8年没发新歌，78岁的鲍勃·迪伦日前突然发布了一首《Murder Most Foul（最卑鄙的谋杀）》。这是他迄今为止发布的最长的一首歌，接近17分钟。

他在社交媒体写下：“感谢我的乐迷多年来的支持，这是一首我前阵子录制，但尚未发行的歌，你可能会觉得很有趣。保持安全，保持观察力……”目前，这首歌在YouTube上的观看量已经超过200万。

《Murder Most Foul》讲述1960年代时任美国总统肯尼迪被刺事件。这一事件已经过去半个多世纪，奥利弗·斯通导演的《刺杀肯尼迪》，娜塔莉·波特曼主演的《第一夫人》等作品，一次次回溯这一发生在半个多世纪前的事件。在全球笼罩着新冠肺炎疫情阴霾的今天，鲍勃·迪伦为什么要重新谈论它？

“对于迪伦这一代人来说，肯尼迪被刺事件让他们的时代震荡。对于我们这一代人来说，新型冠状病毒和特朗普总统任职是决定性时刻。”曾与鲍勃·迪伦合作的音乐家肖普说。借助往昔，审视当下，这就很鲍勃·迪伦了。当然，也许鲍勃·迪伦写这歌的时候压根儿没想到疫情，一切都是媒体和乐迷的过度阐释。谁让他是鲍勃·迪伦呢？

如果不是因为鲍勃·迪伦，我们大概很难听完这首17分钟的歌。对于一首歌来说，这也太长了点。当年皇后乐队的《波西米亚狂想曲》差点被唱片公司高管毙掉，就因为对方认为电台不会播放一首长达6分钟的歌。鲍勃·迪伦才不管。1997年，他曾发表过一首长达16分31秒的歌曲《Highlands》。专辑制作时，唱片公司负责人问迪伦：“有精简版吗？”鲍勃·迪伦回答说：“这就是精简版。”

比《Highlands》更长的《Murder Most Foul》，一点也不符合流行歌曲的结构。这首歌听上去几乎没什么旋律，更像是迪伦伴随着钢琴和小提琴的背景作了一首意识流的长诗，难怪他能拿诺贝尔文学奖。《Murder Most Foul》的歌词用了许多典故，令全球不少乐迷、媒体、评论家争相考据，津津乐道。

歌词一开始讲述了“达拉斯黑暗的一天”，把人们带到1963年11月22日肯尼迪遇刺的案发现场。然而第二段、第三段，歌词跳脱出了那场恐怖事件，只是偶尔回溯一下。

伍德斯托克音乐节出现了，甲壳虫乐队来了，老鹰乐队也来了，电影《码头风云》里的马龙·白兰度来了，电影《乱世佳人》里白瑞德正跟斯嘉丽说着什么。

到了第四段，叙述者开始央求沃夫曼·杰克为他播放歌曲。沃夫曼·杰克是上世纪60年代美国著名的电台DJ，他主持着当时最受欢迎的摇滚音乐节目。后来，沃夫曼·杰克还参演了乔治·卢卡斯的电影《美国风情画》。

这首17分钟的歌，最后两段歌词就像一个长长的播放列表。叙述者不断央求沃夫曼·杰克为他播放歌曲：播放妮娜·西蒙的《Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood》，播放埃塔·詹姆丝的《I'd Rather Go Blind》，播放欧曼兄弟乐队的《Blue Sky》，播放霍基·卡迈尔克的《Memphis in June》，播放巴德·鲍威尔的《Love Me or Leave Me》。

长长的播放列表里，还有乡村音乐之父肯尼·罗杰斯的《Lucille》。这位81岁的“美国乡村音乐之父”本月刚刚在位于佐治亚州的家中去世。

当然，还要播放《Murder Most Foul》。在整首歌的最后，鲍勃·迪伦引用了自己。

无疑，《Murder Most Foul》是一首关于歌的歌。据统计，整首歌的歌词中提及了74首歌。

鲍勃·迪伦似乎和许多人一样，在肯尼迪遇刺事件的恐慌中，通过一张长长的播放列表，用音乐来疗愈自己。如今，面对疫情而恐慌的人们，也许也需要一张属于自己的播放列表。

附录《Murder Most Foul》歌词

[Verse 1]

It was a dark day in Dallas, November '63

A day that will live on in infamy

PresidentKennedy was a-ridin'high

Good day to be livin' and a good day to die

Being led to the slaughter like a sacrificial lamb

He said,"Wait a minute, boys, you know who I am?"

"Of course we do, we know who you are!"

Then they blew off his head while he was still in the car

Shot down like a dog in broad daylight

Was a matter of timing and the timing was right

You got unpaid debts, we've come to collect

We're gonna kill you with hatred, without any respect

We'll mock you and shock you and we'll put it in your face

We've already got someone here to take your place

The day they blew out the brains of the king

Thousands were watching, no one saw a thing

It happened so quickly, so quick, by surprise

Right there in front of everyone's eyes

Greatest magic trick ever under the sun

Perfectly executed, skillfully done

Wolfman, ohWolfman, oh Wolfman, howl

Rub-a-dub-dub,it's a murder most foul

[Verse 2]

Hush,little children, you'll understand

The Beatles are comin', they're gonna hold your hand

Slide down the banister, go get your coat

Ferry'cross the Mersey and go for the throat

There's three bums comin' all dressed in rags

Pick up the pieces and lower the flags

I'm goin'to Woodstock, it's the Aquarian Age

Then I'll go over to Altamont and sit near the stage

Put your head out the window, let the good times roll

There's a party going on behind the Grassy Knoll

Stack up the bricks, pour the cement

Don't sayDallas don't love you, Mr. President

Put your foot in the tank and then step on the gas

Try to make it to the triple underpass

Blackfacesinger, whiteface clown

Better not show your faces after the sun goes down

Up in there's light district, they've got cop on the beat

Living in a nightmare on Elm Street

When you're down on Deep Ellum, put your money in your shoe

Don't ask what your country can do for you

Cash on the barrel head, money to burn

DealeyPlaza, make a left-hand turn

I'm going down to the crossroads, gonna flag a ride

The place where faith, hope, and charity died

Shoot him while he runs, boy, shoot him while you can

See if you can shoot the invisible man

Goodbye,Charlie! Goodbye, Uncle Sam!

