邁克爾·杰克遜拖著剛剛摔傷的右腳，架著雙拐在久負盛名的英國牛津大學為保障兒童權益進行了演講，宣傳由他捐資設立的兒童慈善機構。為此，僅能容納500人的牛津辯論廳擁入了數萬人。
在演講中，杰克遜建議所有父母都應做到每晚在床邊給孩子講故事，以使他們時刻都能感受到愛。其間，在講到父親是個吃苦耐勞的人，曾含辛茹苦地撫養(yǎng)他們兄弟成人的經過時，杰克遜滿含熱淚，聲音顫抖。以下是演講的全文：
Heal The Kids - Oxford Speech
Oxford University, March 2001 by Michael Jackson
Thank you, thank you dear friends, from the bottom of my heart, for such a loving and spirited welcome, and thank you, Mr President, for your kind invitation to me which I am so honoured to accept. I also want to express a special thanks to you Shmuley, who for 11 years served as Rabbi here at Oxford. You and I have been working so hard to form Heal the Kids, as well as writing our book about childlike qualities, and in all of our efforts you have been such a supportive and loving friend. And I would also like to thank Toba Friedman, our director of operations at Heal the Kids, who is returning tonight to the alma mater where she served as a Marshall scholar, as well as Marilyn Piels, another central member of our Heal the Kids team.
謝謝，謝謝各位親愛的朋友，對大家如此熱烈的歡迎，我由衷的表示感謝，謝謝主席，對您的盛意邀請，我感到萬分榮幸。同時，我特別地感謝*教律法家Shmuley，感謝您十一年來在牛津所做的工作。您和我一起努力建立“拯救兒童”，就如創(chuàng)作我們的直白書一樣艱辛，但自始至終你都給予極大的支持和愛心。我還要感謝“拯救兒童”的理事Toba Friedman，她將于今晚返回母校，在此，她曾經作為一個Marshall學者工作過。當然還感謝我們“拯救兒童”組織的另一位中心成員Marilyn Piels。
I am humbled to be lecturing in a place that has previously been filled by such notable figures as Mother Theresa, Albert Einstein, Ronald Reagan, Robert Kennedy and Malcolm X. Ive even heard that Kermit the Frog has made an appearance here, and Ive always felt a kinship with Kermits message that its not easy being green. Im sure he didnt find it any easier being up here than I do!
能來到這樣一個曾經匯集過特蕾莎修女、愛因斯坦、羅納德·里根、羅伯特·肯尼迪和 Malcolm X等人物的地方演講我感到受寵若驚。聽說Kermit the Frog曾經來過這里，我也和他有同感就是，沒有深厚閱歷的人來這里可并不容易，但我相信他一定沒有想到我竟會這么容易的做到。
As I looked around Oxford today, I couldnt help but be aware of the majesty and grandeur of this great institution, not to mention the brilliance of the great and gifted minds that have roamed these streets for centuries. The walls of Oxford have not only housed the greatest philosophical and scientific geniuses - they have also ushered forth some of the most cherished creators of childrens literature, from J.R.R. Tolkien to CS Lewis. Today I was allowed to hobble into the dining hall in Christ Church to see Lewis Carrolls Alice in Wonderland immortalised in the stained glass windows. And even one of my own fellow Americans, the beloved Dr Seuss graced these halls and then went on to leave his mark on the imaginations of millions of children throughout the world.
今天我參觀牛津大學，真的忍不住被這一偉大建筑的宏偉壯觀所吸引，更不必說這世紀之城才俊云集的絢爛了。牛津不僅薈萃了最出色沉著的科學英才，還引導出了從J.R.R.托爾金到C.S.劉易斯等不少極富愛心的兒童文學家。今天，我被允許在教堂餐廳里參觀了雕刻在彩色玻璃窗里的Lewis Carroll的愛麗斯夢游仙境。同時發(fā)現還有我的一位美國同胞，親愛的蘇斯先生也為此增色，啟發(fā)著全世界的千萬兒童的想象力。
I suppose I should start by listing my qualifications to speak before you this evening.
今晚，我想先從我為何能有幸在這里講話開始。
Friends, I do not claim to have the academic expertise of other speakers who have addressed this hall, just as they could lay little claim at being adept at the moonwalk - and you know, Einstein in particular was really TERRIBLE at that. But I do have a claim to having experienced more places and cultures than most people will ever see. Human knowledge consists not only of libraries of parchment and ink - it is also comprised of the volumes of knowledge that are written on the human heart, chiselled on the human soul, and engraved on the human psyche. And friends, I have encountered so much in this relatively short life of mine that I still cannot believe I am only 42. I often tell Shmuley that in soul years Im sure that Im at least 80 - and tonight I even walk like Im 80! So please harken to my message, because what I have to tell you tonight can bring healing to humanity and healing to our planet.
