視訊連結：http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTczMTEzMjIw.html

 傳奇和天才的電影，都是值得躬逢其盛的。能打撈起一絲一毫，一點一滴的光影聲色都是那麼彌足珍貴。

    今年的MTV頒獎禮上，流行天后麥當娜（Madonna）發表令所有人動容的長篇演說，紀念流行之王邁克爾傑克遜（Michael Jackson）。在節目後，她接受採訪表示，她的這篇演講稿，花了一週的時間來寫，因為“極其重要”。

    “（致敬邁克爾）極其重要，因為我真的沒有機會來向他致以最後的敬意，或以我想要的方式來談到他，”

    “我花了一整週的時間來寫這個致辭，我寫的是我的心裡話，”她說，“我把稿子撕了燒了一遍又一遍，一直在編輯。”她承認她去掉了一些關於MJ的趣事，但重要是因為時間關係。“我真的縮減了一些，太痛苦了，”她說，“但我說了這一天我要說的話。”

     這段並非Michael Jackson好友、並無深交、南轅北轍、但卻同為同時代天后的Madonna的salute，在我看來，是邁克爾傑克遜去世之後除了他女兒那句話之外，所聽到所看到的最好的致辭。

以下是她發言的全文：

邁克爾·傑克遜出生於1958年8月。我也是。邁克爾·傑克遜在美國中西部的郊區長大，我也是。邁克爾·傑克遜有八個兄弟姐妹，我也有。在邁克爾·傑克遜年僅6歲的時候，他便成為了一個超級巨星，或許更是世界上最受鍾愛的小孩。而我6歲的時候，母親永遠離開了我。我認為他比我更不幸。

我從沒有擁有過母愛，而他卻從來沒有享受過童年。當一個人意識到永遠得不到某種東西時，你就會對此念念不忘。我耗盡了童年尋找母親的形象，；有時我成功了。但當你的一生都被放在放大鏡下被人關注時，試問你如何重新找回你的童年？

毫無疑問，邁克爾·傑克遜是世界上最偉大的天才之一……當他還是個8歲的小孩時，他的歌聲已經讓人感覺像個飽經滄桑的成人在述說他的故事，也因此扣人心絃……他舞動的方式，帶著弗雷德·阿斯泰爾（Fred Astaire）的高雅，充滿著拳王阿里（Muhammad Ali）的力量……他的音樂附著有一層無法解釋魔力，令你不僅僅想隨之而舞，更令你相信你可以飛翔，敢於夢想，成為任何你想成為的人。因為這就是英雄的影響力！而邁克爾·傑克遜就是個英雄！

他在世界各地的體育場裡表演，他賣出了上億張唱片，他和總理首相總統共進晚餐。女孩愛上他，男孩愛上他，所有人都想像他一樣舞蹈，他看上去就像來自另外一個世界，但他依然是一個普通人。就像大多數表演家一樣，他害羞，苦惱著沒有安全感。

我無法說我們是很要好的朋友，但是在1991年，我決定我要更多地瞭解他。我邀請他出來共進晚餐：我說：“我請客，我開車，只有你和我。”他答應了，並隻身一人不帶保鏢出現在我家中。我開車和他去餐館，天已經很黑的可他仍然戴著他的墨鏡。於是我說：“邁克爾，我覺得我是在跟這部車說話。你能把眼鏡摘掉讓我看見你的眼睛嗎？”他猶豫了一會兒然後把眼鏡扔出窗外，用閃爍的眼睛看著我，微笑著說：“現在你能看見我了沒？有沒有好點？”

在這時，我終於感受到他的脆弱和他的魅力。晚餐的其它部分，我則是努力要讓他吃點炸薯條，喝點酒，享用點甜點，說點髒話，這些事情看上去是他永遠不會允許自己去做的。之後，我們回到我的房子，看了部電影，我們坐在沙發上，就像兩個孩子，就在電影放映中，他的手悄悄伸過來，握住了我的手。感覺上他是在尋找一個朋友，而不是尋找一份浪漫，我很高興地遵從了他。在那個時刻，他感覺不像一個超級巨星，他就感覺是一個普通人。我們後來又一起出去過好幾次，但因為一些原因，我們失去了聯絡。然後，獵殺行動開始了，一個又一個負面故事糾纏著邁克爾。我可以體會他的痛苦。我很清楚當一個人走在街上而全世界似乎都與你為敵的感覺。我也很清楚那種無助和無法為自己辯護的痛苦，因為那些嘶吼著要將你處死的聲音實在太大，以至於你確信無論如何，你的聲音也不會有人聽見。

但我有過童年，我可以被允許去犯錯誤，然後在沒有聚光燈閃耀的情況下，再在這個世界上找到屬於我的路。當我聽到邁克爾去世的訊息時，我正在倫敦，還有幾天我就將在這裡開始我的巡演。邁克爾也將於一週後在我表演的同一個場館裡開唱。而我當時的感覺便是我遺棄了他。我們都遺棄了他。我們曾讓這個如此高貴壯美的生命，這個曾經讓世界為之瘋狂的生命，不知所以地被我們置之不理！當他試圖建立自己的家庭和重拾他的事業時，我們都忙於對他做出評判。我們中的大部分人都對他背過身去。

