River: The Joni Letters

最近在聽這張2007年葛萊美Album of the year和Best Contemporary Jazz Album
專輯的標題就是River
主要是Herbie Hancock重新演繹所有Joni Mitchell過去的一些歌曲
Herbie Hancock在2005年時就以"Possibilities"這張與眾多流行樂歌手聯手的作品拿下葛萊美
(有John Mayer,Christina,Sting,Santana,Damien Rice等眾多大咖)
這次他挑上北美民謠女詩人Joni Mitchell
當中也有一首Joni自己前來重唱
在我比較之後 發現
人類最神奇的一種天賦就是聲音
即使時間經過了三十餘年
聽聲辨人的特質還是保有的!而且很清晰!
Herbie高超的鋼琴加上Joni空靈且難解的淡藍世界 是一張不是那麼好消化的專輯
幸好在所有月兒皎潔的夜晚 爵士還是不錯的選擇

River這首歌
在"Love Actually"中曾當做背景音樂
"You've Got Mail"中 也曾被提及
Joni的歌詞一向充滿教育性
而其實我在意的 是"River"這個字所具備的意義:

It's coming on christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
But it don't snow here
It stays pretty green
I'm going to make a lot of money
Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene
I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I made my baby cry

He tried hard to help me
You know, he put me at ease
And he loved me so naughty
Made me weak in the knees
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I'm so hard to handle
I'm selfish and I'm sad
Now I've gone and lost the best baby
That I ever had
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
Oh I wish I had a river
I made my baby say goodbye

It's coming on christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
I wish I had a river
I could skate away on

這讓我想到了另外兩首也有相同名字的歌曲
一首是我也很喜歡的Missy Higgins的:River

She ran until her face was numb with cold and
Wore a cotton gown that blazed the night untold.
She ran until her feet refused to hold
So heavy a heart for someone merely ten years old.
And when she reached the river her knees began to shiver,
Her head with pounding voices from home.
Behind her was a vision, a painful apparition
Of a darker world that no-one should know.

Somebody's bed will never be warm again,
The river will keep this friend.
Yeah somebody's bed will never be warm again,
No never again.

She dived beneath the water's icy skin,
Hoping the cold would kill the smell of angry gin,
And her eyes grew wider than they'd ever been
Just wishing the numbness to cut deeper with its pins.
And as her body lay there she decided to stay there
Till darkness came to pull her away.
And beautifully she sank as up river was the bank
Where some bodiless troubles would stay.

Somebody's bed will never be warm again,
The river will keep this friend.
Yeah somebody's bed will never be warm again,
No never again.

Missy在我的心中也算是民謠女詩人吧
這首歌的意境雖沒Joni那麼抽象
但在Missy的心中 這個"River"的意義
必定和Joni是不同的
相同的是似乎具備著"隔離"的涵義

還有一首 是我們"台灣國寶"張雨生的作品:河

當你平躺下來 我便成了河
迴繞你的頸間 在你唇邊乾涸
竊想你的眼神 我戀戀不捨
聚為一泓泉水 深邃清澈

當愛燎原成災 你徐徐側身
堆積肥沃河床 我是朝聖的人
我是客途的雁 卻一往情深
從此無意追逐 新綠的春
任我流吧 層層冰川
億年換幾吋 我也寧願這麼盼
等到昏黃 等到痴傻
等著公主吻青蛙
當你平躺下來 我便成了河
迴繞你的頸間 在你唇邊乾涸
竊想你的眼神 我戀戀不捨
聚為一泓泉水 深邃清澈

任我流吧 像層層冰川
就算億年換幾吋 我也寧願這麼盼
等到昏黃 我會等到痴傻
等著公主吻青蛙
魔咒緩緩褪盡 你笑得厲害
天曾缺掉的角 無非此等神采
我將殘翼放下 從河中走來
你正頷首告知 這裡有愛

張雨生的河是他自己
象徵著川流不息源源不絕的癡情愛戀
原來一條河可以背負著這麼多不同的期盼和故事
今天的討論恐怕也跟文學扯不開關係吧