DON'T LAUGH AT ME !
曲詞作家 Allen Shamblin 的小女兒, 適齡入學第一天, 開心雀躍出門, 但是, 回到家中卻悶悶不樂, 訴說被同學嘲笑她面上的雀斑, Allen 對女兒安撫一番之後, 有感而着筆, 完成一文, 細讀給女兒, 以安慰小心靈 ....
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
不要把快樂建於我的痛苦上!
L-R: Steve Seskin & Allen Shamblim
一篇小品, 成為今天一首普世的作品, 亦是一首 "Anti-bullying 反欺凌" 歌曲, 給歌者以個人代入歌曲裡; 如行乞或無家可歸, 被歧視, 嘲笑或被欺凌的人, 甚至與日常生活息息相關的事物, 把內心的感受紓解一番。這篇小品完成後, Allen Shamblin 與經常合作的好友, 創作歌手 Steven Seskin 譜成一曲, 並交給鄉謠歌手 Mark Wills 首唱, 1998年七月, 細唱片面世之後, 在民歌樂壇帶來更大的迴響....
DON'T LAUGH AT ME - Steve Seskin
Bethany Yarrow
1998年五月, Mark Wills 演繹的細唱片還未面世, Peter Yarrow 的女兒 Bethany 亦是民歌手和維權人士, 在一個營火會聽過 Steve Seskin 演唱 "Don't Laugh At Me", 引起在場各人反應熱烈, 她認為此曲猶似被欺凌者的哀鳴, 聽來令人傷感之外, 亦可激發人們的凝聚力, 去改變這世界。及後, 把自己的感受, 對父親細訴一番 ....
"DON'T LAUGH AT ME"
DON'T LAUGH AT ME - Mark Wills 1998
Written by: Steve Seskin, Allen Shamblin
I'm a little boy with glasses
The one they call the geek
A little girl who never smiles
'Cause I've got braces on my teeth
Now I know how it feels
To cry myself to sleep
I'm that kid on every playground
Who's always chosen last
A single teenage mother
Tryin' to overcome my past
You don't have to be my friend
But is it too much to ask
Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me
I'm the cripple on the corner
You've passed me on the street
And I wouldn't be out here beggin'
If I had enough to eat
And don't think I don't notice
That our eyes never meet
I lost my wife and little boy when
Someone crossed that yellow line
The day we laid them in the ground
Is the day I lost my mind
And right now I'm down to holdin'
This little cardboard sign, so
Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me
I'm fat, I'm thin, I'm short, I'm tall
I'm deaf, I'm blind, hey, aren't we all
Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me