正在125年前阿穆尔河上的枪炮声中寻找谁是开衅者,忽然听见近处口琴声。还没确定不是听走了耳儿,老郑义上楼来了,说牛肉没煮熟,但是半生着也都吃了,又说李叔同西方文化背景很深,总把人家的曲子拿来配中文诗句……。我赶紧从阿穆尔河上回来,咀嚼他的生牛肉,又一头懵进李叔同,反应还没到位,老郑义右臂往前一拐,从袖口里抻出一个口琴,说:福斯特的音乐太美太深厚了,我给你吹一段他的歌吧。
——我终于从阿穆尔河上回到现实,越过了生的牛肉、李的叔同、西方的音乐、中国的歌词。
隔一阵子就会这样:傍晚就寝前,郑义会到我的书房来坐几分钟,不是说创作,就是谈音乐,要么说说构思和新发现。今天来,说了一堆开场白,原来是要分享福斯特。难怪他有点语无伦次,还有点腼腆。
是福斯特的《桑梓故人》,旋律简单、优美,跟很多上乘的音乐一样,一听就入耳,再听就上心,三听就朗朗上口了。绝非那些音响垃圾,听了半天没听出调门和旋律,听完也不知道乐音在哪里,脑子里剩下的是一团乱麻。
视频就是老郑义为我吹的这段口琴,美国民谣之父斯蒂芬•福斯特Stephen Foster创作的著名歌曲:《桑梓故人》(Old Folks At Home)
吹完依旧兴致盎然,我们说了一会其他西方歌曲,然后又吹了几首老歌,其中一首是印尼歌曲《美丽的梭罗河》,我试图跟着唱,没怎么合拍,因为完全没练习,下次再发上来吧。
周末安逸。
2026年1月24日凌晨
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Zheng Yi's harmonica rendition of "Old Folks at Home"
Amidst the cannon fire on the Amur River 125 years ago, as I searched for who had started the conflict, I suddenly heard the sound of a harmonica nearby. Before I could confirm it wasn't just my imagination, Old Zhengyi came upstairs, saying the beef wasn't cooked through, but He had eaten it half-done anyway. He also mentioned that Li Shutong had a deep background in Western culture, always taking other people's melodies to set to Chinese poetry... I snapped back from the Amur River, chewing on his raw beef, and plunged headlong into Li Shutong. Before I could process it, Old Zheng Yi bent his right arm forward, pulled a harmonica from his sleeve, and said: “Foster's music is so beautiful and profound. Let me play you one of his tunes.”
—I finally returned from the Amur River to reality, crossing over raw beef, Li Shutong, Western music, and Chinese lyrics.
This happens periodically: in the evenings before bedtime, Zheng Yi would come to my study for a few minutes, either to discuss his writing, talk about music, or share new ideas and discoveries. Today he arrived with a string of opening remarks, only to reveal he'd come to share Foster. No wonder he seemed a bit incoherent and shy.
It was Foster's “Old Folks at Home.” The melody is simple and beautiful—like much fine music, it enters your ears upon first listen, takes root upon second, and becomes effortlessly hummable by the third. Nothing like that audio trash where you listen forever and can't discern the key or melody, leaving you with nothing but a tangled mess in your head.
The video shows Old Zhengyi playing this harmonica piece for me—Stephen Foster's famous song “Old Folks at Home,” composed by the father of American folk music.
After finishing, he was in high spirits. We chatted about other Western tunes, then he played a few more old songs. One was the Indonesian piece “Beautiful Solo River.” I tried singing along but was off-beat—no practice at all. Maybe next time I'll share it.
Have a relaxing weekend.
Early Morning /Jan. 23, 2026
