街头艺术面面观（五）

——Could you actually make money？

　　——你真的能赚到钱吗？

　　Darren: I couldn't, probably. My singing voice isn't that good. You could make a little bit of money, definitely, but not proper money. There are some guys in Dublin who are very good and definitely do make money. There's a street called Grafton Street, which is the main shopping street and it's pedestrian. There are a couple of guys there who play Beatle's songs and they've done that for a couple of years. They're really good. They'd usually have maybe fifty people watching them. I think they make quite a bit of money.

　　戴润：大概，我办不到。我的嗓音不怎么好。你是可以赚到点钱的，这是肯定的，但赚不到足够的钱。在都柏林，有几个家伙非常棒，他们肯定能赚到钱。那儿有一条格雷夫顿大街，它是一条主要的购物步行街。在那儿，有几个家伙在演唱“甲壳虫乐队”的歌曲，而且他们已在那儿唱了好几年了。他们确实很棒。经常会有50个左右的人来观看他们的表演。我认为，他们挣了不少钱。

　　——In Europe, what kinds of people busk？

　　——在欧洲，什么样的人会在街头表演呢？

　　Darren: Well, there are the people who want to do well with a band and they need to make some money ③on the side. Maybe they play in clubs to see if they can get noticed. But this doesn't pay very well. If they're good, they can make some extra money during the day, on the street. There are also some old people who've played all their lives and have retired. They might make a little extra money but they also enjoy it. They do some traditional songs and they are really just doing it as a lifestyle thing. And then there are young lads with guitars who do it for a laugh. They do it because they enjoy it and maybe they can make a few bob. But they usually don't.

　　戴润：嗯，有些人想做好一支乐队，而且他们需要挣些外快。也许，他们会在俱乐部里表演以便检验他们是否能引起别人注意。可这么做的收入并不怎么好。如果他们水平高，白天的时候他们就可以在大街上挣到些外快。还有一些老人，他们一辈子都在从事表演，不过已经退休了。他们挣到的外快可能只有一点点，但他们仍旧享受着其中的乐趣。他们演奏的是一些传统歌曲，而且他们真的是在把这当作一种生活方式。另外，还有一些弹吉他的年轻小伙子，他们这么做是为了找乐子。他们表演是因为他们喜欢，也许他们也会赚到点钱。但通常他们是赚不到的。

　　——Why do you think buskers are so popular in Europe？

　　——你认为，街头艺人在欧洲非常受欢迎的原因是什么？

　　Darren: They are popular if they make good music and a lot of them do make really good music. It's really nice if you are walking down the street and you hear some good music that you haven't expected, it's interesting to stop for a while and watch, and listen to it. A lot of them are at a pretty high standard.

　　戴润：如果他们演奏的乐曲好，他们就受欢迎，而他们中的许多人演奏的乐曲都确实不错。如果当你在大街上行走，听到一些你料想不到的美妙乐曲，那感觉确实不错，驻足片刻来看看、听听是挺有意思的。他们中很多人的水平都相当高。

　　知识链接

　　1 戴润在描述他曾经环游欧洲时，用到了一个词语“backpack”。这个词原是一个名词，意思是“背包”。当它用作动词时，它的意思是“轻装简行”。正如我们在许多城市中可以看到的，有的老外背着一个背包就在中国四处旅游了。这时，你就可以说，他们是在“backpacking around China”。

　　2 戴润在描述他曾经环游欧洲时，曾有一个计划，那就是“make the money I needed to get-by， by busking”。这个句子当中用到了一个词“get-by”。这个词在这里的意思是“为旅游而支出的全部费用”。

　　3 在访谈中，我们还遇到了一个词组“for a laugh”。它的意思可不是“博得别人一笑”的意思，而是“为了得到乐趣”的意思，相当于“for fun”。

　　4 在访谈中，我们可能会对“make a few bob”这个词组感到迷惑不解。其实，这个词组难于理解是因为它用到了一个俚语“bob”。“bob”在英国和爱尔兰有其特定的含义，指的是这两个国家的货币单位，相当于汉语的“块”、“元”。