"HUNGER"《飢餓》
"GOD & THE FBI"《上帝與聯邦調查局》
二十世紀末1997年, Janis Ian 突破的一年, 在樂壇與知名的唱片品牌簽約, 該公司以數碼錄音的純音樂唱片, 被不少 "H-Fi 發燒友" 追捧。Janis Ian 錄製的兩張, 亦是她的新嘗試錄音 CD 專輯唱片 "HUNGER"《飢餓》和一張有趣標題 "God & The FBI"《上帝與聯邦調查局》的専輯, 幕後製作和音樂手, 陣容鼎盛, 音色和節奏明確, 唱片公司的錄音科技, 加上封套畫時代的設計, 不出其招牌質素。
"GOD & THE FBI"
專輯名字取自主題歌曲, 是關於 Janis 年幼時曾面對的事情。在接受媒介訪問時說:「"聯邦調查局 FBI" 對我們的生活影響很大, 深深烙在腦海而難於消失。父親是個養雞戶, 因為參加一個關於雞蛋價格的會議而被追究, 第二天, 他被接去受審查。之後, 全家被列入監視名單內, 我們為了此事件而花了九年的時間, 才取得 "聯邦調查局 FBI" 公開的檔案, 得知調查過程比實際更加駭人, 這事件曾令父親消瘦至難以置信。但是縱觀那個時期美國的歴史, 試想想, 當你在夏令營玩耍時, 卻被遠處的望遠鏡監視著, 這樣的生活實在令人恐懼和憤怒。希望整個組織像我們從《"X"檔案》所看到的, 而不是我們所體驗的一樣」。
"GOD & THE FBI" - Windham Hill Records
Tracklist
1. God & The FBI
2. On The Other Side
String & Vocal Arrangement, Banjo: Janis Ian
3. Memphis
Bass: Willie Weeks, Drums: Steve Gadd
Guitar: Janis Ian, Marc Moreau, Philip Clark
Lead Guitar: Chet Atkins, Piano: Matt Rollings,
Vocals: Willie Nelson
4. Jolene
5. When You Love Someone
6. Play Like A Girl
7. Days Like These
Vocals: John Cowan
8. Boots Like Emmy Lou's
9. She Must Be Beautiful
10.The Last Comeback
11.Murdering Stravinsky
GOD & THE FBI - Janis Ian
Mamma's makin' mimeos
Pete's on the stereo
Singin' 'bout freedom
Bugs in the bedroom
Big investigation
Danger to the nation
Search and seizure
Better buy a lawyer
"We know you're a member, saw you under cover
Are you hiding evidence?" None o' this makes any sense
They called the FBI (FBI), I had to disappear
Called the T-men, G-men, see you at the scene, men
Told 'em I was hidin' here
They could fingerprint my heart, I knew it from the start
Ain't no place for a face to hide from God and the FBI
Janis is comparing the FBI to god, by saying that she cannot hide herself, or any of her secrets from
either of them. The whole song is a protest to how powerful and intrusive the FBI had become.
Commies, Pinkos, Reds at the windows
Communism was associated with the colour red,
and the fear of it in the USA was known as the Red Scare.
Foreign agitators runnin' elevators
J. Edgar Hoover in a pink tutu
J. Edgar Hoover was the first director of the FBI and held the post from 1935-1972.
Investigatin' anyone who thinks like a-you
Welcome to the fifties, you look a little shifty
They called the FBI (FBI), I had to disappear
They called the T-men, G-men, bein' at the scene, men
Told 'em I was hiding here
They could fingerprint my heart, I knew it from the start
Ain't no hole for a soul to hide from God and the FBI
(Ha, ha, ha.)
Stay flat, don't rat
What's a Proletariat?
A proletariat is a term used to describe the class of wage-earners in a capitalist society whose only
possession of significant material value is their labour-power.
Stalin was a Democrat
Washington is where it's at!
A proletariat is a term used to describe the class of wage-earners in a capitalist society whose only
possession of significant material value is their labour-power.
Every politician is a sewer of ambition
Hide me, hide you, better hide the baby too
"We demand an interview. How long have you been a Jew?
We can make you testify, freedom is no alibi."
She is demonstrating the paranoia that the USA’s suspicion of its own people generated.
Parallels can even be made to Nazi Germany here, by being forced to hide away and
conceal their religion.
They called the FBI (FBI), I had to disappear
They called the T-men, G-men, see you at the scene, men
Told 'em I was hiding here
They could fingerprint my heart, I knew it from the start
Ain't no place for a face to hide from God and the FBI
MEMPHIS - Willie Nelson & Janis Ian
We were standing by the river,
Staring into town
All the world was on his shoulders
The tears were raining down
All along the Southern skyline,
City lights began to bloom
He said -- if you only knew her
The way that I do, sir,
You would be crying too
If you could see Memphis the way that I do,
She would look different to you
Queen of the Delta, tip your tiara
Memphis, the belle of the blues
The streets were filled with cotton
And music filled the air
All the paddle boats came rolling
From east of everywhere
Now the streets are filled with silence
And songs no one can hear,
But her memory lingers
It slips through my fingers,
And into this river of tears
If you could see Memphis the way that I do,
She would look different to you
Queen of the Delta, tip your tiara
Memphis, the belle of the blues
So roll on -- roll on
My sweet magnolia, roll on
How the memory lingers
It slips through my fingers
And into this river of tears
If you could see Memphis the way that I do,
She would look different to you
Queen of the Delta, tip your tiara
Memphis, the belle of the blues
Memphis, the belle of the blues