The Voice: Whitney Houston
（ TIME ）
Several years ago in Los Angeles, I walked out of a hotel in Westwood
and saw a beautiful but slight woman step out of a limousine, stride
past her bodyguards and head up the front steps. It took me several
moments to say to myself, “Isn’t that Whitney Houston?” She wasn’t
what I expected. She wasn’t of supermodel dimensions -- even if she
was one of the most beautiful women in the world. She didn’t say a word
-- even though her voice will echo forever in the soundtrack of the
my life. She simply walked imperiously forward, not evincing the
slightest curiosity at the riffraff around her -- myself included. She
looked as if she felt she was the most important person in the world at
that moment. And she was, for everyone who saw her. It was a sight I
will never forget. Yet, though her self-confidence radiated into that
southern California evening, she looked uncannily frail, almost small.
Whitney Elizabeth Houston, 48, died on the eve of the Grammy Awards,
the music industry’s annual celebration of itself. The cause of her
death is yet unknown, but it is certain to plunge her colleagues,
friends, rivals and disciples into the kind of introspective mourning
reserved only for the artists who have achieved the greatest success
and become the victims of their great good fortune. Her voice, combined
with her looks, made her one of the biggest stars on the planet. She
set sales record after sales record. Her first major foray into the
movie industry in The Bodyguard (1992) became a milestone in the issue
(or non-issue) of race in casting (who could quarrel with her being the
star?) and produced -- or, as some critics would say, inflicted -- a
version of “I Will Always Love You” on the cosmos that will
reverberate until its sound waves make contact with extraterrestrial
intelligence. It was the range and power of her natural gifts that
produced at the 1991 Super Bowl -- with the U.S. 10 days into the first
Gulf War -- one of the most astonishing renditions of the Star Spangled
Banner ever heard. The U.S. Air Force flying overhead became a mere
afterthought to her renewal of the vigor of a song written in 1814. She
was the voice of America.
That image was of the gorgeous all-American girl who could belt ballads
and dance tunes with equal ease. It was revolutionary in its way: that
an African-American woman could embody that archetype as seamlessly as
white women have in the past -- at least in public. In the beginning,
she was perfectly cast: glamorous and distant, with a voice that was
warm even if the celebrity was unapproachable. She made you move; she
made you want; she gave immediacy and voice to your instincts and
emotions. But she was a goddess.
■ Uh-huh... なるへそ特記事項 ■
■ 1段落目
slight：（数・量・程度など）わずかな、少しばかりの
英英辞典（American Heritage）で確認すると、
1、Small in size, degree, or amount.
2、Lacking strength, substance, or solidity; frail.
（１，サイズ、程度、または量において小さい。２，強さ、実質、または固さを
欠く。フレイル。）
動詞の「軽んじる」の意味でもよく使います。ちなみに、ホイットニー・ヒュー
ストンの実際の身長は173センチだそうです。
dimension：（長さ・幅・厚さの）寸法
imperiously：横柄に、傲慢に
evince：（感情などを）表す
riffraff：（下層階級の）ろくでなしの連中、有象無象
uncannily：不思議なほど、不気味に
frail：もろい、はかない、かよわい
■ 2段落目
disciple：弟子、信奉者
introspective：内省的な
この2つの語が出てくる文の「but」以下は、「彼女の同僚、友人、ライバル、そ
して弟子を、偉大な成功を成し遂げ、そして〜したアーチストだけに取っておか
れる内省的な追悼のようなものに突っ込ませるのは確かだ」が本当＾＾；です。
foray：襲撃、略奪（する）、（異分野に）ちょっと手を出すこと、介入
non-issue：取るに足らない問題
reverberate：（音が）反響する
rendition：演奏、演出、翻訳
この語が出てくる「It was the range and power of her natural gifts that
produced〜」は、「It…that」強調構文です。「produce」の目的語は「one of
the most astonishing〜」です。
afterthought：後知恵、後からの思いつき、補足、追加
英英辞典（Collins English）で確認すると、
An addition to something already completed.
（すでに完成した物への追加）
■ 3段落目
belt：ベルト、腰帯、打つ、（野球で）かっとばす
archetype：原型、典型
cast：投げる、（票を）投じる、配役する、鋳造する
1段落目には「配役」で出てきましたが、幅広く使われる単語です。
Democrats are worried about being cast as the party of the poor.
