Billy Boy歌词浅析

这是一首很经典的英语儿歌，网上的文本歌词或者视频的字幕，大致如下。

Oh where have you been, Billy boy, Billy boy?

Oh where have you been, charming Billy?

I have been to seek a wife, she’s a joy of my life.

She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

Did she bid you to come in, Billy boy, Billy boy?

Did she bid you to come in, Charming Billy?

Yes, she bid me to come in. There’s a dimple on her chin.

She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

Did she offer you a chair, Billy Boy, Billy boy?

Did she offer you a chair, charming Billy?

Yes, she offered me a chair. She has ringlets in her hair.

She’s a young thing and cannot lever her mother.

Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy boy, Billy boy?

Can she bake a cherry pie, charming Billy?

She can bake a cherry pie quick as a cat can wink her eye.

She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

Tell me how old is she, Billy boy, Billy Boy?

Tell me how old is she, charming Billy?

Three times six and four times seven. Twenty-eight and eleven.

She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

She’s a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

这歌词值得商榷。I have been to seek a wife.这一句从语法上看就不正确。不可能有have been to do 的用法。从日常逻辑上说也错误，甚至荒谬，一个小男孩怎么可能急着去找媳妇。还有下文 a young thing这个词，英语的thing指人，是同情、怜悯或者玩笑乃至蔑视，用在这里至少是不礼貌的，而且从语用看相当别扭。更有最后一段告诉我们，这位wife年龄39岁！

其实这首儿歌的真正含义是通过小比利的回答，描绘了一位可亲可敬的中年女性Sickle（希柯）。在小比利的眼里，她年轻、高大、能干、亲切、漂亮，让人依恋不舍。wife除了是“妻子”，还指已婚女性，以及成年女性。如housewife家庭主妇、midwife接生婆等，还有习惯用语an old wives’ tale陈腐之词、荒唐故事。歌词里的wife是为了和life押韵，可以理解为“阿妈、阿姨”。

每一段的最后一句应该是She’s a young, big and cannot-leave-her mother.（她是一位年轻、高大、让人依恋的“妈妈”）。 cannot-leave-her这种用法在英语中并不少见，尤其是口语俗语中。像forget-me-not（勿忘我）、touch-me-not（含羞草）、hug-me-tight（女性贴身背心）是名词。作形容词的有an I-told-you-so look（“我说着了吧？”的表情）、a believe-it-or-not tone（“爱信不信”的语气）等等。所以歌词更应该是：

Oh, where have you been, Billy boy, Billy boy?

Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?

I have been to Sickle wife（wife’s）, she’s a joy of my life.

She’s a young, big and cannot-leave-her mother.

……