公木
Being an American is not a patent of privilege but an invitation to adventure.
上来先回答几个朋友的问题。有朋友问为什么写了三篇就停了，难道是江郎才尽了，套用高小胖的歌词，就是最近比较苟且，没有时间及时把这个系列继续写下去，今天抽空接一下。还有一个问题是有关为什么我一个在大苹果郊区住的IT男会喜欢country music，其实也不是什么特殊的原因，一个是我刚到美国在UTAH住过几年，一种完全陌生的音乐形式突然充斥在生活的四周，耳濡目染吧，另一方面是来自我carpool几年的一个老同事的熏陶，他是虔诚的天主教徒，酷爱乡村音乐，几乎每天在车里都会放乡村音乐，而且是循环播放，并且经常给我讲解歌曲背后的故事。
好了，还是来介绍今天推介的一首歌吧，歌名叫“He Didn't Have to Be”，是乡村音乐巨星（是的，这位是巨星，有时间单独介绍一下他）Brad Paisley 早期的作品。这首歌发表于1999年，一推出就登上了Billboard，并登榜长达三十周之久，还曾拿到过Billboard周冠军。
这首歌是Brad Paisley根据他的好朋友，音乐创作搭档Kelley Lovelace的故事创作的，它讲的是一个很多现代的普通家庭无法回避的事实，一个有关单亲家庭的故事。乡村歌曲的一个重要特点就是讲故事，而歌中的故事也是从一个小男孩的眼中开始的。
小男孩的妈妈是个单亲妈妈，每次妈妈去相亲（dating) 时就像是一次面试，妈妈提到想要遇到一个不介意这个小男孩的存在的意中人真的好难。终于，在五岁那年，那个后来成为了小男孩继父的男人出现了，这是第一个在和他妈妈约会时会邀请小男孩一起去看电影的男人（其他男人都只是单独约会他妈妈哦），后来这个男人成为了小男孩的继父，小男孩在继父的呵护下快乐的成长。
第二段讲小男孩长大了，结婚成家了，当他的孩子出生时，他才深深体会到，那个站在他身边的男人（继父）是如此伟大，给了他一个完整而幸福的童年，他希望继父至少是他的半个父亲（at least half the dad），继父为他做了那么多（his stepfather "didn't have to be."），给了他那么多无私的爱。
副歌部分是反复的重放，强调同一个主题，父爱如山，即使是一个伟大的继父也会给孩子带来无尽的父爱。
I hope I'm at least half the dad. That he didn't have to be
在真实生活中，Brad Paisley邀请了Kelley Lovelace的继子McCain Merren在2000年ACM大奖中做颁奖嘉宾。Brad Paisley对Kelley Lovelace说，“让我们做一首歌，讲你们两个人的故事，肯定能让你的妻子喜极而泣“，我相信他们做到了。
有关父亲的歌曲本来就不多，而这首歌又是有关继父，注定它会成为了一个小众的经典，它展现一个有关亲情，无关血缘的大爱情怀，简单的说就是，爱可以消除一切的隔膜，一切的真心付出都会有美好的结果。
When a single mom goes out on a date with somebody new
It always winds up feeling more like a job interview
My momma used to wonder if she'd ever meet someone
Who wouldn't find out about me and then turn around and run
I met the man I call my dad when I was five years old
He took my mom out to a movie and for once I got to go
A few months later I remember lying there in bed
I overheard him pop the question and prayed that she'd say yes
And then all of a sudden
Oh, it seemed so strange to me
How we went from something's missing
To a family
Lookin' back all I can say
About all the things he did for me
Is I hope I'm at least half the dad
That he didn't have to be
I met the girl that's now my wife about three years ago
We had the perfect marriage but we wanted somethin' more
Now here I stand surrounded by our family and friends
Crowded 'round the nursery window as they bring the baby in
And now all of a sudden
It seemed so strange to me
How we've gone from something's missing
To a family
Lookin' through the glass I think about the man
That's standin' next to me
And I hope I'm at least half the dad
That he didn't have to be
Lookin' back all I can say
About all the things he did for me
Is I hope I'm at least half the dad
That he didn't have to be
Yeah, I hope I'm at least half the dad
That he didn't have to be
Because he didn't have to be
You know he didn't have to be
And his stepdad "didn't have to be" his dad (he could've fathered another kid). But -- the stepdad chose to do it anyway.