（民主党は貧者の政党と位置づけられることを心配している）
distant：遠い、（態度など）隔てのある、よそよそしい
「remote」もこの意味で使われます。
immediacy：即時性、直接性
形容詞は「immediate」ですね。英語はクールなまでに分析的な言語ですから、
「彼女は人の本能と感情に直接性と声を与えた」と書いても全然へっちゃらなの
でしょうが、う〜む。
「that archetype」なんてのもありましたし、3段落目はちょっと難しいですね。
実は、ホイットニー・ヒューストンについても「ボディガード」ぐらいしか知り
ません。なので、あの大ヒット曲を聞きながら訳しました（雄弁しごくの英語字
幕付きです）。確かに「ザ・ボイス」です。合掌。
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9nPf7w7pDI
■ さらば日本語ふむふむ読み ■
The Voice: Whitney Houston
（ TIME ）
Several years ago in Los Angeles,
I walked out of a hotel in Westwood
and saw a beautiful but slight woman step out of a limousine,
stride past her bodyguards and head up the front steps.
It took me several moments to say to myself,
“Isn’t that Whitney Houston?”
She wasn’t what I expected.
She wasn’t of supermodel dimensions --
even if she was one of the most beautiful women in the world.
She didn’t say a word --
even though her voice will echo forever
in the soundtrack of the my life.
She simply walked imperiously forward,
not evincing the slightest curiosity at the riffraff around her --
myself included.
She looked
as if she felt she was the most important person in the world
at that moment.
And she was, for everyone who saw her.
It was a sight I will never forget.
Yet,
though her self-confidence radiated
into that southern California evening,
she looked uncannily frail, almost small.
Whitney Elizabeth Houston, 48, died on the eve of the Grammy Awards,
the music industry’s annual celebration of itself.
The cause of her death is yet unknown,
but it is certain
to plunge her colleagues, friends, rivals and disciples
into the kind of introspective mourning
reserved only for the artists
who have achieved the greatest success
and become the victims of their great good fortune.
Her voice,
combined with her looks,
made her one of the biggest stars on the planet.
She set sales record after sales record.
Her first major foray into the movie industry in The Bodyguard (1992)
became a milestone in the issue (or non-issue) of race in casting
(who could quarrel with her being the star?)
and produced --
or, as some critics would say, inflicted --
a version of “I Will Always Love You” on the cosmos
that will reverberate
until its sound waves make contact with extraterrestrial intelligence.
It was the range and power of her natural gifts
that produced at the 1991 Super Bowl --
with the U.S. 10 days into the first Gulf War --
one of the most astonishing renditions of the Star Spangled Banner
ever heard.
The U.S. Air Force flying overhead became a mere afterthought
to her renewal of the vigor of a song written in 1814.
She was the voice of America.
That image was of the gorgeous all-American girl
who could belt ballads and dance tunes with equal ease.
It was revolutionary in its way:
that an African-American woman could embody that archetype
as seamlessly as white women have in the past --
at least in public.
In the beginning,
she was perfectly cast:
glamorous and distant,
with a voice that was warm even
if the celebrity was unapproachable.
She made you move;
she made you want;
she gave immediacy and voice to your instincts and emotions.
But she was a goddess.
■ お帰り日本語ふむなる試訳 ■
至高の声 ホイットニー・ヒューストン
（TIME）
数年前のロサンゼルスでウェストウッドのホテルから出たときに、美しい、だが
きゃしゃな女性がリムジンから出てくるのを見た。大股でボディガードを追い越
して、玄関の階段に向かっていた。しばらくしてから私はつぶやいた。「あれは
ホイットニー・ヒューストンではないか？」。思っていたのとは違った。スー
パーモデルの大きさがなかった。それでも、世界で最も美しい女性の一人だった。
彼女は一言も発しなかった。それでも、その声は我が人生の映画音楽として永遠
にこだまするだろう。彼女はひたすら前へとのし歩いていた。周りの有象無象に
はこれっぽっちの関心も示さなかった。もちろん私にもだ。自分は世界で最も重
要な人物だと思っているかのようだった。そのときは、確かにそうだった。彼女
を見た人は誰しも思った。その姿を私は決して忘れまい。しかし、その自信は南
カリフォルニアの夕べに光り輝いていたが、その姿は奇妙なほどはかなく、何と
も小さく見えた。
ホイットニー・エリザベス・ヒューストン（48歳）が亡くなった。グラミー賞の、
音楽業界の毎年恒例の祭典の前日だった。死因はまだ分かっていないが、間違い
