美国国家公共电台 NPR 'She Was Our Queen': Fans Pay Their Final Respects To Aretha Franklin

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

People are paying their final respects to Aretha Franklin today. She's lying in repose¹ at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit as part of memorial activities this week in her hometown leading up to her funeral on Friday. NPR's Debbie Elliott spent time with fans as they waited to see the queen of soul a final time.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE²: By early morning, the line wrapped around the building as people waited to say goodbye to an icon³.

SIDNEY LLOYD: This is history. This is history right here.

ELLIOTT: Twenty-two-year-old Sidney Lloyd of Detroit was here before 7 a.m. He calls her a national treasure.

LLOYD: We're here to respect Aretha Franklin. And she put a lot of her energy into giving back to the community. And I think it's amazing that she lived through segregation⁴ era all the way to the first black president. And she was able to perform at three inaugurations⁶. A lot of people don't get to live through that.

ELLIOTT: Fans here talk about how Franklin's music marked milestones⁷ in the nation's history from singing "Precious Lord" at Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral to "My Country, 'Tis Of Thee" at President Obama's inauguration⁵. But she also provided the soundtrack for personal moments. And today was all about breaking out in song.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Singing) R-E-S-P-E-C-T (laughter).

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: And you better think.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Think.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Singing) Think about what we're trying to do.

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Singing) Hey, think, think, think.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: (Unintelligible).

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Singing) Oh, freedom.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #5: (Singing) Freedom.

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Singing) Freedom.

ELLIOTT: Paula Sands is with this group of women from Detroit.

PAULA SANDS: She was our queen. She will forever be our queen.

ELLIOTT: Inside, mourners heard Franklin's gospel recordings⁸ as they filed by her gold-plated casket. She's dressed in vivid red, including her high heels, and flanked by enormous arrangements of purple, pink and yellow roses. It was a bonding moment for many.

SIR DIEGO BRAZIL: We all just experienced history together and love. This is awesome⁹.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #6: (Unintelligible) Keep in touch.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #7: Travel safely.

ELLIOTT: Sir Diego Brazil came from North Miami Beach.

BRAZIL: I wanted and had to be here for her last public appearance, you know?

ELLIOTT: His favorite Aretha Franklin?

BRAZIL: (Singing) Got to find me an angel bum-bum-bum (ph) to fly away with me, yeah.

ELLIOTT: While Brazil and others came from around the country to be here, it's a particularly poignant¹⁰ moment for Detroit.

DONNA DUGEON: She was Detroit.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #8: Yeah.

DUGEON: You know what I'm saying? She sang in Detroit.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #8: Not was. Not was...

DUGEON: She...

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #8: She still is.

DUGEON: Well, she's still Detroit. But she didn't leave us.

ELLIOTT: Donna Dugeon says other artists moved to New York or LA once they gained fame. But Franklin stayed put, and that means something.

DUGEON: I love Aretha. My mama and daddy taught me how to - all about Aretha when I was a little girl. (Singing) Rock steady, baby, hear me now. Whoo (ph), that's what it was about. God bless you.

ELLIOTT: Patricia Crawford took a bus from a Detroit suburb to get here today.

PATRICIA CRAWFORD: I have so much respect for her. And people always have asked me, you know, why do you like her so much? Because she's touched my soul. And I like touching¹¹ other people's souls.

ELLIOTT: She remembers growing up singing Aretha Franklin songs into her toothbrush.

CRAWFORD: (Singing) Looking out on the morning rain, I used to feel so uninspired.

ELLIOTT: Parked out front, a vintage 1940 Cadillac LaSalle hearse awaits to take the queen of soul on to her funeral and final resting place.

CRAWFORD: (Singing) You make me feel like a natural woman.

ELLIOTT: Debbie Elliott, NPR News, Detroit.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "(YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE) A NATURAL WOMAN")

ARETHA FRANKLIN: (Singing) Oh, baby, what you've done to me.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) What you've done to me.

FRANKLIN: (Singing) You made me feel so good inside.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) Good inside.

1 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

4 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

5 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

6 inaugurations   

n.就职( inauguration的名词复数 )；就职典礼；开始；开创

参考例句：

7 milestones   

n.重要事件( milestone的名词复数 )；重要阶段；转折点；里程碑

参考例句：

• Several important milestones in foreign policy have been passed by this Congress and they can be chalked up as major accomplishments. 这次代表大会通过了对外政策中几起划时代的事件，并且它们可作为主要成就记录下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dale: I really envy your milestones over the last few years, Don. 我真的很羡慕你在过去几年中所建立的丰功伟绩。 来自互联网

8 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

9 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

10 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

11 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。