戰爭殺戮與暴力犯罪的社會心理剖析-哈利奇平(Harry Chapin)的〈無賴〉(Bummer)悲歌－從台灣聽世界

戰爭殺戮與暴力犯罪的社會心理剖析-哈利奇平(Harry Chapin)的〈無賴〉(Bummer)悲歌

Bum是指那種遊手好閒、不務正業的人，Bums意為遊民。Bummer則是個雙關語(pun)除意指無賴外，也代表著不愉快的經歷或指吸食迷幻藥後的不良反應。這首由哈利奇平(Harry Chapin)創作演唱的〈無賴〉(Bummer)，收錄在哈利1975年的《肖像藝廊》(Portrait Gallery)專輯。此歌乍聽似乎只是首反戰悲歌，實則為哈利奇平對戰爭與暴力的深入社會心理剖析。

His mama was a midnight woman
他媽媽是位夜生活女郎
His daddy was a drifter drummer
他爹地是個漂泊鼓手
One night they put it together
一天晚上他們湊在一起
Nine months later came the little black bummer
九個月後蹦出個小黑無賴

He was a laid back lump in the cradle
他整個躺陷在搖籃裡
Chewing the paint chips that fell from the ceiling
咀嚼著天花板的落漆
Whenever he cried he got a fist in his face
每當他哭了，他臉上就挨一拳
So he learned not to show his feelings
於是，他學會了不表露自己的感覺

He was a pig-tail puller in grammar school
他是公立小學吊車尾的
Left back twice by the seventh grade
七年級重讀了兩次
Sniffing glue in Junior High
在初中他開始吸膠
And the first one in school to get laid
是同學中第一個破處(被開除)的

A weed-speed pusher at fifteen
十五歲時販毒
He was mainlining skag a year later
一年後耽溺於海洛因
And he'd started pimping when they put him away
接著因拉皮條被抓去關
In jail he changed from a junkie to a hater
在監獄裡他從毒蟲變成了懷恨者

And just like the man from the precinct said:
就如管區的所說：
"Put him away, you better kill him instead
「把他關起來，不如宰了他
A bummer like that is better off dead
無賴至此不如去死
Someday they're gonna have to put a bullet in his head."
有一天他們會讓他的腦袋吃子彈」

They threw him back on the street, he robbed an A & P
他們讓他重回街頭，他卻搶了A & P超市
He didn't blink at the body that he shafted
他面對所砍殺的屍體連眼都不眨
And just about the time they would have caught him too
他們總會及時逮住他
He had the damn good fortune to get drafted
該死的好運讓他收到兵單

He was A-1 bait for Vietnam
越南對他而言如魚得水
You see they needed more bodies in a hurry
你看他們急需更多的屍體
He was a cinch to train 'cause all they had to do
訓練他很簡單，因為他們只要
Was to figure how to funnel his fury
想法宣洩他的怒火

They put him in a tank near the DMZ
他們把他放在非軍事區附近的坦克營
To catch the gooks slipping over the border
追捕越過邊境的東方佬
And they said his mission was to Search and Destroy
他們說他的任務就是搜索和摧毀
And for once he followed an order
而這是頭一次他遵守命令

One sweat-soaked day in the Yung-Po Valley
在永坡谷那汗水淋漓的一天
With the ground still steaming from the rain
伴隨著雨水落在地面上揚起的熱氣
There was a bloody little battle that didn't mean nothing
有一場不足為道的小規模血腥戰鬥
Except to the few that remained
除了存活的少數人之外

You see a couple hundred slants had trapped the other five tanks
你看兩百多個越共圍困了其他五輛坦克
And had started to pick off the crews
開始射殺裝甲兵
When he came on the scene and it really did seem
當他來到現場，千真萬確
This is why he'd paid those dues
這就是為什麼花錢雇他的原因

It was something like a butcher going berserk
就像一個抓狂的屠夫
Or a sane man acting like a fool
或是一位理智的人做出蠢事
Or the bravest thing that a man had ever done
抑或一個人所做過最勇敢的事
Or a madman blowing his cool
還是一個瘋子散發著冷靜

Well he came on through like a knife through butter
嗯，他就易如反掌般的殺進來
Or a scythe sweeping through the grass
恰似刀落草偃
Or to say it like the man would have said it himself:
或者如這個男人自吹自擂的：
"Just a big black bastard kicking ass!"
「十足就是一個啵棒渾蛋大黑佬！」