朋友們，正如其他一些來此的演講者不善于月球漫步一樣，我也并不具備他們所擁有的學術專業(yè)知識--而且，大家都知道，愛因斯坦在這方面尤其讓人敬畏。但是我可以說，比起大多數人，在其他文化方面我擁有更豐富的經驗。人類文明不僅僅包括圖書館中紙墨記載的，還包括那些記在人們內心的，刻進人們靈魂的，印入人類精神的。而且朋友們，在我相對短暫的生命里我經歷了這么多，以至于我真的難以相信自己只有42歲。我經常對Shmuley說我的心理年齡肯定至少有80了，今晚我甚至象個80歲老人一樣走路。那么就請大家聽我說，因為今天我一定要對大家講的或許會讓大家一起來治愈人道，拯救地球!
Through the grace of God, I have been fortunate to have achieved many of my artistic and professional aspirations realised early in my lifetime. But these, friends are accomplishments, and accomplishments alone are not synonymous with who I am. Indeed, the cheery five-year-old who belted out Rockin Robin and Ben to adoring crowds was not indicative of the boy behind the smile.
多虧上帝的恩典，我很幸運地提前實現了自己一生的藝術和職業(yè)抱負。但這些成績和我是誰，完全不同性質。事實上，在崇拜者面前活潑快樂地表演Rocking Robin和Ben的五歲小男孩并不意味笑容背后的他也同樣快樂。
Tonight, I come before you less as an icon of pop (whatever that means anyway), and more as an icon of a generation, a generation that no longer knows what it means to be children. All of us are products of our childhood. But I am the product of a lack of a childhood, an absence of that precious and wondrous age when we frolic playfully without a care in the world, basking in the adoration of parents and relatives, where our biggest concern is studying for that big spelling test come Monday morning. Those of you who are familiar with the Jackson Five know that I began performing at the tender age of five and that ever since then, I havent stopped dancing or singing.
今晚，我不想以一個流行偶像的身份出現在大家面前，我更愿意作一代人的見證，一代不再了解作為孩子有什么意義的人。大家都有過童年，可我卻缺少它，缺少那些寶貴的美妙的無憂無慮嬉戲玩耍的時光，而那些日子我們本該愜意地沉浸在父母親人的疼愛中，為星期一重要的拼寫考試下功夫做準備。熟悉The Jackson 5的朋友都知道我5歲時就開始表演，從那以后，就再也沒有停止過跳舞唱歌。
But while performing and making music undoubtedly remain as some of my greatest joys, when I was young I wanted more than anything else to be a typical little boy. I wanted to build tree houses, have water balloon fights, and play hide and seek with my friends. But fate had it otherwise and all I could do was envy the laughter and playtime that seemed to be going on all around me. There was no respite from my professional life. But on Sundays I would go Pioneering, the term used for the missionary work that Jehovahs Witnesses do. And it was then that I was able to see the magic of other peoples childhood. Since I was already a celebrity, I would have to don a disguise of fat suit, wig, beard and glasses and we would spend the day in the suburbs of Southern California, going door-to-door or making the rounds of shopping malls, distributing our Watchtower magazine. I loved to set foot in all those regular suburban houses and catch sight of the shag rugs and La-Z-Boy armchairs with kids playing Monopoly and grandmas baby-sitting and all those wonderful, ordinary and starry scenes of everyday life. Many, I know, would argue that these things seem like no big deal. But to me they were mesmerising. I used to think that I was unique in feeling that I was without a childhood. I believed that indeed there were only a handful with whom I could share those feelings.
