Bake Sale

Bake Sale -David Roth
Lichtman的面包店
Louis Lichtman had a bakery at 86th and Amsterdam
Louis Lichtman在阿姆斯特丹大道86街开了一家面包店
You'd smell the rising bread at least a couple blocks away
站在几条街外你都能闻到店里传来的面包香气
For forty years a wedding cake of one kind or another
四十多年来，面包店的橱窗里每天
Would occupy the Lichtman's Bakery window every day
都摆满了各式各样的婚礼蛋糕
Then the world turned from pastry and from challah and from cookies
渐渐的，人们似乎不再喜欢饼干糕点了
From the independent merchant to the supermarket mall
超级市场也慢慢取代了独立商户
And the rents were rising faster than the loaves that they were earned on
租金飞速上涨，面包店逐渐入不敷出
So the "Going Out of Business"sign appeared on Lichtman's wall
直到某一天，写着“倒闭”的牌子出现在了Lichtman面包店的墙上
The lights are out at Lichtman's now
Lichtman的光消失了
The building's cold and empty with a cake stand in the window
店里冷清且空荡，只剩一个蛋糕孤零零摆在橱窗里
Your credit's fine no money down
信用很好，不用为抵押额外支付钱
And the Upper West Side doesn't smell as sweetly as it used to
但上西城也再也闻不到当面包店还大放异彩时
Back when Lichtman's Bakery graced our little town
那股甜甜的面包香
The final day of business came and with it Lichtman's regulars
最后营业日那天，老顾客们都来了
Paying their respects and taking in the sad details
表达他们的尊敬，接受这一悲伤事实
Mrs Kaplan bought a dozen cakes another thirty strudels
Kaplan夫人买了一打蛋糕，又加了30个馅饼
As the auctioneer prepared to start the sale
拍卖商准备开始拍卖了
Some sixty other bakers bid on ovens and on boxes
大约60个其他面包师参与了竞标，买烤箱和剩下的东西
There were mixers there was shortening there were bowls and there were pans
搅拌器，起酥油，锅碗瓢盆......
And the years were sifting through the racks at Louis Lichtman's bakery
面包店的岁月转瞬即逝
Like the flour and the sugar through his hands
Lichtman手中好像还拿着面粉和糖
The lights are out at Lichtman's now
他的光消失了
The building's cold and empty with a cake stand in the window
店里冷清且空荡，只剩一个蛋糕孤零零摆在橱窗里
The Daily Special sign fell down
写着“今日特价“的牌子掉了下来
And the Upper West Side doesn't smell as sweetly as it used to
上西城也再闻不到当面包店还大放异彩时
Back when Lichtman's Bakery graced our little town
那股甜甜的面包香
The last of all the lots was sold the frosting tubes and freezer
最后一件拍卖品是霜管和冰柜
Mr Lichtman clutched his rolling pin and went to stand outside
Lichtman拿着他的擀面杖，站在店门口
He didn't want to watch the auctioneer conclude his business
他不想看着拍卖商宣布他的生意结束了
And he didn't want his friends to see him cry
他也不愿他的朋友们看见他的眼泪
A note left hanging on the wall
店内墙上还挂着一张便签
It said that Mrs Rosenthal still owed him 7dollars
上面写着Rosenthal夫人还欠他7美元
That was a long long time ago
那似乎是很久很久之前的事了
And the ceiling fan once spinning round for one last time was slowing down
天花板上曾经飞转的吊扇似乎也慢下来了
As forty years came turning to a close
在这四十年的快结束的时候
The lights are out at Lichtman's now
Lichtman的光也消失了
The building's cold and empty Mr Lichtman moved to Jersey
店里冷清且空荡，Lichtman搬去了泽西岛
The neighborhood has changed around
街坊早已不是从前的街坊
The Upper West Side doesn't smell as sweetly as it used to
上西城也再闻不到当Lichtman面包店还大放异彩时
Back when Lichtman's Bakery graced our little town
那股甜甜的面包香