And just like the man from the precinct said:
就如管區的所說：
"Put him away, you better kill him instead
「把他關起來，不如宰了他
A bummer like that is better off dead
無賴至此不如去死
Someday they're gonna have to put a bullet in his head."
有一天他們會讓他的腦袋吃子彈」

When it was over and the smoke had cleared
當煙硝飄散戰鬥結束
There were a lot of VC bodies in the mud
許多越南人的屍體遍布泥淖裡
And when the rescue men came over for the very first time
當救援部隊初到現場
They found him smiling as he lay in his blood
他們發現他躺臥血泊面露微笑

They picked up the pieces and they stitched him back together
他們拾起斷肢將他搶救縫合
He pulled through though they thought he was a goner
即便他們認為他完蛋了，他還是挺了過來
And it forced them to give him what they said they would
這迫使他們依法授予他
6 purple hearts and the Medal of Honor
6枚紫心勳章和榮譽獎章

Of course he slouched as the chief white honky said:
他無精打采地，當白鬼首腦照例說著：
"Service beyond the call of duty!"
「服役期間付出多過己任！」
But the first soft thought was passing through his mind
但他的腦海初次閃過溫暖的念頭
"Aww, my medal is a mother of a beauty!"
「噢，我的獎章如母親般美麗！」

He got a couple of jobs with the ribbon on his chest
他胸前的勳章讓他獲得了幾份工作
And though he tried he really couldn't do 'em
雖然他已盡力了但還是做不來
There were only a couple of things that he was really trained for
他真正在行的只有幾件事
And he found himself drifting back to 'em
他發現自己漂流回到舊日時光

Just about the time he was ready to break
他已經差不多他已經差不多到了爆發的時候
The VA stopped sending him his checks
維吉尼亞州停止寄送支票給他
Just a matter of time 'cause there weren't no doubt
毫無疑問是時候了
About what he was gonna do next
關於他的下一步已註定

It ended up one night in a grocery store
事情的了結就在夜晚的雜貨店
Gun in hand and 9 cops at the door
一槍在手與門口的9警對峙
And when his last battle was over
當他最後的戰役結束時
He lay crumpled and broken on the floor
他受傷捲曲躺在地板上

And just like the man from the precinct said:
就如管區的所說：
"Put him away, you better kill him instead
「把他關起來，不如宰了他
A bummer like that is better off dead
無賴至此不如去死
Someday they're gonna have to put a bullet in his head."
有一天他們會讓他的腦袋吃子彈」

Well he'd breathed his last, but 10 minutes passed
當他嚥下了他最後的一口氣，然而10分鐘後
Before they dared to enter the place
才有人敢走進這地方
And when they flipped his riddled body over they found
而當他們翻動他滿佈彈孔的屍體時他們發現
His second smile frozen on his face
他臉上凝結著第二抹微笑

They found his gun where he'd thrown it
他們發現他早已扔棄的槍
There was something else clenched in his fist
他的拳頭還握緊著別的東西
And when they pried his fingers open they found the Medal of Honor
他們扳開他的指頭發現了榮譽獎章
And the Sergeant said: "Where in the hell'd he get this? Ha ha ha ..."
警官說道：「他在甚麼鬼地方得到這個東西?哈哈哈...」

There was a stew about burying him in Arlington
關於將他埋葬在阿靈頓國家公墓有所疑慮
So they shipped him in a box to Fayette
所以，他們把他裝箱運到法葉郡
And they stashed him in a grave in the county plot
他們將他祕葬在郡裡的小墓園
The kind we remember to forget
那種我們註定要忘卻的地方

And just like the man from the precinct said:
就如管區的所說：
"Put him away, you better kill him instead
「把他關起來，不如宰了他
A bummer like that is better off dead
無賴至此不如去死
Someday they're gonna have to put a bullet in his head."
有一天他們會讓他的腦袋吃子彈」
歌詞中譯：django

美國現代民歌之父彼得席格(Pete Seeger)在1956年寫了這首〈花兒都到哪裡去了〉(Where Have All The Flowers Gone)，成為眾人傳唱的反戰歌謠。不同於一般反戰歌謠所揭櫫的和平理念，哈利奇平以其獨特的的敘事風格，以犯罪學個案研究的觀點，描繪一個無賴從搖籃到墳墓的一生；從種族歧視、受虐兒童、教育、毒品、犯罪與戰爭的角度剖析了戰爭殺戮與暴力犯罪的社會心理本質，亦即仇恨與暴力是在缺乏愛的環境中滋長。
哈利奇平刻意用了許多具種族歧視意味的字眼，如黑鬼(black)、東方佬(gooks)、亞洲佬(slants)以及白鬼(honky)。這種極具張力的用字遣詞，恰如1967年詹姆士雷達(James Rado)和傑羅米羅格尼(Gerome Ragni)填詞與編劇的百老匯音樂劇《毛髮》(Hair)中對越戰的描繪：
「這場徵召是白人送黑人去打黃種人，以保護他們從紅種人手中偷走的國家。(The draft is white people sending black people to fight yellow people to protect the country they stole from the red people)」

