ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Abigail Washburn - Clawhammer banjo player
Abigail Washburn pairs venerable folk elements with far-flung sounds, creating results that feel both strangely familiar and unlike anything anybody's ever heard before.

Why you should listen
If American old-time music is about adopting earlier, simpler ways of life and music-making, Abigail has proven herself a bracing challenge to that tradition. A singing, songwriting, Chinese-speaking, Illinois-born, Nashville-based, clawhammer banjo player, Abigail is every bit as interested in the present and the future as she is in the past, and every bit as attuned to the global as she is to the local. From the recovery zones of earthquake-shaken Sichuan to the hollers of Tennessee, she pairs venerable folk elements with far-flung sounds, and the results feel both strangely familiar and unlike anything anybody’s ever heard before. To put it another way, she changes what seems possible.
More profile about the speaker
Abigail Washburn | Speaker | TED.com
TED2012

Abigail Washburn: Building US-China relations ... by banjo

艾碧.沃什波恩:用五弦琴...建立中美關係

Filmed:
1,039,474 views

身為TED的 會員, 艾碧.沃什波恩曾想要成為一名致力於改善中美關係的律師--直到她拿起了一把五弦琴。她講述了自己是如何巡迴於中美兩地間,彈著五弦琴唱中文歌的方式,建立了特殊的中美關係。
- Clawhammer banjo player
Abigail Washburn pairs venerable folk elements with far-flung sounds, creating results that feel both strangely familiar and unlike anything anybody's ever heard before. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
If you had caught抓住 me straight直行 out of college學院
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假如你在我大學剛畢業的時候認識我
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in the halls大廳 of the Vermont佛蒙特 State House
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那時, 我還在佛蒙特州政府
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where I was a lobbyist說客 in training訓練
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接受培訓,準備成為遊說員
00:22
and asked me what I was going to do with my life,
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如果你問我的志向
00:24
I would have told you
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我會告訴你說
00:26
that I'd just passed通過 the Hanyu寒雨 Shuiping熱水瓶 KaoshiKaoshi,
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我剛通過了漢語水平考試,
00:28
the Chinese中文 equivalency等價 exam考試,
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也就是中文等級考試,
00:30
and I was going to go study研究 law in Beijing北京,
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而且我打算到北京去學習法律,
00:33
and I was going to improve提高 U.S.-China-中國 relations關係
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然後致力於改進中美關係
00:37
through通過 top-down自頂向下 policy政策 changes變化
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透過將政策改弦易轍
00:39
and judicial司法 system系統 reforms改革.
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和改革司法制度的方式。
00:41
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
00:44
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
00:46
I had a plan計劃,
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我曾經有這個計劃過,
00:49
and I never ever thought
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但是我從來都沒想到過
00:52
it would have anything to do
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我會用五弦琴
00:54
with the banjo班卓琴.
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來實現這個計劃。
00:58
Little did I know
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我從沒想過
01:00
what a huge巨大 impact碰撞 it would have on me one night
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那一夜對我的影響是如此巨大。
01:02
when I was at a party派對
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那是在一個聚會上
01:04
and I heard聽說 a sound聲音 coming未來 out of a record記錄 player播放機
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我聽到一個聲音
01:06
in the corner of a room房間.
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是從房間角落的唱片機里傳出來。
01:08
And it was Doc文件 Watson沃森
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是多克.沃曾
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singing唱歌 and playing播放 "Shady陰涼 Grove樹林."
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邊彈邊唱着那首 “格魯夫”.
01:13
Shady陰涼 Grove樹林, my little love ♫
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♫格魯夫,我的愛♫
01:15
Shady陰涼 Grove樹林, my darlin'親愛的
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♫格魯夫,我親愛的♫
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Shady陰涼 Grove樹林, my little love ♫
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♫格魯夫,我的愛♫
01:20
♫ Going back to Harlan哈倫
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♫ 回到哈蘭 ♫
01:24
That sound聲音 was just so beautiful美麗,
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多克的聲音
01:27
the sound聲音 of Doc'sDoc的 voice語音
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和五弦琴的繞樑之音配合在一起
01:29
and the rippling蕩漾 groove of the banjo班卓琴.
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簡直是美妙至極
01:33
And after being存在 totally完全 and completely全然 obsessed痴迷
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在完全沉迷於
01:37
with the mammoth長毛象 richness豐富 and history歷史
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中國文化巨大的
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of Chinese中文 culture文化,
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豐富與歷史性之後,
01:41
it was like this total relief浮雕
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再聽到這樣純正美式的東西
01:45
to hear something so truly American美國
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完全就像一種解脫
01:48
and so truly awesome真棒.
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簡直太美妙了。
