上週末參加了老公好友的婚禮。天氣晴朗，河水清澈，是個宜人的日子。婚禮結束之後，大夥兒在河畔草地上的白色帳棚下用餐。等大家的肚子都填飽了之後，由新人開舞，接著新娘和父親跳了一支慢舞，然後新郎也和丈母娘共舞一曲。

前奏揚起，我暗暗皺起了眉；我對鄉村音樂一向不是很有興趣。然而聽著聽著，卻驚訝地發現自己的鼻頭微酸，眼眶也不由自主地濕了。

曲名Love, Me。演唱者Colin Raye。


I read a note my Grandma wrote back in nineteen twenty-three.
Grandpa kept it in his coat, and he showed it once to me. He said,
”Boy, you might not understand, but a long, long time ago,
Grandma’s Daddy didn’t like me none, but I loved your Grandma so.”
”We had this crazy plan to meet and run away together;
Get married in the first town we came to, and live forever.
But nailed to the tree where we were supposed to meet, instead
Of her, I found this letter, and this is what it said”:
If you get there before I do, don’t give up on me.
I’ll meet you when my chores are through;
I don’t know how long I’ll be.
But I’m not gonna let you down, darling wait and see.
And between now and then, till I see you again,
I’ll be loving you. Love, me.
I read those words just hours before my Grandma passed away;
In the doorway of a church where me and Grandpa stopped to pray.
I know I’d never seen him cry in all my fifteen years;
But as he said these words to her, his eyes filled up with tears.
”If you get there before I do, don’t give up on me.
I’ll meet you when my chores are through;
I don’t know how long I’ll be.
But I’m not gonna let you down, darling wait and see.
And between now and then, till I see you again,
I’ll be loving you. Love, me.
Between now and then, till I see you again,
I’ll be loving you. Love, me.




【愛你】

我細讀奶奶早在一九二三年寫的一張紙條，
爺爺把它放在外套裡，他讓我看過一回。他說：
「孩子，也許你不明白，但在很久很久以前，
奶奶的爸爸一點也不喜歡我，可是我卻很愛你奶奶。」

「我們起了個瘋狂的念頭要去私奔，
在經過的頭一個鎮上結婚，過著天長地久的日子。
但在我們約定會面的樹旁，沒有她的影子，
只有釘在樹上的這封信，上面是這樣寫著：

如果你比我先到，別放棄我。
我把活兒做完了就來見你。
但我不會讓你失望，親愛的你等著瞧。
在這段等候的時光，直到我再見你之前，
我會一直愛著你。愛你。
在這段等候的時光，直到我再見你之前，
我會一直愛著你。愛你。」

就在奶奶過世的幾個鐘頭之前，我咀嚼著這幾句話；
當時我和爺爺停留在教堂門口禱告。
我知道在我有生的十五年裡，我從沒見他哭過；
但當他對她說這幾句話的時候，他的眼裡充滿了淚水。

「如果妳比我先到，別放棄我。
我把活兒做完了就來見妳。
但我不會讓妳失望，親愛的妳等著瞧。
在這段等候的時光，直到我再見妳之前，
我會一直愛著妳。愛妳。
在這段等候的時光，直到我再見妳之前，
我會一直愛著妳。愛妳。」