"A Boy Named Sue" - The Story
拙筆一文 : 「DADDY, WHAT IF《親親爹哋》何國禧」
文中有述: 《親親爹哋》的歌詞是源自一些網頁之外, 大多數稱此曲作者是 Shel Silvestein、佚名、亦有歌詞網頁稱是出自一首由 Johnny Cash 演譯的歌曲 "A Boy Named Sue" ....
Shel Silverstein 1930-1999
一位百變音樂人、作詞家、詩人、劇作、專長於兒童歌曲、卡通漫畫。他撰寫各類歌曲, 給不少歌手成功演譯, 包括 Johnny Cash 與 Loretta Lynn 等鄉謠歌手; 而大多數 Bobby Bare 的歌曲如溫馨的 "DADDY, WHAT IF"《親親爹哋》均是出自他的手筆 。
"A BOY NAMED SUE"
撰寫此曲的啓發, 有傳是來自作者 Shel Silverstein 的一位好友, 幽默大師 Jean Shepherd, 他的名字 Jean 常被人們誤會是個女士, 而友好亦因此而嘲弄他一番; 另有傳在美國 Tennessee 田納西州, Madisonville 一位出名律師 Sue K. Hicks 出生時, 母親因分娩後不久引致死亡, 他取母親 Sue 的名字作懷念。
歌 曲 故 事
一個年輕人, 自三歲被父親拋棄, 又因為父親給他起上一個女性的名字, 使他自懂事以來, 常被朋輩嘲笑, 迫使他在人們面前要顯得硬朗、粗野, 非女性化如其名字。這惡陋令致他不易交友, 無法久居於一地; 對他來說, 一生掛上這「噁心」的名字而務要殺父, 以泄一憤作報復。
最後, 他查到父親住在田納西州 Tennesee 的小鎮 Gatlinburg; 在那裡一間小酒館, 兩人相遇, 經一番對質, 繼而動武, 而父親哀求下解釋, 並承認自己如 "heartless hound 無情野犬" (歌曲中的 son of a bitch), 原因是離棄妻兒時, 給了他"Sue'這個名字, 深信日後被調侃時, 使他性格剛烈, 萬不能活於柔弱懦怯, 來面對這個艱險欺世的社會。經一番解說後, Sue 明白父親的苦心, 最後如歌曲結尾的幾句作出承諾:
And if I ever have a son, 他日我有兒子的話
I think I'm gonna name him Bill or George! 我會給他名字 Bill 或 George
Anything but Sue! 絕不會是 Sue
I still hate that name! 我仍討厭這名字
A BOY NAMED SUE - Johnny Cash- Live in San Quentin Prison
Well my daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me Sue
Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named Sue
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me Sue
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is 'Sue! ' How do you do!
Now your gonna die!! "
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.
I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.
And he said:
"Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."
He said:
"Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you Sue."
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!
NEXT .... Johnny Cash