01:51
I knew知道 I had to take a banjo班卓琴 with me to China中國.
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我意識到我必須帶着五弦琴去中國。
01:56
So before going to law school學校 in China中國
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所以在去中國上法學院之前
01:58
I bought a banjo班卓琴, I threw it in my little red truck卡車
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我買了一把五弦琴,丟到我那輛紅色的小卡車上
02:01
and I traveled旅行 down through通過 Appalachia阿巴拉契亞
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然後一路旅遊到了阿巴拉契亞
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and I learned學到了 a bunch of old American美國 songs歌曲,
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學到了不少美國的歌曲,
02:06
and I ended結束 up in Kentucky肯塔基
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最後到達肯塔基
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at the International國際 Bluegrass早熟禾 Music音樂 Association協會 Convention慣例.
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去看了國際藍草音樂聯合會會議。
02:11
And I was sitting坐在 in a hallway門廳 one night
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有一天晚上,我坐在大廳
02:14
and a couple一對 girls女孩 came來了 up to me.
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幾個女孩走了過來。
02:16
And they said, "Hey, do you want to jam果醬?"
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她們問我,“嘿,你想和我配合彈幾曲嗎?”
02:18
And I was like, "Sure."
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我回答,“當然。”
02:20
So I picked採摘的 up my banjo班卓琴
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然後,我拿起了我的琴
02:22
and I nervously緊張 played發揮 four songs歌曲 that I actually其實 knew知道 with them.
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緊張地彈了四首我會的歌曲。
02:25
And a record記錄 executive行政人員 walked up to me
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然後,一個唱片製作向我走了過來
02:27
and invited邀請 me to Nashville納什維爾, Tennessee田納西 to make a record記錄.
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邀請我到田納西州的纳什维尔, 去製作唱片。
02:30
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
02:37
It's been eight years年份,
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8年了
02:41
and I can tell you that I didn't go to China中國 to become成為 a lawyer律師.
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我可以告訴你的是,我沒有去中國成為律師
02:45
In fact事實, I went to Nashville納什維爾.
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事實上,我去了纳什维尔
02:47
And after a few少數 months個月 I was writing寫作 songs歌曲.
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幾個月後,我開始寫歌。
02:50
And the first song歌曲 I wrote was in English英語,
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第一首歌,我用英語創作
02:52
and the second第二 one was in Chinese中文.
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第二首歌,我就用中文寫
02:56
(Music音樂)
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(音樂)
02:59
[Chinese中文]
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[中文]
03:09
Outside your door the world世界 is waiting等候.
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門外有個世界
03:11
Inside your heart a voice語音 is calling調用.
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心中有個聲音
03:13
The four corners角落 of the world世界 are watching觀看,
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四方等你來呀
03:15
so travel旅行 daughter女兒, travel旅行.
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勇於遊歷
03:18
Go get it, girl女孩.
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去吧,女孩兒
03:20
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
03:29
It's really been eight years年份 since以來 that fated命運多舛 night in Kentucky肯塔基.
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自從肯塔基那命中注定之夜後,到現在已經8年了
03:33
And I've played發揮 thousands數千 of shows節目.
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我也已經演出了過逾千場
03:35
And I've collaborated合作
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和我合作過的
03:37
with so many許多 incredible難以置信, inspirational勵志 musicians音樂家 around the world世界.
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有很多世界各地激發人靈感的出色音樂家
03:41
And I see the power功率 of music音樂.
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我看到了音樂的力量
03:43
I see the power功率 of music音樂
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我看到了
03:45
to connect cultures文化.
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音樂聯接文化的力量
03:47
I see it when I stand on a stage階段
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特別是在西維吉尼亞州的藍草音樂節
03:49
in a bluegrass蘭草 festival in east Virginia弗吉尼亞州
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我站在舞台上
03:51
and I look out at the sea of lawn草坪 chairs椅子
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看着台下坐在草坪上的人海
03:53
and I bust胸圍 out into a song歌曲 in Chinese中文.
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我突然間唱了首中文歌
03:56
[Chinese中文]
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[中文]
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And everybody's每個人的 eyes眼睛 just pop流行的 wide open打開
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每個人都瞪大了眼睛
04:02
like it's going to fall秋季 out of their heads.
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就像眼珠子快掉了似的
04:05
And they're like, "What's that girl女孩 doing?"
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他們不禁在想,“那個女孩子在幹甚麼?”
04:07
And then they come up to me after the show顯示
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表演過後,他們紛紛來找我
04:10
and they all have a story故事.
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大家都有自己的故事
04:12
They all come up and they're like,
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比如說
04:14
"You know, my aunt's阿姨的 sister's姐妹 babysitter's保姆的 dog's小狗 chicken went to China中國
