Name: 為什麼畢業典禮上總是響起這首驪歌？ (Why every American graduation plays the same song)
Uploaded: 2019-06-24T21:01:20.000Z
Duration: 5 min 34 s

你一定知道我們會播什麼音樂。

How did "Pomp and Circumstance" become the soundtrack to every...single...graduation?

「威風凜凜進行曲」是怎麼變成每個畢業典禮上必播的驪歌呢？

And to understand it, you have to know about the British empire's war for gold.

要了解這個曲子，首先你要先了解英國的「金凳子之戰」。

Let's get technical first: this song is part of Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance Military Marches.

我們先講技術面的東西：這首曲子是 Edward Elgar 的「威風凜凜進行曲」。

Specifically, it's the tune from 1901's March No. 1 in D. "Land of Hope and Glory" is the version with words.

確切來說，它的旋律出自於 1901 年 D 大調第一號進行曲；「希望與榮耀的土地」是它的有聲版。

但要了解這些事，必須先深入鑽研一下過去。

In 1901, Queen Victoria was coming to the end of her 63 year, seven month reign.

1901 年，維多莉雅女皇已經統治了英國 63 年又七個月。

That period marked a big expansion of the British Empire.

那個時期象徵著大英帝國的大範圍版圖擴張。

In 1901, a central conflict was the Boer War in South Africa.

南非 1901 年爆發了一場很大的衝突—波耳戰爭。

It was basically fought over packed diamond and gold mines.

其實就是為了爭奪鑽石和黃金才會有這樣的衝突發生。

Boers were the Dutch South Africans opposing Britain.

波耳人是反對英國人的荷蘭裔南非人。

Black South Africans were largely caught in the crossfire, though some fought with the Boers.

交火時，即使有些南非黑人是跟著波耳人一起奮戰的，他們還是大量地被抓起來。

For all South Africans, the war was brutal.

對南非人來說，這場戰爭很血腥殘忍。

The British destroyed a lot of territory and built incredibly harsh internment camps.

英國人摧毀了很多領地並且建了很多拘留所。

For the British, that was the march of empire.

對英國人來說，這是帝國的巡禮。

That fight was in the background when Queen Victoria died in 1901.

那場戰役的背景是維多莉亞女王 1901 年去世的時候。

When her eldest son, Edward VII, prepared to be coronated in 1902, he needed a program.

當她的長子愛德華七世在 1902 要被加冕的時候，他需要一個節目單。

At that time, Edward Elgar was already famous, and so was his military march.

那時 Edward Elgar 已經很有名了，他做的軍歌也很有名。

So Edward VII asked him to play it at the coronation and add some words.

所以愛德華七世就請他在加冕典禮上演奏並加上ㄧ些字句。

Elgar got AC Benson to write lyrics, and they were….warlike.

Elgar 請來 AC Benson 寫歌詞，結果歌詞蠻好戰的。

Here's an early recording sung by Dame Clara Butt.

來聽聽看早期由 Dame Clara Butt 錄製的版本。

"Land of Hope and Glory, Mother of the Free! How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee?"

「希望與光榮之土，自由之母，我等為爾而生，要怎將爾傳頌？」

"Wider still and wider shall thy bounds be set;”

「你的疆域被開拓，寬而益廣；」

"Wider still" means empires expanding, for the coronation of a king.

「寬而益廣」的意思是帝國的擴張，意即國王的加冕。

And the name “Pomp and Circumstance” comes from an Othello quote about, well, here's Orson Welles: “Pomp and circumstance of glorious war.”

而「威風凜凜進行曲」這個曲名源自於奧賽羅中的句子，就像美國知名導演兼演員 Orson Welles 說的—「威風凜凜進行曲」是一場光榮的戰役。

So why do Americans think it's about graduation?

那為什麼美國人會認為它跟畢業有關聯？

Pomp and Circumstance was a near instant hit in America, too.

「威風凜凜進行曲」在美國也算是一首很快走紅的曲子欸！

The tune was famous from its premiere, and it was quickly used in graduations.

在它首次登場後，很快地各個畢業典禮都可以聽到它。

In 1905, the University of Chicago and University of Cincinnati both used Edward Elgar's March at their commencements.

1905 年，芝加哥大學和辛辛納提大學都在畢業典禮上播放了 Edward Elgar 的「威風凜凜進行曲」。

Later that same year, Elgar went to Yale to get an honorary degree for his world famous compositions.

同年，Edward Elgar 以他舉世聞名的作曲拿到了耶魯大學榮譽學位。

In his honor, they played Pomp and Circumstance, without lyrics, as the ceremony ended.

為了頌揚他，現場在典禮結束時播放了無歌詞版「威風凜凜進行曲」。

The New Haven Morning Journal called it “a military march,” but early elite adoption helped it spread across universities.

New Haven Morning 報紙稱它為軍歌，但早期菁英使用這首歌的方式已經讓它擴散到很多大學了。

For example, here's the University of Minnesota's commencement programs from 1900 to 1950.

舉例來說，這些是明尼蘇達大學從 1900 到 1950 畢業典禮上的演奏節目表。

Here are the ceremonies where Pomp and Circumstance played.

而這些是「威風凜凜進行曲」有被彈奏的典禮。

In 1931, the tune was so popular that Elgar recorded it for a record — it was the very first session recorded at Abbey Road Studios.

1931 年，這個旋律太受歡迎以致於 Elgar 將它錄製成了黑膠唱片，這是第一期在艾比路錄音室錄製的唱片。

沒錯，就是披頭士的那個艾比路錄音室。

That legacy just depended on which country you were hearing it in.

你一定有聽過這首歌，差別只在於你是在哪個國家聽到這個歷史遺產的。

In the UK, Pomp and Circumstance remained like an unofficial national anthem, while in the US it became graduation kitsch.

「威風凜凜進行曲」在英國還是像首非官方的國歌，但它在美國就變成有畢業感的一首曲子了。

That's obvious in the parodies: in Kubrick's Clockwork Orange, the song satirizes government.

在滑稽模仿作品中可以明顯看到，歌曲是用來諷刺政府的，像是庫柏力克的發條橘子。

In Disney's Fantasia 2000, the joke is about a graduation march.

迪士尼的幻想曲 2000 也開了畢業進行曲的玩笑。

Elgar wears a mortarboard in America and a crown in the UK.

Elgar 在美國是戴著方帽，在英國是戴著王冠。

But in either case, his military march endures, even if it's not fully understood.

無論他的「威風凜凜進行曲」是否有被大家完全理解，這首軍歌還是持續發光發熱。

The British Empire has shrunk, but the song Elgar wrote for it?

大英帝國版圖萎縮了，那 Elgar 替它寫的曲子呢？

Take it away, Dame Butt: God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet.

唱吧 Dame Butt，上帝成就你偉業，使你堅而益強。

So this is probably not the first time this has happened, but I wanted to call out that we actually got the idea for this video from a comment.

雖然這已經不是第一次這樣了，但我們其實是透過影片下方的留言想到要做這個主題的。

So thank you for that comment — and that is the reason that you have just learned the history of Pomp and Circumstance.

所以謝謝你們留言—這樣你就學會了「威風凜凜進行曲」的歷史背景。

And that I have had this song stuck in my head for the past two weeks.

現在我腦海已經一直被這首歌洗腦。

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為什麼畢業典禮上總是響起這首驪歌？ (Why every American graduation plays the same song)

stick

incredibly

obvious

conflict