Janis Ian
音樂生涯經歷不同年代的顛簸; 自六十年代 1967年, 從她的首張專輯唱片 "Society Girl" 可見一個十幾歲的少女, 對社會和政治具觀察力。之後, 低沉多年至七十年代, 專輯 "STAR" 的歌曲 "Jesse" 1974年面世, 令她從陰霾中現曙光; 繼而, 至1975年的專輯 "Between The Lines", 當中一曲 "At Seventeen" 再次引起流行樂壇的注目。
"VILLAGE VOICE"
1976年, 紐約市 New York City 名為 "Village Voice 鄉村之聲" 的報紙, 有文章揭露她是同性戀之後, 惹來不少傳言, 儘管如此, 她亦不以為然, 保持緘默。
1978年, 與葡萄牙裔電影製片家 Tino Sargo 結婚; 至1983年開始分居, 再經歴五年的法律糾纏才告正式離婚 (Janis 的自傳中詳細談及前夫 Sargo 對她身體和情感的傷害和虐待)。分居後, Jani 放棄與哥倫比亞唱片 Columbia Records 合作, 由於公司停滯不前, 衹賴以巡迴演出作唱片推廣, 認為這樣是削弱她的作曲能力。
往後的日子, 在經濟上她花了一筆費用才完成與 Tino Sargo 的離婚法律問題; 接踵而來, 是美國稅局帶來一場災難性的税項問題, 要把一百三十萬元的財產充公, 源於她的會計師把她存下來的税款侵吞, 被發現前已去世, 無法訴諸法庭。
在財困之下, 一度沉溺在藥物中, 並要接受心理治療。從洛杉磯 Los Angeles 遷居至 Tennessee 田納西州 Nashville 納什維爾, 成為這個鄉謠之地的自由音樂作家, 專注在歌曲創作, 給不少歌手錄製唱片, 當中有 Nanci Griffith, Kathy Mattea, Joan Baez, Marti Jones 等。
1989年, 遇上大學法律系學生 Patricia Snyder, 兩人一見如故, 結為手帕交, 不懼嘲諷, 不用避嫌, 同居生活; 至往後的日子, 有更進一步的發展。住在 Nashville 納什維爾期間, 認識了創作女歌手 Kye Fleming, 合作撰寫歌曲, 作品有1998年, Amy Grant 演繹的 "What About The Love" 和1990年, Bette Midler 演繹的 "Some People's Lives"。
"BREAKING SILENCE"回顧她職業生涯的每個階段, Janis Ian 撰寫的歌詞, 即使在十四歲那年的一曲 "Society Girl", 已具有文學素養和坦率的情感, 溫暖感的嗓音, 反映其潛在的力量亦顯現了她脆弱的一面。
踏入九十年代, 遠離樂壇的聚光燈近十年之後, 1992年, 一張專輯 "Breaking Silence", 同名的主題歌曲, 以湍急而自信、抒情的腔調, 更見成熟。専輯由 Morgan Creek Records 錄製, 在美國和歐洲大部份國家發行, 在加拿大和荷蘭, 由 Columbia Records 發行。
專輯面世之前, 樂壇對她的性取向基本上已被遺忘。1993年, 如其専輯 "Breaking Silence"《打破沉默》, 公開《出櫃》, 對當時同性戀青少年自殺率高升, 要將這議題帶到陽光下, 希望得到社會關注。2003年八月, Janis Ian 在加拿大 Canada 多倫多 Toronto, 與一起生活, 相處融洽達十多年的 Patricia Snyder 正式結婚。
Tracklisting1. All Roads To The River
2. Ride Me Like A Wave
3. Tattoo
4. Guess You Had To Be There5. What About The Love
6. His Hands
7. Walking On Sacred Ground
8. This Train Still Runs
9. Through The Years
10. This House
11. Some People's Lives
12. Breaking Silence
專輯當中有一些内容具爭議的歌曲, "Tattoo" 有關大屠殺, "His Hands" 關於虐待配偶, 而 "Breaking Silence" 暗喻亂倫的發生。Janis 以這幾首歌曲來引起社會的關注。張專輯唱片被提名 "格萊美獎 Grammy Awards", 亦是 Janis Ian 的第七次被提名的獎項。
BREAKING SILENCE - Janis Ian 1992
Come into my solitude
Though I weary be
Come into my tenderness
Dream along with me
Listen to the whispers sing
Listen to the singer shout
Come into my solitude
Me and my big mouth
Thoughts unspoken, thoughts unsaid
Lies of hearth and home
Children broken on the bed
And left to lie alone
Things you talk around
Scum you choke on down
Come into my solitude
Step on sacred ground
We were speaking
Of values and violence
Breaking silence
Fathers who are lovers to
The daughters that they own
Mothers who don't leave a child
A single safety zone
People so unhinged
That death is much too kind
Come into my solitude
Step over that line
...Thought I was the only one
...Thought I was the only one
...Thought I was the only, only one
We were speaking
Of values and violence
Breaking silence
Come into my solitude
Welcome to the wheel
Come into this wonderland
Of wounds that will not heal
Walls that do not speak
Steps that do not sound
Come into my solitude
Burn this building down
HIS HANDS - Janis Ian
His hands were made of lightning
His fingers were the wind
They reached into my heart
And let me love again
His touch was made for pleasure
So good it seemed a sin
Stroking my soul, keeping me whole
Till I gave myself to him
His hands, they never hit me sober
His hands, they never marked my face
I would rather be blind
Than see him treat me that way
I would rather be deaf
Than hear that sound like a pistol cracking
As the spirit breaks
And loves comes tumbling down
He learned it from his father
And from his father's wife
He learned from the preacher
Who told her they were married for life
And if I'd had his children
They might have learned from me
I finally ran when I saw that his hands
Would sign that legacy
He said, "I've broken stallions
I've broken mares too…
TATTOO - Janis Ian
Her new name was tattooed to her wrist
It was longer than the old one
Sealed in the silence with a fist
This night will be a cold one
Centuries live in her eyes
Destiny laughs over jack-booted thighs
"Work makes us free" says the sign
Nothing leaves here alive
Tattoo
She steps out of line to the left
And her father to the right
One sides a cold, clean death
The other is an endless night
Gold from a grandmother's tooth
Mountains of jewelry and toys
Piled in the corners, mailed across the borders
Presents for the girls and boys
Presents for the girls and boys
Tattoo
And it gets darker every night
Spread-eagled out among the stars, she says
"Somewhere in this tunnel lives a light
Still my beating heart
I have never known a man
What man will want me now?
Am I still…