Frankly,Miss Scarlett, I don't give a damn

What is the truth, and where did it go?

Ask Oswald and Ruby, they oughta know

"Shut your mouth," said a wise old owl

Business is business, and it's a murder most foul

[Verse 3]

Tommy, canyou hear me? I'm the Acid Queen

I'm riding in a long, black Lincoln limousine

Ridin' inthe back seat next to my wife

Headed straight on in to the afterlife

I'm leaning to the left, I got my head in her lap

Hold on,I've been led into some kind of a trap

Where we ask no quarter, and no quarter do we give

We're right down the street, from the street where you live

They mutilated his body and they took out his brain

What more could they do? They piled on the pain

But his soul was not there where it was supposed to be at

Fort the last fifty years they've been searchin' for that

Freedom, oh freedom, freedom over me

I hate to tell you, mister, but only dead men are free

Send me some lovin', then tell me no lie

Throw the gum in the gutter and walk on by

Wake up,little Susie, let's go for a drive

Cross theTrinity River, let's keep hope alive

Turn the radio on, don't touch the dials

ParklandHospital, only six more miles

You got me dizzy, Miss Lizzy, you filled me with lead

That magic billet of yours has gone to my head

I'm just apathy like Patsy Cline

Never shot anyone from in front or behind

I've blood in my eye, got blood in my ear

I'm never gonna make it to the new frontier

Zapruder'sfilm I seen night before

Seen it thirty-three times, maybe more

It's vile and deceitful, it's cruel and it's mean

Ugliest thing that you ever have seen

They killed him once and they killed him twice

Killed him like a human sacrifice

The day that they killed him, someone said to me, "Son

The age of the Antichrist has just only begun"

Air ForceOne comin' in through the gate

Johnson sworn in at 2:38

Let me know when you decide to throw in the towel

It is what it is, and it's murder most foul

[Verse 4]

What's new,pussycat? What'd I say?

I said the soul of a nation been torn away

And it's beginning to go into a slow decay

And that it's thirty-six hours past Judgment Day

WolfmanJack, he's speaking in tongues

He's going on and on at the top of his lungs

Play me a song, Mr. Wolfman Jack

Play it for me in my long Cadillac

Play me that "Only the Good Die Young"

Take me to the place Tom Dooley was hung

Play"St. James Infirmary" and the Court of King James

If you want to remember, you better write down the names

Play EttaJames, too, play "I'd Rather Go Blind"

Play it for the man with the telepathic mind

Play JohnLee Hooker, play "Scratch My Back"

Play it for that strip club owner named Jack

Guitar Slimgoing down slow

Play it for me and for Marilyn Monroe

[Verse 5]

Play"Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"

Play it for the First Lady, she ain't feeling any good

Play DonHenley, play Glenn Frey

Take it to the limit and let it go by

Play it forCarl Wilson, too

Looking far, far away down Gower Avenue

Playtragedy, play "Twilight Time"

Take me back to Tulsa to the scene of the crime

Play another one and "Another One Bites the Dust"

Play"The Old Rugged Cross" and "In God We Trust"

Ride the pink horse down that long, lonesome road

Stand there and wait for his head to explode

Play"Mystery Train" for Mr. Mystery

The man who fell down dead like a rootless tree

Play it for-the reverend, play it for the pastor

Play it for-the dog that got no master

Play OscarPeterson, play Stan Getz

Play"Blue Sky," play Dickey Betts

Play ArtPepper, Thelonious Monk

CharlieParker and all that junk

All that junk and "All That Jazz"

Play something for the Birdman of Alcatraz

Play BusterKeaton, play Harold Lloyd

Play BugsySiegel, play Pretty Boy Floyd

Play the numbers, play the odds

Play"Cry Me a River" for the Lord of the gods

Play Number nine, play Number six

Play it forLindsey and Stevie Nicks

Play NatKing Cole, play "Nature Boy"

Play"Down in the Boondocks" for Terry Malloy

Play"It Happened One Night" and "One Night of Sin"

There's twelve million souls that are listening in

Play"Merchant of Venice", play "Merchants of Death"

Play"Stella by Starlight" for Lady Macbeth

Don't worry, Mr. President, help's on the way

Your brothers are comin', there'll be hell to pay

Brothers?What brothers? What's this about hell?

Tell them,"We're waiting, keep coming," we'll get them as well

Love Fieldis where his plane touched down

But it never did get back up off the ground

Was a hard act to follow, second to none

They killed him on the altar of the rising sun

Play"Misty" for me and "That Old Devil Moon"

Play"Anything Goes" and "Memphis in June"

Play"Lonely at the Top" and "Lonely Are the Brave"

Play it forHoudini spinning around in his grave

Play JellyRoll Morton, play "Lucille"

Play"Deep in a Dream", and play "Driving Wheel"

Play"Moonlight Sonata" in F-sharp

And "AKey to the Highway" for the king on the harp

Play"Marching Through Georgia" and "Dumbarton's Drums"

Play darkness and death will come when it comes

Play"Love Me or Leave Me" by the great Bud Powell

Play"The Blood-Stained Banner", play "Murder Most Foul"