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“你知道嗎,我阿姨的姊姊的保姆的狗的雞去中國了
04:18
and adopted採用 a girl女孩."
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還領養了個女孩子”
04:20
And I tell you what, it like everybody's每個人的 got a story故事.
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我告訴你,每一個人都有他自己的故事
04:24
It's just incredible難以置信.
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太神奇了
04:27
And then I go to China中國
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在那之後,我去了中國
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and I stand on a stage階段 at a university大學
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在一個大學的舞台上
04:32
and I bust胸圍 out into a song歌曲 in Chinese中文
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我唱出了一首中文歌
04:34
and everybody每個人 sings along沿
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台下的每個人都跟著唱
04:37
and they roar怒吼 with delight
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他們高興地沖着
04:39
at this girl女孩
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台上的這個女孩大聲唱
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with the hair頭髮 and the instrument儀器,
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儘管有着不同的頭髮,用着不一樣的樂器
04:43
and she's singing唱歌 their music音樂.
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卻唱着他們的音樂
04:47
And I see, even more importantly重要的,
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我認為,更重要的是
04:51
the power功率 of music音樂 to connect hearts心中.
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音樂的力量能將心與心相連
04:54
Like the time I was in Sichuan四川 Province
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比如這次我在四川省
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and I was singing唱歌 for kids孩子 in relocation搬遷 schools學校
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的地震災區
05:00
in the earthquake地震 disaster災害 zone.
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為臨時小學里的孩子們表演
05:02
And this little girl女孩 comes up to me.
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有個小女孩走到我身邊。
05:05
[Chinese中文]
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“[中文]”
05:11
"Big sister妹妹 Wong,"
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“王大姐”
05:13
Washburn沃什伯恩, Wong, same相同 difference區別.
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沃什波恩,王,差不多啦。
05:17
"Big sister妹妹 Wong, can I sing you a song歌曲
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“王大姐,我可以給你唱一首
05:20
that my mom媽媽 sang for me
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我媽媽被地震吞噬前
05:22
before she was swallowed吞食 in the earthquake地震?"
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唱給我的歌嗎?“
05:26
And I satSAT down,
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我坐了下來,
05:28
she satSAT on my lap膝部.
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她坐在我腿上
05:30
She started開始 singing唱歌 her song歌曲.
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開始唱着她的歌
05:33
And the warmth熱情 of her body身體
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她身體傳來的溫度
05:36
and the tears眼淚 rolling壓延 down her rosy紅潤 cheeks臉頰,
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滑落她粉紅臉蛋的淚珠
05:40
and I started開始 to cry.
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讓我開始哭
05:43
And the light that shone閃閃發光 off of her eyes眼睛
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閃爍在她眼睛里的淚光
05:47
was a place地點 I could have stayed forever永遠.
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讓我久久不能忘懷
05:51
And in that moment時刻, we weren't our American美國 selves自我,
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那一刻,我們不是美國人
05:54
we weren't our Chinese中文 selves自我,
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我們不是中國人
05:56
we were just mortals凡人
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我們只是凡人
06:00
sitting坐在 together一起 in that light that keeps保持 us here.
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坐在一片將我們維繫在一起的光輝裡,
06:05
I want to dwell in that light
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我想和你們大家
06:09
with you and with everyone大家.
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一起住在那片光裡
06:11
And I know U.S.-China-中國 relations關係
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而且我知道中美關係中
06:13
doesn't need another另一個 lawyer律師.
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也不需要再多一名律師
06:15
Thank you.
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謝謝。
06:17
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Diwen Mueller
Reviewed by Ya-Chun Chuang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Abigail Washburn - Clawhammer banjo player
Abigail Washburn pairs venerable folk elements with far-flung sounds, creating results that feel both strangely familiar and unlike anything anybody's ever heard before.

Why you should listen
If American old-time music is about adopting earlier, simpler ways of life and music-making, Abigail has proven herself a bracing challenge to that tradition. A singing, songwriting, Chinese-speaking, Illinois-born, Nashville-based, clawhammer banjo player, Abigail is every bit as interested in the present and the future as she is in the past, and every bit as attuned to the global as she is to the local. From the recovery zones of earthquake-shaken Sichuan to the hollers of Tennessee, she pairs venerable folk elements with far-flung sounds, and the results feel both strangely familiar and unlike anything anybody’s ever heard before. To put it another way, she changes what seems possible.
More profile about the speaker
Abigail Washburn | Speaker | TED.com