音乐剧《河口之处》第四部

第二曲

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《隔壁的男孩》 / THE BOY NEXT DOOR

1957年，17岁的 Nsala 发现童年时住在隔壁的 Mbemba 回来了。几年以前，他还是那个和她一起在村子里奔跑的邻家哥哥；如今，他已经在附近较大的地方接受过教师训练，并成为一名小学老师。

Mbemba 给村里人讲起外面的世界：城市、火车、学校、遥远的加纳，以及越来越多人开始谈论的“自由”和“一个国家由自己的人民决定自己的未来”。他甚至会说几句法语。对Nsá来说，这些陌生的词汇远没有 Mbemba 本人来得令人着迷——她第一次意识到，自己暗恋的男孩已经变成了一个她几乎无法完全理解的年轻男人。

这是一首轻快、羞涩而充满少女心的独唱。Nsala 一边偷偷观察 Mbemba，一边担心自己只是一个普通的村中女孩，根本配不上这个“什么都懂”的邻家哥哥。她还不知道，那个令她心动的年轻人，也正在把一个正在觉醒的时代带回这个偏远的河岸村庄。

In 1957, seventeen-year-old Nsala discovers that her childhood neighbor, Mbemba, has returned to the village. Once the boy who ran through the village with her, he has now received teacher training in a larger settlement and become a primary-school teacher.

Mbemba brings stories from beyond the village: cities, trains, schools, distant Ghana, and the new ideas of freedom and self-government beginning to circulate among young Congolese. He even speaks a little French. But to Nsá, these new words are far less fascinating than Mbemba himself. For the first time, she realizes that the boy she has secretly loved has become a young man she can hardly understand.

A light, shy, and playful solo, the song captures Nsala’s first love through the innocent excitement of a seventeen-year-old girl. She watches Mbemba from a distance, secretly admiring his confidence and knowledge while wondering whether an ordinary village girl like herself could ever be worthy of him.

She does not yet realize that the young man who has captured her heart is also bringing the first whispers of a changing political world into their remote riverside village.

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THE BOY NEXT DOOR

《隔壁的男孩》

Song 2 — 1957

[Verse 1]

There he is, across the way,
The boy I knew when I was eight.
He used to run, he used to fall,
Now look at him — he knows it all.

He came back with a teacher’s coat,
A little book and a serious note.
He says he teaches boys to read,
Oh, Mbemba, you make my heart run free.

[Chorus]

Oh, Mbemba, Mbemba,
What have you learned?
You went away,
And you returned.

Oh, Mbemba, Mbemba,
What do you know?
You speak those words
I cannot know.

[Verse 2]

He says, “Bonjour,” just like that,
And I forget my little hat.
He says, “Comment allez-vous?”
I say, “Fine.”

But I don't know what to do.

He talks about a town so far,
He says there are trains and shining cars.
He tells us Ghana has its own new way—

I think I hear him.

I look away.

[Chorus]

Oh, Mbemba, Mbemba,
What have you learned?
You went away,
And you returned.

Oh, Mbemba, Mbemba,
What do you know?
You speak those words
I cannot know.

[Verse 3]

He says, “A country can be free.”
I ask him, “Free from what?”
He laughs and says, “One day you'll see.”

I think he knows a lot.

He says the people have a voice,
He says the people have a choice.
I nod my head as if I knew—

I only know
I like his voice.

[Chorus]

Oh, Mbemba, Mbemba,
What have you learned?
You went away,
And you returned.

Oh, Mbemba, Mbemba,
What do you know?
You speak those words
I cannot know.

[Verse 4 — softer, more intimate]

Tomorrow I will wash my dress,
The blue one — not the other one.
I wonder if he'll notice me.

Oh no.

What have I done?

My mother says, “Come help with food.”
I say, “I will.”

I wish I could
Be clever like him,
And speak like him,
And walk like him—

But he would never look at me.

Not me.

[Chorus — almost a whisper]

Oh, Mbemba, Mbemba,
What have you learned?
You went away,
And you returned.

Oh, Mbemba, Mbemba,
What do you know?

You speak the world...

I only know—

[Final Chorus — brighter, girlish]

Oh, Mbemba, Mbemba,
If you should stay,
Perhaps tomorrow
You'll pass my way.

Oh, Mbemba, Mbemba,
Don't go too far.

You know the world—

And I know where you are.

[Coda]

Bonjour...

Did I say it right?

Bonjour, Mbemba.

一南 | Yinan