MY WAY - Original & Remade

"My Way"
"Comme d'habitude" 意譯 "As Usual 如常"
1967年的法語歌曲, 至今以不同版本翻唱最多的經典金曲, 内容是歌者對漸漸失去愛情的感受, 無奈亦如常與愛人一起。翌年 Paul Anka 正在法國南部渡假, 聽到這首法文流行歌曲之後, 他立即前往 Paris 巴黎該唱片的公司, 經洽談後並取得該樂譜的版權。

"Comme d'habitude" ("As Usual") 1967
Music: Jacques Revaux
Lyric: Claude François, Gilles Thibaut,

MY WAY 

1969年 Paul Anka 與 Frank Sinatra 及幾個賭城 "大享" 晚飯共聚, 傾談中 Sinatra 大發嚕囌高呼: "我要放棄, 這行業令我感嘔心, 我快要死了!" Paul Anka 午夜返回 New York 的寓所, 對 Sinatra 這一番說話尤言在耳, 有感而發, 把從法國巴黎的唱片公司授予版權的樂譜, 馬上撰寫一曲, 歌詞當中亦有這一句 "And now, the end is near" 與及 "I ate it up and spit it out", 這都是 Sinatra 與其 "鼠兄弟 Rat Pack" 的說話語氣, 全代入歌曲之中, 內容與原法文版本不同。翌日早上即電告 Sinatra 此曲已為他寫好, 主唱則非他莫屬, 並以 "MY WAY" 命名以配合他的個性與豪邁風格: "一個自感遲暮的人, 如何面對一切, 接受人生的挑戰, 並要保持其尊嚴至生命的終結"。唱片面世之後大受樂迷歡迎; Sinatra 大發嚕囌, 豪言壯語的内容, 成為他的標誌歌曲。

MY WAY - FRANK SINATRA 1969

And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I'll say it clear,
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.

I've lived a life that's full.
I've traveled each and ev'ry highway;
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Regrets, I've had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.

I've loved, I've laughed and cried.
I've had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.

To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
"No, oh no not me,
I did it my way".

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!

"Even A Fool Learns To Love" - David Bowie
1967年 "Comme d'habitude" 面世不久, 法國的唱片公司曾經邀請 David Bowie 為這首法文歌曲一試撰上英文歌詞, 之後, 卻不見有唱片面世, 甚至消聲匿跡。樂壇業界傳聞這首由 Bowie 撰上英文歌詞的作品交到唱片公司, 監製未將整篇歌詞細閱已把它棄而不用。及後才找到 David Bowie 私人的錄音範本, 原來他把原曲的意思反過來, 以 "Even A Fool Learns To Love" 的歌曲名字, 對愛情自嘲, 似是回應原曲的歌者; 不過, 從開首的一段歌詞, 有些字彙全不押韻和用詞牽强, 與主旋律並不協調, 相信這是不被唱片監製接受的原因了。後來, 唱片公司再交給 Paul Anka 完成英文歌詞的 "MY WAY"! 

"Even A Fool Learns To Love" David Bowie

There was a time, the laughing time
I took my heart to every party
They'd point my way
"How are you today?"
"Will you make us laugh? Chase our blues away?"
Their funny man won't let them down
No, he'd dance and prance and be their clown
That time, the laughing time
When even a fool learns to love

The clown turned around
And saw her smile, Oh how she loved me
She'd clap her hands and beg me stay
To make her laugh, to make her life gay
Who wants the love of all the world
When here was love in the eyes of just one girl
That day, that precious day
When even a fool learns to love

But Oh, how I dreamed, a marvelous dream
Where all of the heavens or so it had seemed
With thunderous applause looked down from above
On a clown and an angel so much in love
I'll stay with my dream, it takes such a dream
And even a fool learns to love

That day, that hateful day
The joke turned stale, the game was over
Those spiteful words "Oh, go away. Who wants to play?"
"It's getting late now."
My world, my funny world
Had lost its mask and shown a broken heart
A time, a sour time
When even a fool learns to love

But Oh, how I dreamed, a marvelous dream
Where all of the heavens or so it had seemed
With thunderous applause looked down from above
On a clown and an angel so much in love
I'll stay with my dream, it takes such a dream