為拼命留住關於他的記憶，我上網，去看那些他在電視和舞臺上唱歌跳舞的老片段，這時我想的是，“我的上帝，他是那麼的獨特，那麼的原創，那麼的罕見。再也不會有一個人和他一樣了。”他就是國王。但他也是一個普通人，而，天啦，我們都是凡人，有時我們必須得等到失去以後，才能真正懂得去珍惜。最後，我想以一個積極樂觀的方式結束我的發言。我的兩個兒子，一個9歲，一個4歲，都非常痴迷於邁克爾·傑克遜。他們成天都在家裡跳月球漫步，抓著褲襠，就好像全世界新一代的小孩兒們都發現了他的天才，並要讓他起死回生。我希望邁克爾現在無論身在何方，他都能為之微笑。

是的，邁克爾·傑克遜是一個凡人，但該死的，他還是一個國王！國王萬歲！

（感謝pspwan521的翻譯，Keen校對補譯）

英文原文：

"Michael Jackson was born in August, 1958. so was I. Michael Jackson grew up in the suburbs of the Midwest. So did I. Michael Jackson had eight brothers and sisters. So do I. When Michael Jackson was 6 he became a superstar and was perhaps the world's most beloved child. When I was 6 my mother died. I think he got the shorter end of the stick.

"I never had a mother, but he never had a childhood. And when you never get to have something, you become obsessed by it. I spent my childhood searching for my mother figures; sometimes I was successful. But how do you recreate your childhood when you are under the magnifying glass of the world for your entire life?

"There is no question that Michael Jackson was one of the greatest talents the world has ever known. ... That when he sang a song at the ripe old age of 8, he could make you feel like an experienced adult was squeezing your heart with his words. ... That the way he moved had the elegance of Fred Astaire and packed the punch of Muhammad Ali. ... That his music had an extra layer of inexplicable magic that didn't just make you want to dance but actually made you believe that you could fly, dare to dream, be anything that you wanted to be. Because that is what heroes do. And Michael Jackson was a hero.

"He performed in soccer stadiums around the world, he sold hundreds of millions of records, he dined with prime ministers and presidents. Girls fell in love with him, boys fell in love with him, everyone wanted to dance like him, he seemed otherworldly, but he was also a human being. Like most performers, he was shy and plagued with insecurities.

"I can't say we were great friends, but in 1991 I decided I wanted to get to know him better. I asked him out to dinner: I said, 'My treat, I'll drive, just you and me.' He agreed and showed up to my house without any bodyguards. We drove to the restaurant in my car. It was dark out, but he was still wearing sunglasses. I said, 'Michael, I feel like I'm talking to a limousine, do you think you could take off those glasses so I could see your eyes?' He paused for a moment, then he tossed the glasses out the window, looked at me with a wink and a smile and said, 'Can you see me now, is that better?'

"In that moment, I could see both his vulnerability and his charm. The rest of the dinner, I was hell-bent on getting him to eat French fries, drink wine, have dessert and say bad words, things he never seemed to allow himself to do. Later, we went back to my house to watch a movie and we sat on the couch like two kids, and somewhere in the middle of the film, his hand snuck over and held mine. It felt like he was looking for a friend more than a romance and I was happy to oblige him. And in that moment he didn't feel like a superstar, he felt like a human being. We went out a few more times together and then for one reason or another we fell out of touch. Then, the witch hunt began and it seemed like one negative story after the other was coming out about Michael. I felt his pain. I know what it's like to walk down the street and feel like the whole world has turned against you. I know what it's like to feel helpless and unable to defend yourself because the roar of the lynch mob is so loud that you are convinced your voice can never be heard.

"But I had a childhood, and I was allowed to make mistakes and find my own way in the world without the glare of the spotlight. When I first heard that Michael had died I was in London, days away from the opening of my tour. Michael was going to perform in the same venue as me a week later. All I could think about in that moment was that I had abandoned him. That we had abandoned him. That we had allowed this magnificent creature that once set the world on fire to somehow slip through the cracks. While he was trying to build a family and rebuild his career, we were all busy passing judgment. Most of us had turned our backs on him.

"In a desperate attempt to hold onto his memory, I went on the Internet to watch old clips of him dancing and singing on TV and onstage and I thought, 'My God, he was so unique, so original, so rare. And there will never be anyone like him again.' He was a king. But he was also a human being and alas, we are all human beings and sometimes we have to lose things before we can truly appreciate them. I want to end this on a positive note and say that my sons, age 9 and 4, are obsessed with Michael Jackson. There's a whole lot of crotch-grabbing and moonwalking going on in my house, and it seems like a whole new generation of kids has discovered his genius and are bringing him to life again. I hope that wherever Michael is now, he is smiling about this.

"Yes, yes Michael Jackson was a human being, but dammit, he was a king. Long live the king."