戦場のジェシーに

ジャニス・イアンの古い曲をいくつか聞いていた週明けに、
午後のＮＹタイムズで、
イラクから一部の兵士が戻ってくる、と聞いた。

Ｊｅｓｓｅｅという曲は、
ベトナム戦争に行った彼に
「帰ってきてほしいの」という歌だった。
詩はとてもシンプルで、
当時、若かった彼女のストレートな気持ちが伝わってくる。

Jesse, come home,
There's a hole in the bed,
Where we slept.
Now it's growing cold.
Hey, Jesse, your face,
And the place where we lay,
By the hearth, all apart.
It hangs on my heart.

And I'm leaving the light on the stair.
No, I'm not scared, I'm waiting for you.
Hey, Jesse, I'm lonely, come home.

Jesse, the floors and the boards,
are recalling your step,
And I remember, too.
All the pictures are shaded,
And faded to gray.
But I still set a place,
At the table for two.

And I'm leaving the light on the stair,
No, I'm not scared, I'm waiting for you.
Hey, Jesse, I'm lonely, come home.

Jesse, the spread on the bed
Is like when you left.
I've kept it up for you,
All the blues and the greens,
Have been recently cleaned.
And they're seemingly new.
Hey, Jess, me and you..../

We'll swaddle the light on the stair.
I'll fix up my hair.
We'll sleep unaware.
Hey, Jesse, it's lonely, come home.