雖然音樂表演的確是我的樂趣，可是小的時候我更想和其他的男孩子一樣，搭樹巢，打水仗，捉迷藏。但是命中注定我只能羨慕那些笑聲和歡樂，我的職業(yè)生活不容停歇. 不過，作為耶和華見證人，每個禮拜天我都要去參加教會工作，那時，我就會設想自己的童年和別人的一樣充滿魔力。而自從我成名以后，我就不得不用肥大的衣服，假發(fā)，胡須和眼鏡把自己偽裝起來。我們在加州南部的郊區(qū)度過一整天，挨家挨戶串門，或者在購物中心閑逛，發(fā)放我們的了望臺雜志。我也喜歡到普通的家庭里去，看那些粗毛地毯，看那些小家伙們過家家，看所有的精彩普通閃亮的日常生活情景。我知道很多人會認為這沒什么大不了，可對我卻充滿了誘惑。我常常想自己這種沒有童年的感覺是獨一無二的，我想能和我分享這種感覺的人更是少之又少。
在演講中，杰克遜建議所有父母都應做到每晚在床邊給孩子講故事，以使他們時刻都能感受到愛。其間，在講到父親是個吃苦耐勞的人，曾含辛茹苦地撫養(yǎng)他們兄弟成人的經過時，杰克遜滿含熱淚，聲音顫抖。以下是演講的全文：
Heal The Kids - Oxford Speech
Oxford University, March 2001 by Michael Jackson
Thank you, thank you dear friends, from the bottom of my heart, for such a loving and spirited welcome, and thank you, Mr President, for your kind invitation to me which I am so honoured to accept. I also want to express a special thanks to you Shmuley, who for 11 years served as Rabbi here at Oxford. You and I have been working so hard to form Heal the Kids, as well as writing our book about childlike qualities, and in all of our efforts you have been such a supportive and loving friend. And I would also like to thank Toba Friedman, our director of operations at Heal the Kids, who is returning tonight to the alma mater where she served as a Marshall scholar, as well as Marilyn Piels, another central member of our Heal the Kids team.
謝謝，謝謝各位親愛的朋友，對大家如此熱烈的歡迎，我由衷的表示感謝，謝謝主席，對您的盛意邀請，我感到萬分榮幸。同時，我特別地感謝*教律法家Shmuley，感謝您十一年來在牛津所做的工作。您和我一起努力建立“拯救兒童”，就如創(chuàng)作我們的直白書一樣艱辛，但自始至終你都給予極大的支持和愛心。我還要感謝“拯救兒童”的理事Toba Friedman，她將于今晚返回母校，在此，她曾經作為一個Marshall學者工作過。當然還感謝我們“拯救兒童”組織的另一位中心成員Marilyn Piels。
I am humbled to be lecturing in a place that has previously been filled by such notable figures as Mother Theresa, Albert Einstein, Ronald Reagan, Robert Kennedy and Malcolm X. Ive even heard that Kermit the Frog has made an appearance here, and Ive always felt a kinship with Kermits message that its not easy being green. Im sure he didnt find it any easier being up here than I do!
能來到這樣一個曾經匯集過特蕾莎修女、愛因斯坦、羅納德·里根、羅伯特·肯尼迪和 Malcolm X等人物的地方演講我感到受寵若驚。聽說Kermit the Frog曾經來過這里，我也和他有同感就是，沒有深厚閱歷的人來這里可并不容易，但我相信他一定沒有想到我竟會這么容易的做到。
As I looked around Oxford today, I couldnt help but be aware of the majesty and grandeur of this great institution, not to mention the brilliance of the great and gifted minds that have roamed these streets for centuries. The walls of Oxford have not only housed the greatest philosophical and scientific geniuses - they have also ushered forth some of the most cherished creators of childrens literature, from J.R.R. Tolkien to CS Lewis. Today I was allowed to hobble into the dining hall in Christ Church to see Lewis Carrolls Alice in Wonderland immortalised in the stained glass windows. And even one of my own fellow Americans, the beloved Dr Seuss graced these halls and then went on to leave his mark on the imaginations of millions of children throughout the world.
今天我參觀牛津大學，真的忍不住被這一偉大建筑的宏偉壯觀所吸引，更不必說這世紀之城才俊云集的絢爛了。牛津不僅薈萃了最出色沉著的科學英才，還引導出了從J.R.R.托爾金到C.S.劉易斯等不少極富愛心的兒童文學家。今天，我被允許在教堂餐廳里參觀了雕刻在彩色玻璃窗里的Lewis Carroll的愛麗斯夢游仙境。同時發(fā)現還有我的一位美國同胞，親愛的蘇斯先生也為此增色，啟發(fā)著全世界的千萬兒童的想象力。
I suppose I should start by listing my qualifications to speak before you this evening.
今晚，我想先從我為何能有幸在這里講話開始。
Friends, I do not claim to have the academic expertise of other speakers who have addressed this hall, just as they could lay little claim at being adept at the moonwalk - and you know, Einstein in particular was really TERRIBLE at that. But I do have a claim to having experienced more places and cultures than most people will ever see. Human knowledge consists not only of libraries of parchment and ink - it is also comprised of the volumes of knowledge that are written on the human heart, chiselled on the human soul, and engraved on the human psyche. And friends, I have encountered so much in this relatively short life of mine that I still cannot believe I am only 42. I often tell Shmuley that in soul years Im sure that Im at least 80 - and tonight I even walk like Im 80! So please harken to my message, because what I have to tell you tonight can bring healing to humanity and healing to our planet.
