It was a very good year

發佈日期 : 2006年 4月2日

  
撰文：恭介

很久沒有投稿來了，昨晚發了一個夢，夢見自己垂垂老矣，座在碼頭孤獨地望海。

今天早上起來，搭上火車一按 MP3，第一首隨機歌曲，正是 Ray Charles 的 《It was a very good year》…

Soul Music 教父 Ray Charles 2004 年在比華利山住所，因肝功能衰竭過身，享年 73 歲，而我聽的這張 CD 是他臨終前的最後一張唱片。

據坊間消息透露，Ray 由於太有錢了，所以他特別在他的家對面設立了一間錄音室，並且邀請了歐美頂班歌手，與他齊齊合唱經典金曲。

可是，這個時候，Ray 的重病已經相當嚴重了，每天走過對面街錄音的一小段路程，都顯得相當吃力。

旁人著他不用那麼辛苦吧，可是 Ray 卻堅持要做，奇怪的是，身體非常虛弱的 Ray 一開始錄音，

對著咪高峰就突然生猛起來，聲線也中氣十足、感情豐富。

Ray 就在他完成錄音之後與世長辭，這張「遺作」大碟勇奪去年格林美 8 項大獎，

包括"Album of the Year" 及 "Record of the Year." 等，電影「Ray」中 Jimmy Foxx 也得了奧斯卡最佳男主角。

可惜的是，這些重要時刻，Ray 只能在天堂的遠處感受。

這張大碟內，其中一首歌 「It was a very good year」我相當喜歡，歌詞是這樣的：

It Was A Very Good Year (Features Willie Nelson)

When I was seventeen
It was a very good year
It was a very good year for small town girls
And soft summer nights
We'd hide from the lights
On the village green
When I was seventeen

When I was twenty-one
It was a very good year
It was a very good year for city girls
Who lived up the stair
With all that perfumed hair
And it came undone
When I was twenty-one

When I was thirty-five
It was a very good year
It was a very good year for blue-blooded girls
Of independent means
We'd ride in limousines
Their chauffeurs would drive
When I was thirty-five

But now the days grow short
I'm in the autumn of the year
And now I think of my life as vintage wine
From fine old kegs
From the brim to the dregs
And it poured sweet and clear
It was a very good year
It was a mess of good years

晚年回望，十來歲、廿來歲、三十餘歲，來到現時七、八十歲，每一年都是活得很好的年，每一年都有難忘的事，所以生來無憾。

這首歌由即將到天國去的 Ray 去演譯，那種充滿感情、對世間依依不捨的感覺，活脫脫的流露了出來。

願你們在生存世上的每一年，都是 Very Good Year!

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