A Dear John Letter V.S. Forgive Me, John ～覆水難收

「A Dear John Letter」這首頗為知名並廣為流傳的「分手(信)歌」，奇怪地，很多人習慣將之簡稱為「Dear John」。更奇怪的是原主唱 Jean Shepard & Ferlin Husky 在 1953 年推出單曲，也是 Billboard country 冠軍單曲，但多數人最初印象深刻的，卻是 Bobby Bare & Skeeter Davis 在 1965 年錄製的，將兵變對象 Don 改成 John 的版本。

Jean Shepard & Ferlin Husky 推出這首單曲後大受好評，說起來也跟當時韓戰尾聲的時代背景有關。1953年，許多美國大兵被派往韓國去，戰爭期間書信往來不易，好不容易終於接到女朋友的來信，卻是告知兵變的消息，而且令人五雷轟頂的事實是女友兵變的對象，還是自己的兄弟：

Jean Shepard & Ferlin Husky - A Dear John Letter (1953)

(woman)
"Dear John
Oh! how I hate to write
Dear John
I must let you know tonight
That my love for you has gone
There's no reason to go on
And tonight I wed another
Dear John"
"親愛的約翰
噢！我真不願意寫這封信
親愛的約翰
今晚我還是得讓你知道
我對你的愛已消逝
沒有理由再繼續下去
今晚我就要和別人步入禮堂
親愛的約翰"

(man)
I was overseas in battle
when the postman came to me
He handed me a letter and I was just as happy as I could be
'Cause the fighting was all over and the battles have all been won
But then I opened up the letter and that started "dear John"
我在海外作戰
當郵差向我走來
他交給我一封信 我高興極了
因為戰爭已經結束 而且所有戰役都獲得了勝利
但是當我打開這封信它的開頭是："親愛的約翰───"

(woman)
"Dear John
Oh! how I hate to write
Dear John
I must let you know tonight
That my love for you has gone
There's no reason to go on
And tonight I wed another
Dear John"
"親愛的約翰
噢！我真不願意寫這封信
親愛的約翰
今晚我還是得讓你知道
我對你的愛已消逝
沒有理由再繼續下去
今晚我就要和別人步入禮堂
親愛的約翰"

(man)
"Won't you please send back my picture my husband wants it now
When I tell you who I'm wedding you won't care dear anyhow
Now the ceremony has started and I'll wed your brother, Don
Will you wish us happiness forever, Dear John"
"你何不把我的相片寄回來 因為我的丈夫覺得有必要
當我告訴你我的結婚對象時 無論如何 親愛的你不會介意的
現在儀式將要開始而我就要嫁給你的兄弟：唐
你會祝福我們永遠幸福快樂嗎？親愛的約翰"

同一年，Jean Shepard & Ferlin Husky 打鐵趁熱繼續推出單曲，回應「A Dear John
Letter」，給了這個小故事一個交代：

Jean Shepard & Ferlin Husky - Forgive me, John (1953)

(woman)
Forgive me, John but I don't love your brother
I realize now that you're the only one
Write and tell me dear, that you'll still have me
If I undo the awful wrong I've done
原諒我，約翰我根本不愛你的兄弟
我現在深深明白你才是我的最愛
寫信告訴我，你心裡還有我
讓我修復我曾犯下的可怕錯誤

(man)
I'll try to answer your letter the best that I know how
The way I feel about you, honey, really doesn't matter now
As you know, the boys will be coming home soon
To be with their wives and their Maw and Paw
I'd like to come home, I'd like to see you
As a wife, but not as a sister-in-law
我試著盡我所知回信給妳
現在我對妳的感覺，親愛的，真的不是那麼重要
如妳所知，男孩們都即將返鄉
跟他們的妻子以及父母相聚
我想要回家，我想要見妳
為人妻的樣子，而不是嫂嫂的樣子

(woman)
Forgive me, John but I don't love your brother
I realize now that you're the only one
Write and tell me dear, that you'll still have me
If I undo the awful wrong I've done
原諒我，約翰我根本不愛你的兄弟
我現在深深明白你才是我的最愛
寫信告訴我，你心裡還有我
讓我修復我曾犯下的可怕錯誤

(man)
You're asking me to do something I can't do
It's hard to explain, but can't you see
My brother loves you, I reckon as much as I do
And he married you, and I could never do him like he done me
But I wish you happiness forever
May you make him a true and loving wife
There's nothing for me to come home for now
So I'll re-enlist and live my lonely soldier's life
妳要求的是我無法做到的事情
這非常難以解釋，但妳難道看不出來
我的兄弟愛妳，我想他像我愛妳一樣地愛妳
而且他娶了妳，我絕不會對他做出像他對我做過的事
但我希望你們永遠幸福快樂
妳可以成為他真誠的愛妻
我現在返鄉是毫無意義的
所以我將重新登記，繼續過我孤單的軍人生活