THE DECK OF CARDS - Story
一副撲克牌的故事
在流行歌曲當中, "Recitation 吟誦"是傳統的鄉謠之一, 歌手把宗教、政治、時事、社會民生、家庭倫理、男女愛情和一些民間傳說, 以朗誦來陳述, 或一抒個人的感受; 這演繹方式通常加上音樂來配合其內容以增氣紛。由於主題廣泛, 由優雅至民間世俗的佳作常有出現。
在三十至六十年代的美國鄉謠音樂歷史, 這類"吟誦"歌曲作品佔有重要的地位, 直至踏入七十年代, 在流行音樂的商業世界已漸漸少見。一首算是早期的 "Recitation 吟誦" 歌曲, 由美國鄉謠歌手演繹一則發生在英國的趣聞, 並給耶教開了一個玩笑!
"Mary Bacon's World" -
A farmer's wife in 18th century, North Hampshire
Mary Bacon (1743 -1818)
一位農家妻子1789年開始執筆的家庭日誌, 至離世後, 存放在家中有近三百頁手稿, 雖然全是鄉村農耕的生活小品, 於1820年被公開後, 有學者認為可算是英國文學作品之一。
2010年, 手稿由女作家 Ruth Facer 輯錄成書, 名為 "Mary Bacon's World"。書內有一篇往昔的回憶, 來自報章上一則新聞, 關於 "撲克牌與聖經" 的趣聞....
"Perpetual Almanack"
左圖: The British Museum 大英博物館, 收藏的一張印刷品:
"Perpetual Almanack" 意譯: "永恆暦鑑"
Printer & Publisher: James Catnach (1792-1841)
2, Monmouth Court, Seven Dials, London
"The Soldier's Prayer Book"两張同是1837年的印刷品, 摘錄自1776年八月十日, 紐卡素 Newcastle 的一份報章, 資料是跟據 Durham 對咸市 Chester Ward County 遮士打活鎮, 一位1792年逝世的前警官 Thomas Wilkinson 遺留下來的備忘錄筆記, 內有一則關於....
相傳, 事件在市政府審理時, 市長剛巧正在午飯, 唯有邊吃邊聽士兵 Richard Middleton 的解釋, 市長聽完之後, 卻吩咐員工遞上一條麵包、一塊乳酪和一瓶啤酒送給士兵, 另外給他幾塊錢, 並勸他最好是選擇從商。士兵獲釋離開, 市長暗想 "這是我所見過最聰明的人!"
二次大戰之後, "撲克牌與聖經" 的趣聞仍然在英國流傳, 甚至遠及歐洲和美國, 成為民間的一則趣事。1948年, 美國鄉謠歌手 "T" Texas Tyler (1912-1976) 把事發的年份和地方略為更改, 以敘事方式和配上背景音樂作首次錄製唱片, 即後來面世的鄉謠 "Recitation 朗誦" 作品之一 ....
"The Deck of Cards" 一副啤牌的故事
(代入故事版) 二戰期間, 盟軍要從歐洲增兵往北非戰區, 美國派兵前赴應戰, 途經義大利 Italy 中部 Lazio 拉素, 軍隊在小鎮 Casino 駐營之後, 各人員均可参予當地星期天的教堂崇拜。一天, 在小鎮的教堂内, 各信眾打開他們的聖經祈禱時, 一個士兵發覺自己沒有聖經亦沒有祈禱經文在手, 這時, 他從口袋拿出一副撲克牌, 把它攤開在手上並低著頭默禱 ....
士兵的所為, 被一位軍官發現, 指他在教堂裡玩撲克牌, 要押他回軍營拘留和調查, 並要提出以軍法審訉。最終, 該士兵在牧師軍官面前, 解釋以撲克牌代為聖經的原因, 並指出各張撲克紙牌均有它象徵着聖經的一番巧辯 ....
