敘事清流，娓娓道來～Don McLean／唐麥克林

Vincent Willem van Gogh - Starry Night  (1889)

有一種音樂，是當你一聽到便彷彿置身蒼茫大地，凝望無盡蒼穹，萬籟俱寂的純粹寧靜襲來，將整顆心都沉澱了下來的美麗。

在欣賞荷蘭畫家 Vincent (Willem) van Gogh (文生‧梵谷) 的畫作時，感懷於同為藝術家的梵谷生平遭遇與孤寂所引發的創作靈感，民謠歌手 Don Mclean 選擇了梵谷於1889年在法國南部 St.Remy 精神病院內所畫、後來成為最受人愛戴的名畫「The Starry Night」為題材，寫出紀念他的「Vincent」。

望著滿天星斗，如同跨越時空的對話，柔柔淡淡沒有激昂情緒卻令人動容的這首歌就讓我有這樣的感受。

Don McLean - Vincent  (1971)
Music and Lyrics by Don McLean

Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer's day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land.

Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how.
Perhaps they'll listen now.

Starry, starry night.
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze,
Swirling clouds in violet haze,
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue.
Colors changing hue, morning field of amber grain,
Weathered faces lined in pain,
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.

Now I understand what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they did not know how.
Perhaps they'll listen now.

For they could not love you,
But still your love was true.
And when no hope was left in sight
On that starry, starry night,
You took your life, as lovers often do.
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never meant for one
As beautiful as you.

Starry, starry night.
Portraits hung in empty halls,
Frameless head on nameless walls,
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget.
Like the strangers that you've met,
The ragged men in the ragged clothes,
The silver thorn of bloody rose,
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.

Now I think I know what you tried to say to me,
How you suffered for your sanity,
How you tried to set them free.
They would not listen, they're not listening still.
Perhaps they never will...
星夜

繁星點點的夜裡
畫出你調色盤裡的藍與灰
在夏日裡出外探訪
用你那洞悉我靈魂幽暗處的雙眼
山丘上的陰影
描繪出樹林與水仙花
捕捉微風與冬天的冷冽
用那雪地裡亞麻般的色彩

現在我才明白，你曾試著表達的是什麼
當時清醒的你有多麼痛苦
你努力的想讓它們得到解脫
但人們卻不理會，也不知該怎麼做
也許，人們將學會傾聽

繁星點點的夜裡
火紅的花朵燦爛的燃燒著
漩渦似的雲飄在紫羅蘭色的霧裡
映照在文生湛藍的眼瞳裡
色彩變化萬千
清晨的田園裡琥珀色的農作物
佈滿風霜的臉上羅列著痛苦
在藝術家憐愛的手下得到撫慰

現在我才明白，你曾試著表達的是什麼
當時清醒的你有多麼痛苦
你努力的想讓它們得到解脫
但人們卻不理會，也不知該怎麼做
也許，現在人們將學會傾聽

即使當初他們無法愛你
但你的愛依然真切
當燦爛的星空裡不存一絲希望
你像許多戀人一樣，結束了自己的生命
但願我能告訴你，文生
這個世界根本配不上一個美麗如你的人

繁星點點的夜裡
一幅幅的肖像懸掛在空盪盪的大廳裡
無鑲框的臉倚靠在不知名的牆上
配上一雙看遍世事且永不遺忘的雙眼
就像你曾遇見的陌生人
那些衣衫襤褸的人們
也像血紅的玫瑰上銀色的刺
斷裂並靜臥在剛剛落下的雪上

我想我已明白，你想說的是什麼
當時清醒的你有多麼痛苦
你努力的想讓它們得到解脫
但人們卻不理會，現在依然如此
也許，他們永遠不會……

Don McLean - American Pie (1971)

1945年10月2日出生於美國紐約的 Don McLean，受反戰的民謠傳奇歌手 Pete Seeger 指導與影響，一向以獨立的敘事性風格見長；1971年有感於自己的偶像 Buddy Holly、Richie Valens、the Big Bopper 等人於1959年一場飛機失事中過世，美國政治、文化(嬉皮族、迷幻藥充斥) 等諸多現象的演變，以同名專輯中長達八分多鐘的歌曲「American Pie」向他們致敬，並表達了自己對現世狀況的想法，也拿下1972年美國排行榜冠軍：

Don McLean - American Pie  (1971)
Music and Lyrics by Don McLean

A long long time ago
I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while
But February made me shiver with every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
So...

*Bye, bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Now do you believe in rock and roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you're in love with him
'cause I saw you dancing in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncing buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singing(*)

Now, for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rolling stone
But that's not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me
Oh and while the king was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
And while Lenin read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
We were singing(*)

Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
Landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance
'Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?
We started singing(*)

Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend
And as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in hell
Could break that Satan's spell
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singing(*)

I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
And in the streets the children screamed
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken
And the three men I admire most the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
And they were singing(*)

美國派

很久很久以前
我依然記得
音樂是如何讓我會心微笑
我知道，如果我有機會
我可以讓人們聞樂起舞
也許他們會快樂好一陣子
但二月使我顫抖
因為我送的每一份報紙
丟在門口的噩耗
使我舉步維艱
我不記得自己有沒有哭
當我讀到他那位新寡妻子的新聞時
某種情緒深深觸動了我
在音樂死亡的那一天
那麼......

