An Australian school was under fire last week after erasing the word “gay” from iconic song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree to stop children tittering.
Garry Martin, head of Melbourne’s Lepage Primary, said he did not mean to insult gay people by replacing the word with “fun” in the chorus, which normally goes: “Laugh, kookaburra, laugh, kookaburra, gay your life must be.”
“I knew if we sing ‘Gay your life must be’ the kids will roll around the floor in fits of laughter,” Martin told commercial radio.
“I just suggested to kids, ‘Nowadays that can mean different things, so let’s just sing fun’,” he added.
Martin admitted he had probably been “hypersensitive,” but said the word was commonly used as a playground insult and he was keen to minimize disruption in the classroom.
In hindsight, he said he should have simply explained the meaning of “gay” as another word for “happy,” and told the children it shouldn’t be used disparagingly.
“I wasn’t trying to insult gay people ... it was just a decision at the time that I thought would minimize a disruptive atmosphere with grades one and two.”
Kookaburra, penned for a 1935 Girl Guides jamboree, has been in the news this year after a judge found its tune was ripped off in Men At Work’s Down Under, a global hit in 1981 and an unofficial Australian anthem.
Men At Work and their record label were ordered to pay five percent of profits from Down Under to Larrikin Music, which had bought the rights to Kookaburra.
(AFP)
上週澳洲一家學校為了制止學生因為唱「笑翠鳥之歌」時竊笑，而將歌詞中的「歡樂（gay）」字改掉，但此舉遭來批評。
墨爾本勒佩吉小學校長蓋瑞•馬丁表示，他從副歌中將「歡樂」這個字改成「快樂（fun）」時，原本無意冒犯同性戀者。歌詞中應該是「笑啊，笑翠鳥，笑啊，笑翠鳥，你的生活一定歡樂多」。
馬丁透過一家商業電台表示，「我知道如果我們唱『你的生活一定歡樂多』，小朋友會倒在地上又滾又笑的。」
他表示，「我就建議小朋友，『現在這個字有不同的意思，所以我們改成快樂吧』。」
馬丁承認他也許「太敏感了」，但他說這個字經常在學校遊戲場被用來罵人，而他決定減少校內的分歧。
後見之明，他說應該跟小朋友解釋說「歡樂」也代表「快樂」，也應該叫孩子們不能以貶抑的口吻使用這個字。
「我並不是冒犯同性戀者…這只是個當時我認為能夠減低對低年級學生干擾的決定而已。」
「笑翠鳥之歌」是於一九五三年，為了女童軍大露營而寫。最近幾年因為一位評分員發現該歌曲遭「工作者合唱團」抄襲，放在「南方大陸」這首歌裡，且於一九八一年成為全球暢銷曲，進而變成代表澳洲的一首歌。
「工作者合唱團」樂團跟他們的唱片公司，必須將「南方大陸」這首歌收益的百分之五給惡棍音樂公司，該公司購買了「笑翠鳥之歌」的發行權。
（法新社╱翻譯：吳岱璟）
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