1967年, 音樂監製 Bob Thiele 與作曲家 George David Weiss 两人合作的歌曲, 創作靈感源於當年美國本土的種族問題日趨嚴重, 民權鬥爭令政治不安, 面對反越戰的大氣候, 對日常生活影响有感而發, 以樂觀的心態與歡悅的意願, 讓此曲祝禱人們有一個 "美好的世界"
"WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD"
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K.D. Lang & Tony Bennett
I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day and the dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people goin' by
I see friends shakin' hands
Sayin', "How do you do?"
They're really sayin'
"I love you"
I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Don't you think Satchmo was right?
What a wonderful world
You are right, Pops
Dippermouth Satch
一生經歷過極大的艱辛, 包括受到種族歧視, 而這首歌曲對他有深深的共鳴, 以其獨特的腔調和表達方式, 增添了一份淒美和真實感, 傳達更强而有力的訊息。歌詞是讚美每天帶來的奇迹, 如樹木、玫瑰、天空和人類的互動, 對簡單生活的體驗, 這首歌曲令人們建立了聯系和互相關懷, 超越了文化、年代和地域的界限。
唱片面世後, 令時年六十七歲的 Louis Armstrong, 成為登上英國細碟榜首最高龄的男歌手; 至2009年, 這個紀錄再由 Tom Jones 以六十八歲之齡打破。1970年, 另有較為稀有的版本, 在開始時, 以 Louis Armstrong 個人的一段獨白, 相信是出自他的手筆, 因此再没有其他歌手的演繹, 甚至 Armstrong 後來的版本亦少再出現。
Some of you young folks been saying to me
"Hey Pops, what you mean 'What a wonderful world'?
How about all them wars all over the place?
You call them wonderful? Huh!
And how about hunger and pollution?
That ain't so wonderful either."
Well, how about listening to old Pops for a minute?!
Seems to me, it aint the world that's so bad,
but what we're doing to it.
And all I'm saying is, see,
what a wonderful world It would be
if only we'd give it a chance.
Love, baby, love! That's the secret, yes!
If lots more of us loved each other,
we'd solve lots more problems.
And then this world would be a gasser. Slang : gasser (something remarkable)
That's what ol' Pops keeps saying:
I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom, for me and you
And I think to myself
"What a wonderful world!" .......
爵 士 樂 在 臺 灣
真羨慕臺灣的樂迷, 能夠在各式埸合、普通聚會、飲宴、酒吧均容易欣賞到爵士樂演唱, 不像香港這個所謂《國際城市》, 至今衹有華、粵兩語流行曲才可生存的地方, 甚至英文老歌, 在香港的廣播媒體亦甚少有介紹給樂迷聽眾, 而爵士樂未能普及的原因, 是難以找到適合的場所, 給樂隊和歌手有表演的機會, 當然亦要有像你們臺灣的爵士樂迷, 給予鼓勵和追捧。 臺灣熱愛爵士樂的朋友, 努力 !
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