哈利奇平被譽為「美國良心」，實非浪得虛名。哈利奇平在這首〈無賴〉悲歌中，所要關注的並不是越南人眼中歷時近20年簡稱越戰的越南戰爭(1955-1975年)。他從兒童發展心理學的角度破題，關切這個缺乏愛與教養又被虐待，身陷社會底層的黑鬼是如何成長?又如何與國家機器抗爭然後變成國家殺人機器的過程?意圖描繪1960年代前後的美國社會是如何孕育這個滿懷恨意且殺人不眨眼的殘暴無賴?這位無賴(Bummer)所對抗的國家機器包括學校(無論是grammar school或Junior High)、警察、監獄與軍隊，從授予他勳章的總統、到剝奪他救濟金的州政府還有那不准他埋葬在阿靈頓國家公墓的法令。無賴退伍返美後，最終在深夜搶劫雜貨店時死在警察槍下，但是他手中早已丟棄了槍。此時，想起高中時代反覆聆聽這張B版黑膠唱片時，腦海中縈繞著歌中副歌的吶喊：

And just like the man from the precinct said:
就如管區的所說：
"Put him away, you better kill him instead
「把他關起來，不如宰了他
A bummer like that is better off dead
無賴至此不如去死
Someday they're gonna have to put a bullet in his head."
有一天他們會讓他的腦袋吃子彈」

註：

1.榮譽獎章(Medal of Honor)需由美國總統在白宮親自頒贈，the chief white honky即是指在白宮的總統，服役期間付出多過己任！(Service beyond the call of duty!)是獲頒此獎章的條件之一。

2. Fayette：法葉郡位在西維吉尼亞中南部，而阿靈頓國家公墓亦位在維吉尼亞州。

〈無賴〉(Bummer)之歌歌曲小測驗：

Q1:哈利奇平這首〈無賴〉(Bummer)之歌，主人翁的父親是位樂手，請問他演奏何種樂器?

A:鼓。有趣的是現實生活中哈利奇平的父親正是一位專業爵士鼓手。

Q2:〈無賴〉之歌中，每當小嬰兒哭泣時發生了什麼事?

A:被懲罰毆打。根據Love Our Children USA機構的統計每年有300萬兒童遭到暴力虐待。

Q3:歌中的主人翁重讀幾次7年級?

A:2次。根據美國國家成人語文素養(US National Assessment of Adult Literacy)的調查，有14%的美國人的讀寫能力近似文盲。

Q4:歌中主角十五歲時販毒，請問隔年他發生了什麼事?

A:注射海洛因(Mainlining skag)。skag是海洛因的街頭黑話。

Q5:哈利奇平這首〈無賴〉(Bummer)之歌的主角在搶了A & P超市後，碰到麼好運降臨?

A:徵兵的兵單。越戰期間約有225萬美國人被徵召入伍，於1973年停止實施強迫徵兵制。創立於1859年的A&P超市，最旺時期在北美約有500家分店，為美國昔日的超市龍頭。

Q6:歌中主角服役的軍種為?

A:坦克部隊的裝甲兵。美軍在越南約佈署了600輛M48巴頓坦克(M48 Patton)。

Q7:哈利奇平這首〈無賴〉(Bummer)之歌的主角因參與越戰英勇的表現，被授予什麼勳章?

A: 6枚紫心勳章和榮譽獎章。榮譽獎章(Medal of Honor)為美軍最高個人榮耀，需由美國總統在白宮親自頒贈。紫心勳章是則頒發給那些在戰鬥中受傷的戰士。

Q8:歌中主角退伍返美後重回街頭靠犯罪維生，請問他搶了什麼店家?

A:雜貨店。對比之前的A&P超市，形成強烈反差，也隱喻著這位越戰英雄的處境是每況愈下。根據2007年美國司法統計局(The Bureau of Justice Statistics)的資料，在2003 至 2005年至少有2,002人在遭執法當局逮捕時喪命。另依據殉職警官紀念頁股份有限公司(The Officer Down Memorial Page Inc)的統計，從1970年代至今約有19,000位執法人員在執勤時遇害。