Ace-1 它提醒我只有一個全能的上帝
Deuce-2 讓我想起聖經有兩部分, "舊約 Old Testament" 和
"新約 New Testament"
Trey-3 是受祝福的三位一體 - 聖父、聖子和聖靈
Four-4 它代表四位寫成福音的使徒 Matthew 馬太, Mark 馬可, Luke 路加
和 John 約翰
Five-5 是主的榮耀, 有五個處女在等待耶和華降臨時, 她們把照明燈燭弄妥
(馬太福音25:1-13)
Six-6 令我們知道, 上帝在六天內創造了這個偉大的天地
Seven-7 之後的第七天, 就是安息日
Eight-8 是挪亞 Noah 和妻子, 與及三個兒子和他們的妻子共八個人,
上帝拯救他們, 着他們藏身方舟裡, 才免遭地球被洪水摧毀
Nine-9 我們的救主把十個麻風病人的罪孽洗淨, 但有九個沒有感恩 (路加福音17:11-19)
Ten-10 上帝把十誡 Ten Commandments 刻在石碑上, Moses 摩西把它打砸, 後來上帝又再一次頒佈十誡,
刻在石碑後並放在 "約櫃 Ark of the Covenant"
Jack-J 是上帝的第一位天使, 因為狡猾和邪惡而被逐出天堂, 成為地獄的魔鬼, 讓我們要切記遠離它的誘惑
Queen-Q 讓我想起了天堂的女王, 聖母瑪利亞 Virgin Mary
King-K 是國王、救世主耶稣 Jesus
一副撲克紙牌共有52張, 是一年的周數
Jack, Queen, King 人物牌共12張, 是一年的月數
撲克牌全加起來合共365點, 正是一年的天數
加上 Joker 小丑牌, 是潤年的一天
Spade, Club, Diamond, Heart 四種圖點, 象徵着春夏秋冬四季
每種圖與點的組合共有13張, 是每個季度的十三個周數
最後, 他特别提到撲克紙牌的紅色和黑色, 是象徵白晝和黑夜
他解䆁完畢後, 令這位牧師長官無言以對, 心想 .... 從沒有遇過這樣聰明和機智的人, 祇好放他一馬, 並命令他不可再以身試法, 長官以此為自己作下台階 !
THE DECK OF CARDS - "T" Texas Tyler 1947
Lyric: "T" Texas Tyler
During the North African Campagne.
a group of soldier boys had been on a long hike.
They came to a little town called Casino.
The next morning, being Sunday, several of the boys went to church.
A Sargent commanded the boys in church,
and after the chaplain had read the prayer, the text was taken up next.
Those of the boys who had a prayer books took them out.
But this one boy had only a deck of cards, and so he spread them out.
The Sargent saw the cards and said, "Soldier, put away those cards".
After the services were over, the soldier was taken prisoner,
and brought before the Provost Marshall.
The marshall said, "Sergeant, why have you brought this man here?"
"For playing cards in church, Sir."
"And what have you to say for yourself Son?"
"Much, Sir," replied the soldier.
The marshall said, "I hope so, for if not, I shall punish you more than any man was ever punished."
The soldier boy said, "Sir, I have been on a long hike for six days,
I have neither Bible nor prayer book, but I hope to satisfy you, Sir,
with the purity of my intentions."
And with that, the boy began his story ....
"You see sir, when I look at the ACE it reminds me that there is but one God.
The DEUCE, reminds me that the Bible is divided into two parts, the old and the new testament.
When I see the TREY, I think of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
And when I see the FOUR, I think of the four Evangelists who preached the Gospel
They were Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
When I see the FIVE, it reminds me of the five wise virgins who trimmed their lamps.
There were ten of them, five were wise and were saved, five were foolish and were even shut out.
When I see the SIX, it reminds me that in six days, God made this great Heaven and Earth.
When I see the SEVEN, it reminds me that on the seventh day,
He rested from His great work and called it Holy.
When I see the EIGHT, I think of the eight righteous persons God saved when he destroyed this Earth.
There was Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives.
When I see the NINE, I think of the lepers our Saviour cleansed,
and nine out of the ten, didn't even thank Him.
When I see the TEN, I always remember the Ten Commandments.
The Ten Commandments God handed down to Moses on a table of stone."
"When I see the KING, it reminds me that there is but one King of Heaven, God Almighty.
And when I see the QUEEN, I think of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
who is Queen of Heaven, and the JACK of Knaves is the Devil."
"When I count the spots in a deck of cards, I find 365, the number of days in a year.
There are 52 cards, the number of weeks in a year;
There are FOUR suits, the number of weeks in a month;
and TWELVE picture cards, the number of months in a year.
There are THIRTEEN tricks, the number of weeks in a quarter."
DECK OF CARDS
"T" Texas Tyler - The Man with a Million Friends 1947
1948 - Nelson King
1950 - Tex Ritter
1958 - Kenny Arnott and His Men
1959 - Wink Martindale
1960 - Dick Curless, Rusty Draper with David Carroll Orchestra
1963 - Hank Rogers
1967 - "Viet Nam Deck of Cards" Red Sovine
1975 - Sly Stone, Jody Wayne
1983 - Tommy Dell
1989 - Bill Anderson
1999 - Foster & Allen
2008 - Melvin Goins & Windy Mountain
其他語言版本:
AFRIKAANS
'n Pak Speelkaarte written by Marius de Vos 2013
CZECH
"Balíček karet" - Miroslav Černý 1969
DUTCH
"Het Spel Kaarten" - Cowboy Gerard 1965
ENGLISH
"Cowboy's Deck of Cards" - Cowboy Copas 1963
"Deck of Card - Joe Gibbs, Prince Far I Creoles and pidgins 1977
FINNISH
"Korttipakka" - Tapio Rautavaara 1976
GERMAN
"Das Kartenspiel" - Bruce Low 1974