人非“君子”

美國小鎮Harper Valley （哈珀谷）住著一位單身母親—Johnson夫人。有一天，她那上中學的女兒從學校捎回家長教師協會秘書給她的信。在信中，秘書鄭重告誡Johnson女士：“據說你衣著輕浮、舉止放蕩，給你的女兒造成非常惡劣的影響。”

正巧當天下午該協會要開會。于是，故事的高潮來了。Johnson女士身著迷你裙，在眾人驚異的目光中走到黑板前，開始了她的長篇演講：“Bobby Taylor，你曾七次勾搭我。你的老婆在你不在時就偷偷吸毒。Baker先生，你的女秘書怎么忽然不辭而別？難道沒人告訴寡婦Jones把她的窗簾拉好？Harper先生難道不是又在Kelly的酒吧鬼混？誰都知道Shirley Thompson是個酒鬼。你們說我不配做母親，其實你們個個比我更不知羞恥。”

這就是歌曲《哈珀谷的家長教師協會》（Harper Valley P.T.A.）的故事情節。歌曲由Tom T. Hall創作于20世紀60年代，最先由鄉村歌手Jeannie C. Riley唱紅。歌曲以輕松詼諧的鄉村音樂形式講述了一個黑色幽默故事，故事里的各色人物幾乎都是“滿口仁義道德，一肚子男盜女娼”。故事的地點設定在虛構的Harper Valley，這里保守、落后、封閉。在這樣一個小城里，學校代表著最正統、最主流的價值觀，而學校里的家長教師協會則是這一價值觀的忠實捍衛者。這些道德判官，因為一些“據說”的風言風語就給一個寡婦貼上了“風流”的標簽，但就是這位“風流”寡婦，輕輕松松地把站在道德高地上的人拉下了馬，把他們虛偽的面具都扯了下來。

歌曲揭示了一個極簡單又普遍的社會現象，用《絕望主婦》（Desperate Housewives）里的一句臺詞，就是“Everyone has a little dirty laundry”，誰也不比誰干凈多少。每個人都很容易把自己放在道德判官的位置上，但是在對別人大加撻伐時，不妨先花點時間照照鏡子，看看自己是否也藏著見不得人的“小九九”。真正的君子，不僅能主持正義，更能嚴于律己、寬以待人。

整首歌短小精悍，亦莊亦諧，歌詞押韻，朗朗上口。唱片推出后賣出了600多萬張，成績斐然，Riley也憑借這首歌登上了格萊美最佳鄉村女歌手的寶座。后來這首歌被改編成同名電影和電視劇，這也從一個側面反映出歌曲在聽眾中產生的強烈共鳴。

Harper Valley P.T.A.

I wanna tell you all a story about a Harper Valley widowed wife，

Who had a teenage daughter who attended Harper Valley Junior High.

Well her daughter came home one afternoon and didn’t even stop to play，

And she said， “Mom I got a note here from the Harper Valley P.T.A.”

Well the note said， “Mrs. Johnson， you’re wearing your dresses way too high.

It’s reported you’ve been drinkin’ and runnin’ round with men and goin’ wild.

And we don’t believe you oughta be bringin’ up your little girl this way.”

And it was signed by the secretary， “Harper Valley P.T.A.”

Well it happened that the P.T.A. was gonna meet that very afternoon.

And they were sure surprised when Mrs. Johnson wore her mini-skirt into the room.

And as she walked up to the blackboard， I can still recall the words she had to say.

She said， “I’d like to address this meeting of the Harper Valley P.T.A.

Well， there’s Bobby Taylor sittin’ there， and seven times he’s asked me for a date.

And Mrs. Taylor sure seems to use a lotta ice2）， whenever he’s away.

And Mr. Baker can you tell us why your secretary had to leave this town？

And shouldn’t widow Jones be told to keep her window shades all pulled completely down？

Well Mr. Harper couldn’t be here because he stayed too long at Kelly’s Bar again.

And if you smell Shirley Thompson’s breath， you’ll find she’s had a little nip of gin.

And then you have the nerve to tell me， you think that as a mother I’m not fit.

Well this is just a little Peyton Place3）， and you’re all Harper Valley hypocrites.”

No， I wouldn’t put you on4） because it really did， it happened just this way.

The day my momma socked it to the Harper Valley P.T.A.5）

The day my momma socked it to the Harper Valley P.T.A.

1. P.T.A.：Parent-Teacher Association的簡稱，家長教師協會

2. ice [a?s] n.〈俚〉冰毒

3. Peyton Place：該詞出自同名小說和電影《冷暖人間》（Peyton Place），用來描述充滿流言、丑聞和欺騙的地方。

4. put sb. on：欺騙某人

5. sock it to sb.：狠狠打擊某人，正面攻擊某人