"THE STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER"
《星 條 旗 頌》
美國作曲家 John Philip Sousa 一首愛國歌曲作品, 被美國確認是他的巨著。1987年, 根據美國國會制訂的法案第188條 (US Code, Title 36 Chapter 10), 這篇作品成為美利堅合眾國的 "National March 國家進行曲"。
歴 史
1896年聖誕日, John Philip Sousa 與妻子在歐洲度假, 傳來他的銀樂隊經理 David Blakely 突然去世的消息, 令他震驚和悲痛之外, 亦想起樂隊早已籌備的巡迴演奏, 他必須馬上回去紐約 New York。
John Philip Sousa 自傳 "Marching Along":
這是我職業生涯中最震蕩的事件之一。當郵輪從歐洲準備回程之前, 傳來樂隊經理離世的消息, 引致在整個航程中, 每想起有許多職責要執行和決定, 多次在甲板上踱步思量, 想到如要樂隊可延續演奏下去, 必須要有獨特的旋律和節奏。突然間, 在腦海中出現了一些特別的節奏, 當回到岸上, 我馬上把樂曲的旋律和節奏筆錄下來。
1897年五月十四日, 他的樂隊在 Philadelphia 費城郊外 Willow Grove Park 公園, 首次公開演奏剛完成的樂曲 "The Stars and Stripes Forever", 受到在場觀眾熱情的歡呼。Sousa 向媒體解釋, 樂曲共四節, 第三節的主題是輕快的短木笛, 最後一節集結三個主旋律樂器演奏, 代表美國的三個地域。宏廣曲調代表著北方的穩重, 短木笛代表對南方的寬懷, 而西方則以長號銅樂器象徵勇敢往前; 三個旋律聚集在一起, 代表合眾國聯盟本身。這篇樂曲取得了顯著的成就, 他亦把樂曲撰上歌詞。在他去世前二十五年來, 他的樂隊幾乎在每場音樂會上必定演奏這首樂曲,
Stars and Stripes Forever - John Philip Sousa (1906)
THE STARS AND STRIPS FOREVER
FIRST STRAIN
Hurrah for the flag of the free!
May it wave as our standard forever,
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right.
Let despots remember the day
When our fathers with mighty endeavor
Proclaimed as they marched to the fray
That by their might and by their right
It waves forever.
SECOND STRAIN
Let eagle shriek from lofty peak
The never-ending watchword of our land;
Let summer breeze waft through the trees
The echo of the chorus grand.
Sing out for liberty and light,
Sing out for freedom and the right.
Sing out for Union and its might,
O patriotic sons.
TRIO
Other nations may deem their flags the best
And cheer them with fervid elation,
But the flag of the North and South and West
Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom's nation.
GRANDIOSO
Hurrah for the flag of the free.
May it wave as our standard forever
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right.
Let despots remember the day
When our fathers with might endeavor
Proclaimed as they marched to the fray
That by their might and by their right
It waves forever.