Category Archives: 西洋音樂

小時候住在眷村，隔壁叔叔家中有一台留聲機，在那個時代有台留聲機可非常炫的。隔壁叔叔每天放唱片喧天價響，吵得鄰居雞犬不寧哇哇叫。我倒還好，滿喜歡聽他放的音樂，多數是西洋歌曲，雖然聽不懂，但會跟著曲調和節奏哼唱打拍子。到了初中爸媽上班工作很忙，讓我去住校並送給我一台收音機。記得是正聲廣播電台，每晚有西洋歌曲節目，開始了我聽西洋歌曲的習慣，偶而還會寄張明信卡去點歌。
到了高中，我還是住校，晚上一樣在床上拿著收音機聽熱門音樂，但多了志同道合的同學。不但一起聽西洋歌曲，我們還組了合唱團。高二有一位學長，外號叫恐龍，彈得一手好吉他，另一位同學擔任鼓手，記得他的母親好像是電視製作人。為慶祝學校新建的大禮堂(也是教堂)，我們參加演出，還蠻轟動的。唱了幾首歌已經不記得，但有兩首是Michael row the boat ashore和 Diana
可惜，高二上結束前，校長請家父到學校去，當面告訴家父說，恐怕你兒子畢不了業，最好能先轉學。家父回家後描述當時的景況說：當他點頭同意辦理轉學的時候，他看到校長大大的鬆了一口氣如釋重負。若不然，我或許會與同學繼續第二年的表演；不過，轉到新學校後參加學校樂隊，玩起Auto撒克斯風，也覺得不錯~~~~
服役期間是聽西洋歌曲的黃金時代，當時我在屏東空軍一個飛機維修單位服務，有許多美軍物資，大型高功率真空管，看著士官長留下的線路圖，DIY了好多套超高級HiFi，屏東中正路上有一家唱片行經常有老唱片拍賣，記得是1塊錢2片，每晚用自己組裝的HiFi與音箱，聽著廉價買來的老歌，真是不亦樂乎。
退伍回家時，帶了一千多張黑膠唱片，一直保存到後來錄音帶取代唱片，搬到路口垃圾桶旁準備丟棄。不料，才剛轉頭，立刻有人將之全部搬走。原來，這些絕版的黑膠老唱片，在市場上每片竟然可以賣到數百元!!!
總之，那段時期的西洋歌曲現在依然覺得回味無窮，因此花了一些時間將那段時期常聽的歌曲收錄下來，再補充歌詞和歌曲背景簡介，歡迎一起來欣賞~~~~

55 days at Peking 北京55日

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55 Days at Peking is a 1963 historical epic film starring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, and David Niven, made by Samuel Bronston Productions, and released by Allied Artists. The movie was produced by Samuel Bronston and directed by Nicholas Ray, Andrew Marton (credited as the second unit director), and Guy Green (uncredited). The screenplay was written by Philip Yordan, Bernard Gordon, Ben Barzman, and Robert Hamer, the music score was written by Dimitri Tiomkin, and the cinematographer was Jack Hildyard.
In addition to directing, Nicholas Ray plays the minor role of the head of the American diplomatic mission in China. This film is also the first known appearance of future martial arts film star Yuen Siu Tien. The Japanese film director Juzo Itami, credited in the film as “Ichizo Itami”, appears as Colonel Goro Shiba.

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500 Miles

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“500 Miles” (also known as “500 Miles Away from Home” or “Railroaders’ Lament”) is a folk song made popular in the United States and Europe during the 1960s folk revival. The simple repetitive lyrics offer a lament by a traveler who is far from home, out of money and too ashamed to return. The song is generally credited as being written by Hedy West, and a 1961 copyright is held by Atzal Music, Inc. Some recordings have also credited Bobby Bare, Curly Williams, and/or John Phillips as co-writers. David Neale writes that “500 Miles” may be related to the older folk song, “900 Miles,” which may itself have origins in the southern American fiddle tunes “Reuben’s Train” and “Train 45”.
“500 Miles” is West’s “most anthologized song.” The song appears on the 1961 self-titled debut album by The Journeymen; this may have been its first release.
The song was heard on the February, 1962 Kingston Trio live album College Concert (a 1962 US#3). It was further popularized by Peter, Paul & Mary (it was the second track on their US#1, May 1962 debut album). Rewritten with new lyrics (by Bobby Bare), it charted as a hit single by American country music singer Bobby Bare in 1963 (#10 US, #47 NOR, #7 NOR, #9 SWE, #16 DEN). Bare’s version features a spoken recitation following the repeat of the Refrain, before he sings one original line of his second verse. Following this, he makes a transition from the key of G to the key of D for the Third Verse, featuring a counterpoint portion by the backup singers, before making a transition back to the key of G for the last refrain, before the song’s fade. The lyrics feature heavily in the Bob Dylan song “I Was Young When I Left Home”. It has also been recorded by the Brothers Four, Sonny & Cher, Johnny Rivers, The Hooters, Reba McEntire, Jackie DeShannon, The Seekers, Elvis Presley, The Highwaymen, The Seldom Scene, Nick Cave, Richard Anthony, Franco Battiato, Rosanne Cash, Bad Astronaut, Peter and Gordon, Eric Bibb, Hootenanny Singers, Joan Baez and many others. In an episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Jim Nabors, in the title role, sang the song to character Lou-Ann Poovie, played by Elizabeth MacRae, resulting in Lou-Ann choosing Gomer as her boyfriend.

By Peter, Paul and Mary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwB2A9HHaCU

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16 Tons

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While the song is usually attributed to Merle Travis, to whom it is credited on his 1947 recording, George S. Davis, a folk singer and songwriter who had been a Kentucky coal miner, claimed on a 1966 recording for Folkways Records to have written the song as “Nine-to-ten tons” in the 1930s. Davis’ recording of his version of the song appears on the albums George Davis: When Kentucky Had No Union Men and Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian.

According to Travis, the line from the chorus “another day older and deeper in debt” was a phrase often used by his father, a coal miner himself. This and the line “I owe my soul to the company store” is a reference to the truck system and to debt bondage. Under this scrip system, workers were not paid cash; rather they were paid with non-transferable credit vouchers which could be exchanged for only goods sold at the company store. This made it impossible for workers to store up cash savings. Workers also usually lived in company-owned dormitories or houses, the rent for which was automatically deducted from their pay. In the United States the truck system and associated debt bondage persisted until the strikes of the newly formed United Mine Workers and affiliated unions forced an end to such practices.

“Sixteen Tons” is a song about the life of a coal miner, first recorded in 1946 by American country singer Merle Travis and released on his box set album Folk Songs of the Hills the following year. A 1955 version recorded by Tennessee Ernie Ford reached number one in the Billboard charts, while another version by Frankie Laine was released only in the United Kingdom, where it gave Ford’s version competition.
A version called “靜心等” (Wait patiently) is a well-known hit in Taïwan, interpreted by Chinese singer 張露 (Chang Loo) and by Teresa Teng (鄧麗君) who she recorded this song in 1968 at age of 15.
Personally, I like The Platters~~~

Tennessee Ernie Ford

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