*再見了，美國派小姐
開著雪佛蘭到河堤上，但河堤已乾涸
老好人們飲著威士忌和麥酒
唱著這會是我死的那一天
這會是我死的那一天

你寫過情書嗎？
你相信天上的上帝嗎？
如果聖經是這麼告訴你的
你相信搖滾樂嗎？
音樂可以拯救你的靈魂嗎？
你可以教我如何放慢速度來跳舞嗎？

我知道妳愛上了他
因為我看到你們在體育館裡跳舞
你們踢掉鞋子
老天，我深深感受到節奏與藍調
那時的我是個寂寞的年輕人
別著一朵粉紅色的康乃馨，有一輛小貨車
但我明白自己並不走運
在音樂死亡的那一天
我開始唱著......(*)

如今十年了，我們全靠自己熬過來了
滾動的石頭上長滿了青苔
但，它原來不是這個樣子的
當弄臣（註）為國王與皇后歌唱
穿著向詹姆斯狄恩借來的外套
用來自你我的聲音
當國王低頭
弄臣偷走了荊棘桂冠
法庭當時休會
沒有任何判決宣判
當藍尼讀著馬克思主義的書
四重奏在公園裡排練
我們在黑暗中唱著輓歌
在音樂死去的那天
我們唱著......(*)

在酷暑中手忙腳亂
鳥群飛過輻射塵防護罩
高度為八英哩，急速下降
錯誤的降落在草地上
球員嘗試把球向前傳
靠著邊線上弄臣的幫忙
在中場休息時間，空氣中充滿著大麻的香味
當士官們奏起了進行曲
我們都起身準備跳舞
但我們始終沒有機會
因為球員們佔據了球場
軍樂隊拒絕讓步
你還記得當時透露了什麼訊息嗎？
在音樂死去的那天
我們開始唱著......(*)

我們都聚集在同一個地方
在太空中迷失的一代
沒有時間可以重振旗鼓
來吧！傑克，快點！
閃電傑克坐在燭臺上
因為火焰是魔鬼唯一的朋友
當我看到他在舞台上
我憤怒的握緊拳頭
誕生在地獄的天使
也無法破除撒旦的咒語
當火焰升高至夜空
照亮了整個祭典
我看見撒旦高興的大笑
在音樂死去的那天
他唱著......(*)

我遇到一個唱藍調的女孩
我向她打聽一些愉快的消息
但她只是笑了笑便轉身而去
我走到一家宗教用品店
在那裡，可以聽到好幾年前的音樂
但是店裡的人說那些音樂不能播放
街頭上的孩子們尖叫著
戀人們在哭泣，詩人們作著夢
卻不發一語
教堂的鐘都殘破不堪
我最景仰的三個人──
聖父、聖子與聖靈
他們都搭乘末班車到海邊去了
在音樂死去的那天
他們唱著......(*)

註：
成為創作歌手之前，Don McLean 唯一做過的工作是送報紙，1959年看到報紙上刊載著偶像搖滾樂手 Buddy Holly 飛機失事喪生時，其女友已經懷有身孕，因聽聞噩耗而導致流產的消息，震驚得無以復加；加上同行另外兩位搖滾樂手也在這場意外中罹難，三位搖滾樂壇重量級人物一起離開人世，Don McLean 將之視為「音樂死亡的日子」。

這首歌裡描述的當時美國種種現象，是許多音樂人都能理解的心情，不過由於涉及的樂壇人物廣泛，描述了當代如 Beatles、Bob Dylan、Janis Japlin 等知名歌手，一般聽眾如仔細咀嚼應可聽出箇中韻味。

Don McLean 並不是個愛出風頭的歌手，他的歌曲也總經得起時間的考驗，在一片嘈雜或激情樂聲中成為一股可敬的、淡而久遠的清流。曾被 Elvis Presley (貓王)、Perry Como 翻唱的「And I Love You So」，「Castles in the Air」，「Winterwood」，向 Fred Astaire 致敬的「Wonderful Baby」，向 George Reeves 致敬的「Superman's Ghost」，或是1980年翻唱 Roy Orbison 的「Crying」等歌曲，至今都仍使人覺得動聽。

專輯列表

Tapestry (1970)
American Pie (1971)
Don McLean (1972)
Playin' Favorites (1973)
Homeless Brother (1974)
Solo (1976) (LIVE)
Prime Time (1977)
Chain Lightning (1978)
Believers (1981)
Dominion (1982) (LIVE)
For The Memories I & II (1986-7)
Love Tracks (1987)
And I Love You So (1989) (UK release)
Headroom (1990)
Christmas (1991)
Favourites and Rarities (1993)
The River of Love (1995)
Christmas Dreams (1997)
Don McLean Sings Marty Robbins (2001)
Starry Starry Night (2001) {Live}
You've Got To Share (2003) ("The Kid's Album")
The Western Album (2003)
Christmastime! (2004) (collects Christmas & Christmas Dreams)
Rearview Mirror (2005)