The Greatest Man I Never Knew

• By: Reba McEntire
• Album: Reba McEntire's Greatest Hits, Volume Two

Lyrics:

[English]

[中文]

The greatest man I never knew

我从未真正了解，最伟大的男人

Lived just down the hall

就住在走廊的另一端

And everyday we said, "Hello"

每天我们都会说声，“你好”

But never touched at all

但彼此从未真正靠近

He was in his paper

他埋首于报纸之中

I was in my room

我则待在自己的房间

How was I to know he thought I hung the moon?

我又怎会知道，他视我如掌上明珠？

The greatest man I never knew

我从未真正了解，最伟大的男人

Came home late every night

每天深夜才回到家

He never had too much to say

他总是沉默寡言

Too much was on his mind

仿佛心事重重

I never really knew him

我从未真正了解他

Oh, and now it seems so sad

哦，现在回想起来，多么令人悲伤

Everything he gave to us, took all he had

他给予我们一切，耗尽了他所有

Then the days turned into years

岁月流逝，时光荏苒

And the memories to black and white

记忆也渐渐褪色成黑白

He grew cold like an old winter wind

他变得冷漠，如同凛冽的寒风

Blowing across my life

吹过我的生命

The greatest words I never heard

我从未听过的，最伟大的话语

I guess I'll never hear

我想我永远也无法听到了

The man I thought could never die

我曾以为永远不会离去的男人

Has been dead almost a year

已经去世快一年了

And was good at business

他擅长经商

But there was business left to do

但还有未完成的事业

He never said he loved me

他从未说过爱我

Guess he thought I knew

或许他以为我明白

...

...

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
greatest /ˈɡreɪ.tɪst/ A2	adjective - 最伟大的，最大的
knew /nuː/ A1	verb - 知道 (过去式)
lived /lɪvd/ A1	verb - 居住 (过去式)
touched /tʌtʃt/ A2	verb - 触摸 (过去式)
paper /ˈpeɪ.pər/ A1	noun - 报纸
room /ruːm/ A1	noun - 房间
hung /hʌŋ/ A2	verb - 挂 (过去式)
moon /muːn/ A1	noun - 月亮
late /leɪt/ A1	adjective - 晚
mind /maɪnd/ A2	noun - 思想
sad /sæd/ A2	adjective - 伤心
gave /ɡeɪv/ A1	verb - 给 (过去式)
turned /tɜːrnd/ A2	verb - 转 (过去式)
memories /ˈmem.əriz/ B1	noun - 记忆
cold /koʊld/ A1	adjective - 冷
winter /ˈwɪn.tər/ A1	noun - 冬天
wind /wɪnd/ A1	noun - 风
words /wɜːrdz/ A1	noun - 词语
business /ˈbɪz.nɪs/ A2	noun - 生意
loved /lʌvd/ A1	verb - 爱 (过去式)

Grammar:

• The greatest man I never knew

  ➔ 省略关系代词的关系从句

  ➔ 这里省略了关系代词“that”或“whom”。 完整的句子是“The greatest man that/whom I never knew”。 当关系代词是关系从句中动词的宾语时，这很常见。“I never knew”修饰“The greatest man”。

• How was I to know he thought I hung the moon?

  ➔ 过去时态的推测情态动词 (How was I to know)

  ➔ “How was I to know”表示说话者过去不可能知道某事。 它表示缺乏意识或远见。“Hung the moon”是一个习语，意思是受到某人的高度钦佩或被视为非常重要。

• Everything he gave to us, took all he had

  ➔ 平行结构

  ➔ 这句话使用平行结构来强调父亲所做的牺牲。 “Gave to us”和“took all he had”在结构上相似，突出了对比和他付出的程度。

• He grew cold like an old winter wind

  ➔ 明喻

  ➔ 这句话使用明喻（“like”）将父亲的情绪状态比作寒冬的严酷。 这说明了他日益增长的情感疏远和超脱。

• The greatest words I never heard

  ➔ 最高级形容词

  ➔ “Greatest”是“great”的最高级形式。 它强调这些未说出口的话是说话者错过的最重要和最有影响的话。 暗示着巨大的失落感和遗憾。

• Guess he thought I knew

  ➔ 省略

  ➔ 完整的句子是“Guess he thought I knew he loved me。” 省略了“he loved me”一词，让听众来推断。 这创造了一种微妙而有力的轻描淡写。