December 10, 2012

ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT? - 8/1 : Original


 
歌劇: "Pagliacci" 意譯 "小丑"
1892年上演的黑色幽默歌劇, 意大利劇作家 Leoncavallo Ruggero (1857-1919) 基於他童年的回憶而寫成。1865年的一宗謀殺案, 受害者 Scavello, 他是 Ruggero 兒時家中的男僕, 與另一個青年 Luigi 愛上同一女子, Luigi 面對情敵當前而動起殺機, 與哥哥 Gaetano 合謀把 Scavello 殺掉。事發之後, Luigi 兄弟同被捕, 案件剛巧交到 Ruggero 的父親審理, 他是刑事調查的首席法官。這劇目的故事情節和臺詞成了......
 
 
ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT?
1926年的作品, Lou Handman (1894-1956) 譜曲, Roy Turk (1892-1934) 撰詞, 靈感是來自1892年上演的黑色幽默歌劇 "Pagliacci 小丑" 的一段歌曲。同年六月, 純音樂版本由 Bob Haring & The Cameo Dance Orchestra 演奏, Cameo Record 唱片公司錄製, 但找不到有錄音記載。1927年五月, Ned Jakobs 在 Brunswick 唱片公司完成這一曲的錄音, 之後卻沒有印製唱片, 而錄音聲軌亦没有保存下來; 及後, 舞台藝人 Charles Hart 亦完成此曲的錄音, Harmony Records 唱片公司於七月完成印製, 成為這歌曲在1927年的首次面世。
 

1927 - Charles Hart
"Are You Lonesome Tonight?"
Music : Lou Handman
Lyrics : Roy Turk

REFRAIN:
Tonight I'm downhearted
For though we have parted
I love you, and I always will
And while I'm so lonely
I'm writing you only
To see if you care for me still


Are you lonesome tonight
Do you miss me tonight
Are you sorry we drifted apart

Does your memory stray
To a bright summer day
When I kissed you
And called you sweetheart

Do the chair in your parlor
Seem empty and bare
Do you gaze at your door step
And picture me there

Is your heart filled with pain
Shall I come back again
Tell me, dear
Are you lonesome tonight

REFRAIN:
I hold with affection
A fond recollection
A romance of days now gone by
And often I wonder
If I made a blunder
By letting you bid me goodbye


Do the chairs in your parlor
Seem empty and bare
Do you gaze at your doorstep
And picture me there

Is your heart filled with pain
Shall I come back again
Tell me, dear
Are you lonesome tonight

 
 
ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT? 
Vaughn De Leath (1894-1943)
首張女歌手的版本, 由被稱為 "The Radio Girl" 的 Vaughn De Leath 演繹, Edison Records 唱片公司印製, 1927年六月面世, 登上流行歌曲銷量榜第四位。



第二張是 Lou Handman 鋼琴彈奏, 妹妹 Edythe 演繹的錄音, 於1927年六月二十七日由 Gennett Lable 印製發行, 可惜未能找到她的錄音聲頻, 唱片 A-面: Dreon Sister "I Wish I Was In Dixie", B-面: Edythe Handman "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"。 

1927 - Vaughn De Leath

MONOLOGUE 獨白
原作品1927年面世之後, 在一年內有記錄包括 Charles Hart 的首唱共有八個版本, 由男或女歌手演繹, 節段編排和格調各有不同。首個加上 "Monologue 獨白" 的版本, 由英國知名男中音歌唱家, 亦是舞臺藝人 Stanley Kirkby 所撰寫, 並親自作唱片錄音演繹, 1928年由英國 Edison Bell Radio 唱片公司印製和發行面世。


1928 - Stanley Kirkby
REFRAIN:
Tonight I'm downhearted
For though we have parted
I love you
And I always will
And while I'm so lonely
I'm writing you only
To see if you care for me still


Are you lonesome tonight
Do you miss me tonight
Are you sorry we drifted apart

Does your memory stray
To a bright summer day
When I kissed you
And called you sweetheart

Do the chair in your parlor
Seem empty and bare
Do you gaze at your door step
And picture me there

Is your heart filled with pain
Shall I come back again
Tell me, dear
Are you lonesome tonight

MONOLOGUE:
Yes, you seemed to change
You acted strange
Why I've never known

Then came the day
When you went away and left me all alone
If you lie when you said you loved me
I had no cause to doubt you
But I'd rather go on hearing your lies
Then to go on living without you
The stage is bare and I'm standing there
In the part of a broken clown
And if you don't want to come back to me
Then they can bring the curtain down


Is your heart filled with pain
Shall I come back again
Tell me, dear
Are you lonesome tonight