朋友們，正如其他一些來此的演講者不善于月球漫步一樣，我也并不具備他們所擁有的學術專業(yè)知識--而且，大家都知道，愛因斯坦在這方面尤其讓人敬畏。但是我可以說，比起大多數人，在其他文化方面我擁有更豐富的經驗。人類文明不僅僅包括圖書館中紙墨記載的，還包括那些記在人們內心的，刻進人們靈魂的，印入人類精神的。而且朋友們，在我相對短暫的生命里我經歷了這么多，以至于我真的難以相信自己只有42歲。我經常對Shmuley說我的心理年齡肯定至少有80了，今晚我甚至象個80歲老人一樣走路。那么就請大家聽我說，因為今天我一定要對大家講的或許會讓大家一起來治愈人道，拯救地球!
Through the grace of God, I have been fortunate to have achieved many of my artistic and professional aspirations realised early in my lifetime. But these, friends are accomplishments, and accomplishments alone are not synonymous with who I am. Indeed, the cheery five-year-old who belted out Rockin Robin and Ben to adoring crowds was not indicative of the boy behind the smile.
多虧上帝的恩典，我很幸運地提前實現了自己一生的藝術和職業(yè)抱負。但這些成績和我是誰，完全不同性質。事實上，在崇拜者面前活潑快樂地表演Rocking Robin和Ben的五歲小男孩并不意味笑容背后的他也同樣快樂。
Tonight, I come before you less as an icon of pop (whatever that means anyway), and more as an icon of a generation, a generation that no longer knows what it means to be children. All of us are products of our childhood. But I am the product of a lack of a childhood, an absence of that precious and wondrous age when we frolic playfully without a care in the world, basking in the adoration of parents and relatives, where our biggest concern is studying for that big spelling test come Monday morning. Those of you who are familiar with the Jackson Five know that I began performing at the tender age of five and that ever since then, I havent stopped dancing or singing.
今晚，我不想以一個流行偶像的身份出現在大家面前，我更愿意作一代人的見證，一代不再了解作為孩子有什么意義的人。大家都有過童年，可我卻缺少它，缺少那些寶貴的美妙的無憂無慮嬉戲玩耍的時光，而那些日子我們本該愜意地沉浸在父母親人的疼愛中，為星期一重要的拼寫考試下功夫做準備。熟悉The Jackson 5的朋友都知道我5歲時就開始表演，從那以后，就再也沒有停止過跳舞唱歌。
But while performing and making music undoubtedly remain as some of my greatest joys, when I was young I wanted more than anything else to be a typical little boy. I wanted to build tree houses, have water balloon fights, and play hide and seek with my friends. But fate had it otherwise and all I could do was envy the laughter and playtime that seemed to be going on all around me. There was no respite from my professional life. But on Sundays I would go Pioneering, the term used for the missionary work that Jehovahs Witnesses do. And it was then that I was able to see the magic of other peoples childhood. Since I was already a celebrity, I would have to don a disguise of fat suit, wig, beard and glasses and we would spend the day in the suburbs of Southern California, going door-to-door or making the rounds of shopping malls, distributing our Watchtower magazine. I loved to set foot in all those regular suburban houses and catch sight of the shag rugs and La-Z-Boy armchairs with kids playing Monopoly and grandmas baby-sitting and all those wonderful, ordinary and starry scenes of everyday life. Many, I know, would argue that these things seem like no big deal. But to me they were mesmerising. I used to think that I was unique in feeling that I was without a childhood. I believed that indeed there were only a handful with whom I could share those feelings.
雖然音樂表演的確是我的樂趣，可是小的時候我更想和其他的男孩子一樣，搭樹巢，打水仗，捉迷藏。但是命中注定我只能羨慕那些笑聲和歡樂，我的職業(yè)生活不容停歇. 不過，作為耶和華見證人，每個禮拜天我都要去參加教會工作，那時，我就會設想自己的童年和別人的一樣充滿魔力。而自從我成名以后，我就不得不用肥大的衣服，假發(fā)，胡須和眼鏡把自己偽裝起來。我們在加州南部的郊區(qū)度過一整天，挨家挨戶串門，或者在購物中心閑逛，發(fā)放我們的了望臺雜志。我也喜歡到普通的家庭里去，看那些粗毛地毯，看那些小家伙們過家家，看所有的精彩普通閃亮的日常生活情景。我知道很多人會認為這沒什么大不了，可對我卻充滿了誘惑。我常常想自己這種沒有童年的感覺是獨一無二的，我想能和我分享這種感覺的人更是少之又少。