なく仲間、友人、ライバル、ファンが一斉に内省的な追悼を始める。彼女もまた、
破格の成功を収め、そして破格の幸運の犠牲になった特権的なアーチストだから
だ。その声はその容姿とあいまって、彼女をこの惑星で最大級のスターに押し上
げた。売上げ記録に次ぐ売上げ記録を打ち立てた。「ボディーガード」（1992
年）による映画界への最初の進出は、配役（誰が彼女のスター性に逆らえるか）
での人種問題（または非問題）の節目になった。そして、この宇宙に生み落とさ
れた−−批判的な声によれば、課せられた−−「オールウェイズ・ラヴ・ユー」
のカバー版は、その音波が地球外知的生命に届くまで響き渡ろう。音域と力に恵
まれたこの天才が1991年のスーパーボウルで−−米国が最初の湾岸戦争に突入し
て10日後に−−生んだのが、これまでに聞いたことがないような驚嘆の国歌斉唱
だった。上空を飛んでいた米空軍は、1814年に書かれた歌を力強く蘇らせた彼女
の添え物になった。彼女は米国の声だった。
そのイメージは、真に米国的な華やかな少女がバラード曲もダンス曲も等しく
軽々と歌いこなすというものだった。それは革命的なスタイルだった。アフリカ
系アメリカ人女性があの典型を体現する。過去の白人女性と寸分の違いもない−
−少なくとも人前では。はじめは非の打ち所のない存在だった。魅惑的で冷やや
かで、声は暖かいが有名性ゆえに近寄りがたい。彼女は人を動かし、人に求めさ
せ、人の本能や感情を身に染むように歌った。だが、彼女は女神だった。
■ もう一度ふむなるTIMEしよう！ ■
The Voice: Whitney Houston
（ TIME ）
Several years ago in Los Angeles, I walked out of a hotel in Westwood
and saw a beautiful but slight woman step out of a limousine, stride
past her bodyguards and head up the front steps. It took me several
moments to say to myself, “Isn’t that Whitney Houston?” She wasn’t
what I expected. She wasn’t of supermodel dimensions -- even if she
was one of the most beautiful women in the world. She didn’t say a word
-- even though her voice will echo forever in the soundtrack of the
my life. She simply walked imperiously forward, not evincing the
slightest curiosity at the riffraff around her -- myself included. She
looked as if she felt she was the most important person in the world at
that moment. And she was, for everyone who saw her. It was a sight I
will never forget. Yet, though her self-confidence radiated into that
southern California evening, she looked uncannily frail, almost small.
Whitney Elizabeth Houston, 48, died on the eve of the Grammy Awards,
the music industry’s annual celebration of itself. The cause of her
death is yet unknown, but it is certain to plunge her colleagues,
friends, rivals and disciples into the kind of introspective mourning
reserved only for the artists who have achieved the greatest success
and become the victims of their great good fortune. Her voice, combined
with her looks, made her one of the biggest stars on the planet. She
set sales record after sales record. Her first major foray into the
movie industry in The Bodyguard (1992) became a milestone in the issue
(or non-issue) of race in casting (who could quarrel with her being the
star?) and produced -- or, as some critics would say, inflicted -- a
version of “I Will Always Love You” on the cosmos that will
reverberate until its sound waves make contact with extraterrestrial
intelligence. It was the range and power of her natural gifts that
produced at the 1991 Super Bowl -- with the U.S. 10 days into the first
Gulf War -- one of the most astonishing renditions of the Star Spangled
Banner ever heard. The U.S. Air Force flying overhead became a mere
afterthought to her renewal of the vigor of a song written in 1814. She
was the voice of America.
That image was of the gorgeous all-American girl who could belt ballads
and dance tunes with equal ease. It was revolutionary in its way: that
an African-American woman could embody that archetype as seamlessly as
white women have in the past -- at least in public. In the beginning,
she was perfectly cast: glamorous and distant, with a voice that was
warm even if the celebrity was unapproachable. She made you move; she
made you want; she gave immediacy and voice to your instincts and
emotions. But she was a goddess.
■ もっとふむなるしたい人は、記事の続きも読んでみよう！
↓ ↓ ↓
http://ti.me/x7kAFV
■ 編集後記 ■
最近の歌は詳しくありません。カラオケもミスチルで打ち止めになっています。
昔はロッケンローラーでしたが、今は聞けません。ただうるさい！としか思えま
せん。
でも、不思議なもので、昔のよく知っている曲は平気です。大好きだったレッ
ド・ツェッペリンなんか大音量で聞いちゃいます。年をとると、音楽に立ち向か
うのにもエネルギーがいるのかもしれない。そんな感じがする今日この頃です。
