But I had a childhood, and I was allowed to make mistakes and find my own way in the world without the glare of the spotlight.
我是有童年的,而我也可以在镁光灯照不到的、属于我的世界里犯错和做我自己。
When I first heard that Michael had died, I was in London, days away from the opening of my tour. Michael was going to perform in the same venue as me a week later. All I could think about in this moment was, "I had abandoned him." That we had abandoned him. That we had allowed this magnificent creature who had once set the world on fire to somehow slip through the cracks. While he was trying to build a family and rebuild his career, we were all busy passing judgment. Most of us had turned our backs on him.
当听到迈克尔去世的消息时,我人在伦敦,巡回演唱会刚开始了几天。而迈克尔原本也计划在一周之后来这里演出。当时我的感觉便是我抛弃了他,我们都抛弃了他!因为我们竟然默许这位曾让世界沸腾的俊杰遭受各种流言的折磨。当他试图建立自己的家庭和重拾他的事业时,我们都忙于对他做出评判。我们中的大部分人都拒绝了他。
In a desperate attempt to hold on to his memory, I went on the Internet to watch old clips of him dancing and singing on TV and on stage and I thought, "My God, he was so unique, so original, so rare, and there will never be anyone like him again. He was a king."
在我伤心欲绝的时候,我不断上网重温他以前在电视或演唱会上的表演片段,以凭吊我对他的思念。而每每这个时刻,我便会觉得:“老天!他真是太特别了,极其大胆又极具独创性。毫无疑问永远都不会再有人能像他那样。他就是一个王者。”
But he was also a human being, and alas we are all human beings and sometimes we have to lose things before we can truly appreciate them. I want to end this on a positive note and say that my sons, age nine and four, are obsessed with Michael Jackson. There's a whole lot of crotch grabbing and moon walking going on in my house. And, it seems like a whole new generation of kids has discovered his genius and are bringing him to life again. I hope that wherever Michael is right now he is smiling about this.
但同时他又是个凡人。唉,我们都是凡人,以至于有时总要失去之后才懂得珍惜。最后,我想以一个积极乐观的方式结束我的发言。我的两个儿子,一个9岁,一个4岁,都非常痴迷于迈克尔·杰克逊,成天都在家里跳月球漫步,就好像全世界新一代的小孩儿们发现了杰克逊的天赋,并将他重新复活一样。无论迈克尔现在身在何处,我都希望他看到这些时都是面带微笑的。
Yes, yes, Michael Jackson was a human being but he was a king. Long live the king.
是的,迈克尔·杰克逊是一个人,但他更是一个王者!一个永世长存的王者!