Que sera, sera
非常感谢细心读者HH发来的问题:“你提到Que sera, sera是西班牙语,可是我一直记得它是法语啊。是我接受了错误信息吗?”
说句实话,我以前也一直以为它是法语。后来查了资料,才发现这句话既可以是法语,也可以是西班牙语,但歌里用的肯定是西班牙语。给两个链接参考一下:
In Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Man Who Knew Too Much”, Doris Day sang “Que Será, Será”, which won an Oscar. “Que Será, Será” (Spanish for “What Will Be, Will Be”) became her signature song.
This was written by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston. The phrase came from a movie called “The Barefoot Contessa”, where the character Rossano Brazzi’s family motto was “Che Sera, Sera.” The motto in the film was Italian, but Evans and Livingston switched the “Che” to “Que” because more people spoke Spanish in the US.
When they got the Hitchcock assignment, Jay and Ray both knew it was the perfect title. They changed the spelling to the Spanish “Que Sera Sera” because there are so many Spanish-speaking people in the world. The phrase is spelled the same in French as well (which probably explains the international popularity of the song).
不过,我觉得最有意思的是这个小插曲:
Not many know that Doris Day who sang that Que Sera Sera song for Hitchcock’s 1956 hit movie ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’ did not initially believe in those lines. Here is an anecdote about that all-time favorite in Doris Day’s words.
“We went to their [lyricists Jay Livingston and Ray Evans] music studio, where they played ‘Que Sera, Sera’ for me. I thought it was fine for the spot in the picture where it was needed, but later, when I saw Marty [Melcher; Doris Day’s agent and then husband], I expressed my disappointment that it did not have a broader appeal.
‘What do you mean?’ Marty asked.
‘Well, it’s a kiddy song. It’s sweet, and perfect for where I sing it in the film, but I was hoping it would be more than that. You know – ‘Whatever will be, will be’ – that’s not really my kind of lyric.’
‘I think you’re dead wrong. Hitchcock and I both think it’s going to be a big hit. You’ll see.’
Of course, I’ve never been wronger about anything than I was about ‘Que Sera’. I recorded it for Columbia and for the movie album and it became the most popular of all my songs.” [source: Doris Day -Her Own Story, by A.E.Hotchner, 1976, pp.146-147]
http://www.sangam.org/articles/view2/?uid=1260
这个真实的故事不恰好是对“Que sera, sera”的最佳诠释?
P.S. 顺祝HH明天考GRE顺利!尽力就好。Que sera, sera.
Bonus video: Pussycat Dolls featuring Snoop Dogg - Buttons

September 6th, 2006 at 11:02 pm
Not until now have I got to know that “Que sera, sera” is meant to be Spanish. I always thought it’s French.
這句大概可以翻成「世事難料」或「隨遇而安」吧。
Yan:
I guess it looks more French than Spanish, if that makes sense.
September 6th, 2006 at 11:34 pm
也许我这人全是偏见。反正我总觉得著名的那句形容辣妹合唱组的话(”The difference between the Spice Girls and a porno film is that the porno film has better music”)用来形容 the Pussycat Dolls 也挺合适的。
Yan:
啊,没那么恐怖吧。Spice Girls有几首歌我蛮喜欢的,像2 become 1,Viva Forever之类的。
PCD好像有几个本来就是那行起家的吧,能有这样的水准很不错了。
September 7th, 2006 at 8:21 pm
不知道你以前是不是提过,自从Alias第一季预告片用了这首歌作配乐之后,后来有好几个新电视剧的预告片都用了这首歌。大概一方面想“好歌凭借力,送我上青云”;另一方面也给自己打个预防针,“世事难预料”,万一不受欢迎也好给自己一个台阶下吧。
现在的MTV,只要跟Hip-Hop沾点边,哪个不是男的指指戳戳,女的搔首弄姿的?
Yan:
肯定没提过,因为我没看过Alias第一季的预告片。
你的评论太经典了。看到“戳”字就想笑。
September 7th, 2006 at 11:02 pm
既然Yan大也爱讨论非英语语种 ^-^
那偶提一个主题好不?
Yan写篇介绍法语词组”Déjà Vu”的entry吧?
因为个人很稀饭这个词哇卡卡 *-*
Yan:
好的,不过再等一段时间吧。Déjà Vu我也在书里介绍过,接二连三炒冷饭怕有人投诉。
September 8th, 2006 at 2:13 am
第一次听这首歌是在In The Cut的片头。本来是冲着Meg Ryan去看的。那个留着短发俏丽得一塌糊涂的女生曾经在我心目中有过无比美好的印象,可是没想到唯一没有让我失望的只有这首歌。
印象中In The Cut里用的是Pink Martini的版本,和Doris Day的比起来,这个版本更为平静,且有种温暖的诡异感。
其实看电影的时候并不知道这首歌的名字,之后想找也没能够找到,偏偏就有那么凑巧的事情。某次有人提及Dead Like Me里用到这首歌,我好奇的下来听,发现竟然是找了很久的那支插曲。算是缘分么?呵呵。
这是Pink Martini的版本:
http://pickup.mofile.com/6596569964736954
Pink Martini的Que sera, sera被收录在一张叫Sympathique的翻唱专辑里。我从前在线听过一整张专辑,非常有情调的音乐,强烈推荐。
这个是专辑封面:

更多信息:
http://www.musicool.cn/music/oumeiyinyue/20060410_9832.html
—————–
我知道成事在天,但是谋事在人。可能今天失败了,不过我会努力把以后的部分考好的。谢谢你的祝福和鼓励。 ^_^
Yan:
继续加油。
去找那张专辑听听。谢谢你的心水推荐。
September 8th, 2006 at 9:10 am
我看到的男的唱hip-hop/rap的,都是右手拿着话筒,左手捂着jj
September 8th, 2006 at 9:56 pm
我看到Déjà Vu了,可是我不知道怎么读。。。
后面的好几个外来语都不知道到底应该怎么读。。。就用英语发音读么?
Yan:
这个好办。去m-w.com,单词都有音频提供的。
September 13th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
恰好前段时间刚听过Doris Day 的这首歌,我觉得这首歌的歌词是最好的解释……
When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother
What will I be
Will I be pretty
Will I be rich
Here’s what she said to me
Que sera, sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que sera, sera
What will be, will be
When I grew up and fell in love
I asked my sweetheart
What lies ahead
Will we have rainbows
Day after day
Here’s what my sweetheart said
Que sera, sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que sera, sera
What will be, will be
Now I have Children of my own
They ask their mother
What will I be
Will I be handsome
Will I be rich
I tell them tenderly
Que sera, sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que sera, sera
What will be, will be
Que Sera, Sera
November 13th, 2006 at 10:30 pm
一个法国朋友住在我家里,前几天一起看House的那集Que sera sera,于是问起它在法语里是什么意思。回答是这句话不是法语,不过法国人是把它当作西班牙语来使用。就语法来说,这句话完全可以是西班牙语,字面意思是“会是什么,会怎么样”,但是西班牙人几乎不这么单用的,只是有很多歌里都这么唱而已。所以听一个西班牙朋友说,这其实是一句意大利谚语,形容世事难料的意思。