少女らしさは戻ることはない。家庭はもはや安全な場所ではなく、彼女の純真さは失われ、かんしゃくの爆発が続く。これは、しばらくすると癒えるような怪我ではないのだ・・少女はまだほんの子供だったのだ。お前が悔恨の念を表し、後悔の中で従順で柔和にしていても、少女はまだほんの子供であり、宝物を、お前が汚した花を元に戻すことはできないのだ・・少女はまだほんの子供だったのだ。これは単なる悪行を超えたものであり、卑劣な悪罪である・・少女はまだほんの子供だったのだ。 |
8. Skinny
Nobody knows what she sees, no-one can get behind that warped reflection. What glossy varnish strips away
protection from young girls like these? No-one admits what it means, no-one permits a gesture of contrition;
how carelessly they stacked the ammunition in the magazines. Like a gun to her head, skinny model fantasy.
No, she just can't bear to live with this body image.Who knows what she sees? Who knows what she sees
in body image? Nobody knows what she sees, no-one can guess the depth of her self-rejection. Seen through
the eyes of the disease her unblemished skin's all pock-marked with imperfection. Somebody messed up all
her young dreams; pretending that this is all of her own volition how carelessly they stacked up the ammunition
in the magazines. Like a gun to her head, every glossy fashion shot that reminds her of all the pretty
girls she's not in body image. Like a gun to her head skinny model fantasy; no she just can't bear to
live with this body image. Like a gun to her head, every glossy fashion shot reminds her of all the pretty
girls she's not in body image. Like a gun to her head, every image that she sees. No, she just can't bear
to live with this body image, body image, body image. |
8. 痩身 (野田慎吾 訳 2004/5/1)
少女がそこに何を見ているの知る者もなく、
そのゆがんだ鏡像の裏側を知る者もない。
いかにつややかな見せかけの美しさが、
若き乙女らの守りをかのように剥ぎ取るのか。
その意味するところを誰も認めず、悔いる仕草を許すものもない。
何とうかつなことか、彼らは弾薬を雑誌に詰め込んだのだ。
まさに少女の頭に銃を当てるように、痩せこけたモデルたちの幻想を。
いや、このボディイメージのもとに少女らが生きていくことは不可能なのだ。
少女がそこに見ているものを誰が知ろう。
ボディイメージの中に見るものを誰が知ろう。
彼女がそこに見るものを知る者もなく、
彼女の自己拒絶の深さを誰も想像できない。
彼女の病んだ目には、無傷の肌さえもあばただらけの欠陥品に映る。
何者かが彼女の若き夢を台無しにしたのだ
これは全て彼女の意志なのだと偽って
何とうかつなことか、彼らは弾薬を雑誌に詰め込んだのだ。
まさに少女の頭に銃を当てるように、
美しいファッション写真は常に彼女に思い出させるのだ、
あの素敵な女の子たちを。彼女が持ち得ない
ボディーイメージを持つ者たちを。
まさに少女の頭に銃を当てるように、彼女が見る全てのイメージを。
いや、このボディイメージのもとに少女らが
生きていくことは不可能なのだ。
このボディイメージ、このボディイメージでは。 |
9. Bareknuckle Trade
And when you feel you can't go on what kind of laurels do you look to? Sometimes we get what we want,
sometimes we take a good hook too. Once you thought you were so strong...some young pretender came and
shook you. Now there's a lesson to be learned: we must respect what is gone and still expect there'll
be something more, but there's a tab left to pay for the experience we're gaining day after day as our
knuckles are grazed by the marks that we made with the tools of the trade.
A telegraph is on its way that might explain my every action. Sometimes we get what we want and then forget
what we came here for. From fitness to decay we trade in opposite attractions. There are still lessons
to be learned and when we get what we want we find it less than we might deserve. Now I'm a little bit
lost, not for the first time I'm here in some disarray and returning in spades are the hands that I've
played with the tools of the trade.
If I learned my lesson well I've got time to buy and sell with the tools of the trade."What do you
want? What do you get? What do you want? What do you expect?" What you want, what you want's not
what you get. The tools of the trade, look what you made with the tools of the trade. But what price has
been paid for the tools of the trade? And here's a message in my hands, though I'm not sure I can decode
it. Sometimes we get what we want and yet still don't know quite what that is. Timidity be damned - hang
on to that towel, never throw it. Still there are lessons to be learned: if we don't get what we want
at least we get to request the bill, carrying on until the last one is standing still in the game. With
quick breath we all pay for the fists that we made: these, the tools of the trade. |
9. 剥き出しの拳の取引 （宮崎真彦 訳 2004/5/7）
そして、続けていくことが出来ないと感じるときに、あなたはどんな月桂冠（王者の冠）を期待しようというのか？ 時々私たちは求めるもをを得る、時々私たちは良いとっかかりも得る。かつてあなたは自分がとても強いと思っていた…若い挑戦者たちがやってきてあなたを驚かした。さぁ学ばねばならぬ授業だ：私たちは過ぎ去るものを敬わなければならない。そして未だ、何か更なるものが現れるだろうと期待しなければならない。しかし私たちが日々得ている経験に対する支払いが残された帳簿がある。私たちの拳が、自分でその商売道具でつけたマークで擦り切れていくにつれて。
私の一つ一つの行動を説明する電報は途中だ。時々私たちは求めるものを得て、そして何のためにここに来たのかを忘れてしまう。健康から腐敗まで、私たちは反対の出し物を商っている。そこにはまだ学ばれるべき授業があり、私たちが望むものを得る時には、私たちはそれが私たちが受けるに値するものよりも少ないということを見出している。今や私はほんの少し負けている。私がここで混乱するのは初めてではないし決定的に戻ってくるのは、私がその商売道具でプレイしたところの両手である。
もし私が自分の授業をよく学んだのならば、私は売り買いをする時間をその商売道具で得ていただろう。「何が欲しい？ 何を得ている？ 何を望む？ 何を期待している？」あなたが望むもの、あなたが望むものはあなたが得るものではない。商売道具、あなたがその商売道具で作り出したものを見よ。しかしその商売道具に対して支払われた対価（代償）は一体何だ？ またここに私の両手の中にメッセージがある。けれども私にそれが解読できるのだろうか。時々私たちは望むものを得る。そしてまだ未だにそれが何なのか全く分かっていないのだ。呪われるべき臆病さ
- タオルをしっかり握っていろ、決してそれを投げるんじゃない。いまだに学ばねばならぬ授業がある：もし私たちが望むものを得られないならば少なくとも私たちは請求書を要求するようになる、ひとが試合（ゲーム）において未だ立っていられる最後のときまで続けていって。息を切らしながら、私たちは皆、自分たちが作った拳骨に支払いをする
：これら、商売道具に。 |
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