金融时报:监狱金曲《Let it Go》

监狱金曲《Let it Go》

尽管迪士尼动画《冰雪奇缘》席卷全球票房榜已经是几年前的事了，但很多人仍对片中的主题曲《Let it Go》念念不忘。据一家专为全英国囚犯举办音乐活动的慈善组织披露，《Let it Go》是犯人中人气最高的一首歌。这样一首动画主题曲为何格外受到囚犯青睐？

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

superficial[ˌsuːpər'fɪʃl] adj. 表面的，肤浅的

incongruity[ˌɪnkɒn'ɡruːəti] n. 不调和，不一致

resonate['rezəneɪt] v. 产生共鸣

coronation[ˌkɔːrə'neɪʃn] n. 加冕礼

villain['vɪlən] n. 坏人，恶棍

chord [kɔːd] n. 弦，和音

exhilaration[ɪɡˌzɪlə'reɪʃn] n. 高兴，兴奋

latent ['leɪtnt] adj. 潜伏的，潜在的

frazzled ['fræzld] adj. 疲惫的

Why ‘Let it Go’ is loved by prisoners and preschoolers alike(650 words)

By Helen Brown

This March a charity running singing workshops at prisons across the UK announced that the most popular song among inmates was “Let it Go”, the big number from Disney’s 2013 animated blockbuster, Frozen.

Despite the superficial incongruity of old lags carolling along to a song more commonly associated with preschoolers dressed as animated princesses, anyone alive to the profound emotional truths of the film would not be surprised to find it resonating with prisoners struggling to own the guilt and shame of the past and yearning to move on.

For the few souls who have still not seen Frozen, “Let it Go” is delivered by the character of Elsa on the day she is crowned Queen of Arendelle. As a child, little Elsa developed magical powers to create ice and snow, with which she accidentally hurt her sister, Anna. So her parents locked her up in their castle, teaching her to control and conceal her dangerous gift. But an emotional upset at her coronation exposes her “witchcraft” and turns her subjects against her. She flees Arendelle — the force of her fear and anger leaving eternal winter in her wake — and delivers “Let it Go” as she strides into the mountains where she finally unleashes her powers to build a dazzling ice palace, create a sexy new outfit and shut herself away from a world she kisses off with a defiant shrug of a line: “The cold never bothered me anyway.”

Based on the fairy tale of The Snow Queen, Elsa was originally written as a villain. But when Broadway songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez set out to write “Elsa’s Badass Song”, the couple realised they were writing “a transformation song”, which Elsa begins as a vulnerable girl and ends as a powerful woman.

“Who doesn’t have something there?” says Anderson-Lopez. “Shame or a secret that keeps them from owning their own power? We dug into that and imagined how it would feel at a much higher level.” The film was re-written to suit the song, making Elsa a flawed heroine, saved by the true love of her sister (not the traditional Prince Charming).

Melodically, the song circles the sadness of minor chords and blasts exhilaration through the majors. Its unusual structure includes phases of ballad and soft rock with an orchestral centrepiece, ending on a lingering, unresolved chord. Its vocabulary is unpatronisingly advanced, with Elsa’s soul “spiralling in frozen fractals all around/ And one thought crystallises like an icy blast/ I’m never going back, the past is in the past!” That last, long, high exclamation was written for the dynamic vocal range of Broadway powerhouse Idina Menzel, whose in-film version massively outsold Demi Lovato’s poppier version which Disney had expected to be the big single.

It was inevitable that children would connect with the song’s bold expression of latent power. But they weren’t alone. The internet filled up with tributes and parodies. Frazzled mums converted the chorus to “Fuck it all!” and dads pleaded “Let it go/I’m gonna smash the radio”. It became a coming out anthem for those expressing LGBT feelings, suffering from mental illness or on the autistic spectrum (like Andersen-Lopez’s younger brother).

To bawl along is pure release: the official singalong version has racked up more than 1bn YouTube views, almost double that of the standard version. It’s the most successful Disney song of all time, in the highest grossing animated movie (and third highest grossing movie) of all time.

It’s been recorded in over 40 languages and almost every genre, although (with the exception of a patchy live effort by Pearl Jam in 2014) major artists have steered clear, knowing this one’s for the fans.

Brighton folk rocker Passenger does regularly receive requests for it at gigs, from people muddling it with his 2012 hit, “Let Her Go”. Anybody interested in how those two songs sound when spliced together should check out the glorious mash-up by YouTuber Sam Tsui. It’ll give you shivers.

请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：

1.What kind of transformation is illustrated in ‘Let it Go’ ?

A. Elsa transforms from the Queen of Arendelle to the Ice Queen.

B. Elsa transforms from a vulnerable girl to a powerful woman.

C. Elsa gradually learns to control her powers to create ice and snow.

D. Elsa finally unleashes her powers to build a dazzling ice palace.

答案(1)

2.Who sings ‘Let it Go’ in the film?

A. Katie Lopez.

B. Kristen Anderson-Lopez.

C. Idina Menzel.

D. Demi Lovato.

答案(2)

3.Which of the following statements about the film Frozen is true？

A. It was originally targeted at preschoolers but later became a blockbuster.

B. It was written and directed by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.

C. It tells the story of a wicked queen who trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.

D. It is based on the fairy tale of The Snow Queen but the plot is not quite the same.

答案(3)

4.Why the song "Let It Go" appeals to prisoners?

A. Because the song inspires prisoners who yearning to move on from the past.

B. Because the song teaches them to control and conceal themselves.

C. Because the song expresses their shame and anguish at a much higher level.

D. Because the song expresses their wish to be saved by the love of their family.

答案(4)

* * *

(1) 答案：B.Elsa transforms from a vulnerable girl to a powerful woman.

解释：《Let it Go》是一首讲述改变的歌，Elsa从一个脆弱的小女孩变成了强大的女人。

(2) 答案：C.Idina Menzel.

解释：Idina Menzel录制了《Let it Go》的电影版本，其销量大幅超出更加流行的Demi Lovato的版本。

(3) 答案：D.It is based on the fairy tale of The Snow Queen but the plot is not quite the same.

解释：《冰雪奇缘》改编自童话《冰雪女王》，但他们改变了Elsa这个角色。

(4) 答案：A.Because the song inspires prisoners who yearning to move on from the past.

解释：《Let it Go》受到囚犯欢迎，因为这首歌使那些努力摆脱过去的罪恶开始新生活的犯人感同身受。