Other Side of the World

张仪

天下有情人都希望能终成眷属，但不是每一段爱情都能修成正果。劳燕分飞的原因有多种，其中因异地恋而分手的不在少数，很多相思雀终是敌不过万水千山，最后成了分飞燕。

2005年，英国女歌手KT Tunstall发表了首张专辑《望远镜下的爱情》（Eye to the Telescope），其中的主打歌《世界的另一端》（Other Side of the World）讲述了一段只有花开而无结果的爱情故事。歌曲的第一节描述了一个孤独而冷傲的女孩，她的内心冰冷，渴望改变，等待融冰成水。第二节里，女孩僵硬的脸连同她冬眠的灵魂融进温暖的拥抱里，竟如水一般。这是一种抽象而细腻的比喻，若不联系整首歌曲，只是单纯从短短两行歌词去理解，或许很难体会歌者想要传递的意境。歌中的女孩之所以如冰山般冰冷，是因为她的世界没有爱情的温暖。所谓“wants to be like the water”，不过是隐晦地表达她在等待爱情来敲门。第二节中，虽然没有明确交待男主角的出场，但那句“theyre one and the same just like water”已暗示有情人终于走到一起，爱火把坚冰化成了春水。

然而进入副歌部分，情况陡转直下，爱情的花朵渐渐枯萎凋谢。恋爱中，女孩每天都听到爱人那让人厌烦的各种借口。她原以为爱情很简单，不曾想各种矛盾轮番上演，而这不知不觉中就提高了恋爱的难度系数。她不得不接受一个事实：Youre the other side of the world to me。

“你在世界的另一端”也是这首歌的题眼。有介绍说，这首歌主要表达了歌者对远程恋爱最终无果的无奈，歌者创作的灵感源于她的一对恋人朋友的真实生活经历：女方住在美国，男方在苏格兰生活，两人两地分居多年，因都不想放弃自己原本的生活圈子，所以无法聚到一起生活，最后相爱的两人只能分手。歌词第一句“over the sea and far away”也能体现出歌曲描述的这段感情相隔千里。歌曲的创作或许源自于此，但表达的内容并不止于此。细读歌曲“on comes the panic light”这一节，尤其是那句“holding on with fingers and feelings alike”，道出了多少情侣逃不过的N年之痒。而除了年复一年、日复一日的家长里短，真正的爱情杀手恐怕还是经过厮守后总结出的两人不得不接受的现实：你我来自两个完全不同的世界。而这个距离并不仅指两地之间的地理距离，更多的是指两颗心之间的距离，这才是真正难以消弭的差距与鸿沟，也是两人能否从世界的两端走到红毯两端的决定因素。

歌手KT Tunstall算是英国乐坛的才女。这首歌可谓其创作的代表作，充满了浓郁的英式风格，动听但不落俗套，具有艺术的持久力。Tunstall的声音干净又略带疲惫，非常细腻地诠释了渗透在歌词之中的无奈和遗憾。

Other Side of the World

Over the sea and far away，

Shes waiting like an iceberg，

Waiting to change.

But shes cold inside.

She wants to be like the water.

All the muscles tighten in her face.

Buries her soul in one embrace.

Theyre one and the same1）

Just like water.

The fire fades away.

Most of everyday

Is full of tired excuses.

But its too hard to say.

I wish it were simple.

But we give up easily.

Youre close enough to see that

Youre the other side of the world to me.

On comes the panic light，

Holding on with fingers and feelings alike.

But the time has come

To move along.

The fire fades away.

Most of everyday

Is full of tired excuses.

But its too hard to say.

I wish it were simple.

But we give up easily.

Youre close enough to see that

Youre the other side of the world to me.

Can you help me？

Can you let me go？

And can you still love me

When you cant see me anymore？

The fire fades away.

Most of everyday

Is full of tired excuses.

But its too hard to say.

I wish it were simple.

But we give up easily.

Youre close enough to see that

Youre the other side of the world to me.