詩人歌者Rod McKuen去世

有詩人背景的作曲人、歌手及演員Rod McKuen元月29日因肺炎感染在比佛利山一家養老院去世（81歲）。

Rod McKuen 1933年出生於加州Oakland，他錄過的詩歌專輯有九張進過排行榜，單曲"Oliver Twist"則於1962年獲得過第76名，是他唯一的進排行榜歌曲，1959年他用"Rod"倒過來寫的名字"Dor"與Bob McFadden曾合作推出一首單曲"The Mummy"則獲得過第39名。

1960年代早期McKuen搬到巴黎去，因而認識了比利時籍法國香頌歌手Jacques Brel，他按Brel的作品"Ne me quitte pas"改寫成英語的"If You Go Away"，而1974年由Terry Jacks唱紅的冠軍曲"Seasons In The Sun"則改寫自Brel的作品"Le Moribond" ，Rod McKuen亦改寫了不少法籍作曲人如Gilbert Bécaud、Pierre Delanoé、Michel Sardou等人的作品。

1978年Jacques Brel去世的消息傳到McKuen的耳中，讓他感到非常難過的把自己關在臥房一個星期，他最後只能把悲傷回饋到像他們子女一般的歌中，並反復在他們從前未完成的歌曲中去回想。

除了"Seasons In The Sun" 之外，1969 年由 Frank Sinatra 演唱的"Love's Been Good To Me" 曾獲得第75名，而1969年由Oliver推出獲得過第二名的歌"Jean"，是電影"The Pride Of Miss Jean Brodie"「春風不化雨」的插曲，此曲替Rod McKuen獲得奧斯卡電影歌曲獎提名，也讓他獲得一座金球獎。

"Jean"當年是輸給電影「虎豹小霸王」的插曲"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"。

Rod McKuen寫過1500首以上的歌曲，銷售量超過一億張，表演者包括自Barbra Streisand至倫敦交響樂團等無數知名歌星與樂團。

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfziQHKQpfc

 

If You Go Away

(J.Brel, R.McKuen)

 

If you go away on this summer day,

Then you might as well take the sun away;

All the birds that flew in the summer sky,

When our love was new and our hearts were high;

When the day was young and the night was long,

And the moon stood still for the night bird's song.

If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.

But if you stay, I'll make you a day

Like no day has been, or will be again;

We'll sail the sun, we'll ride on the rain,

We'll talk to the trees and worship the wind.

Then if you go, I'll understand,

Leave me just enough love to fill up my hand,

If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.

If you go, as I know you will, you must tell the world to stop turning

Till you return again, if you ever do, for what good is love without loving you,

Can I tell you now, as you turn to go, I'll be dying slowly till the next hello,

If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.

But if you stay, I'll make you a night

Like no night has been, or will be again.

I'll sail on your smile, I'll ride on your touch,

I'll talk to your eyes that I love so much.

But if you go, go, I won't cry,

Though the good is gone from the word goodbye,

If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.

If you go away, as I know you must,

There'll be nothing left in the world to trust,

Just an empty room, full of empty space,

Like the empty look I see on your face.

I'd have been the shadow of your shadow

If I thought it might have kept me by your side.

If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.