"UNIVERSAL COWARD 世 界 懦 夫" - Response Song
"Jan and Dean" 二人組合, 由 Jan Berry 與好友 Dean Torrence 於1957年組成, 六十年代在加洲海岸是廣受歡迎的 Surf Rock 與民謠歌曲組合; 較成功的歌曲有 "Surf City", "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena", 與 "Dead Man's Curve"。
流行樂壇有很多以地方或車禍意外為題的作品, 樂迷早已認識 Ray Peterson 的經典 "Tell Laura I Love Her"。1963年, Jan Berry 與三位朋友, 後來在流行樂壇知名的音樂人 Brian Wilson, Artie Kornfeld, Roger Christian 共同創作一曲《Dead Man's Curve 死亡彎道》, 完成之後, 由 Jan Berry 個人錄製唱片, 同年十二月面世。
"Dead Man's Curve" Jan and Dean 1963
Songwriters: Jan Berry, Roger Christian, Brian Wilson, Artie Kornfeld
60's Corvette Stingray - USA 60's XKE Jaguar - UK
Verse 1
I was cruisin' in my Stingray late one night
When an XKE (Jaguar E) pulled up on the right
He rolled down the window of his shiny new Jag (Jaguar)
And challenged me then and there to a drag
I said, "You're on, buddy, my mill's runnin' fine
Let's come off the line now at Sunset and Vine
But I'll go you one better if you've got the nerve
Let's race all the way to Dead Man's Curve"
Chorus
(Dead Man's Curve, it's no place to play)
Dead Man's Curve (Dead Man's Curve, you best keep away)
Dead Man's Curve (Dead Man's Curve, I can hear 'em say)
Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve
Verse 2
The street was deserted late Friday night
We were buggin' each other while we sat out in the light
We both popped the clutch when the light turned green
You should've heard the whine from my screamin' machine
I flew past La Brea, Schwab's, and Crescent Heights
And all the Jag (Jaguar) could see were my six taillights
He passed me at Doheny, then I started to swerve
But I pulled her out, and there we were at Dead Man's Curve
Chorus
(Dead Man's Curve, it's no place to play)
Dead Man's Curve (Dead Man's Curve)
Spoken
Well, the last thing I remember, Doc, I started to swerve
And then I saw the Jag (Jaguar) slide into the curve
I know I'll never forget that horrible sight
I guess I found out for myself that everyone was right
Sung
Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve
Chorus
Dead Man's Curve (Dead Man's Curve, it's no place to play)
Dead Man's Curve (Dead Man's Curve, you best keep away)
Dead Man's Curve (Dead Man's Curve, I can hear 'em say)
Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve
Dead Man's Curve (Dead Man's Curve, it's no place to play)
Dead Man's Curve (Dead Man's Curve, you best keep away)
Dead Man's Curve (Dead Man's Curve, I can hear 'em say)
Won't come back from Dead Man's Curve
Response Song ....
"Universal Coward 世界懦夫" 回應 "Universal Soldier 世界軍人"
Jan Berry (1941-2004) 是個支持美國以軍事干預越戰的青年, 面對反戰和抗議的聲音四起, 加上 Donovan 的反戰歌曲 "Universal Soldier" 1965年八月面世而大受歡迎; Jan Berry 在幾個月後完成一曲, 用上針對性的名字 "Universal Coward 世界懦夫" 來回應仍然熱熾熾的 "Universal
Soldier", 但卻被他的拍檔 Dean Torrence 拒絕参予合唱, Jan Berry 唯有獨自將歌曲演繹, 仍以 "Jan and Dean" 的名字錄製唱片, 1966年一月面世。
歌曲內容以尖銳的人身攻擊, 回應那些反對越戰的人, 將他們形容為 "扭曲事實的偽君子" 與及 "狂熱分子"。"Universal Coward" 面世之後, 儘管 Jan Berry 有很好的形象, 歌曲既沒有得到好評, 更沒有讓他在金錢上有所得益, 各電台均不願播放, 如何談得上單曲排行榜呢?
1966年四月十二日, Jan Berry 駕着他的 Corvette Stingray 跑車, 在加州 Beverley Hill 比華利山, 被稱 "Dead Man's Curve" 不遠的 Whittier Drive 遭遇嚴重車禍, 腦部受重創, 引致身體部分癱瘓; 經治療之後, 日常生活要改用左手, 練習說話和步行, 衹可以歌曲創作與及唱片監製工作。2004年三月二十六日因癲癇症發作而去世, 終年六十二歲, 遺體火化, 遺愛人間, 成為一位被受尊敬的器官捐贈者。
Jan Berry and Dean Torrence - 1980s
生於1940年的 Dean Torrence, 沒有参予錄製和演繹 "Dead Man's Curve 死亡彎道", 他不想染指其中, 是因為歌曲的名字與内容充满靈異的感覺; 而放棄與 Jan Berry 合唱和錄製 "Universal Crowd 世界懦夫", 是由於他曾經在美國陸軍服役的後備軍人之外, 更不想用歌曲去恥笑反戰的人。
Jan Berry 發生車禍之後, Dean Torrence 再沒有踏足錄音室和歌曲創作, 而利用他的藝術才華, 開設自己的平面設計公司 "Kittyhawk Graphics", 專注在唱片封套和 Logo 標誌設計, 有不少知名歌手與唱片公司是他的客户。
Dean Torrence - 2026
"UNIVERSAL COWARD"《 世 界 懦 夫 》
"Universal Coward" - Written & Sung by Jan Berry 1966
He’s young, he’s old, he’s in-between
And he’s so very much confused
He’ll scrounge around and protest all day long
He joins the pickets at Berkeley
And he burns up his draft card
And he’s twisted into thinking that fighting is all wrong
He’s a pacifist, an extremist
A communist or just a Yank
A demonstrator, an agitator, or just a naive
A conscientious objector
A fanatic, a defector
And he doesn’t know he’s digging his own grave
Oh, he just can’t get it through his thick skull
Why the mighty USA
Has got to be a watchdog of the world
He’ll see the USSR
Will bury us from afar
And he’ll never see the missiles being hurled
He’s the universal coward
And he runs from anything
From a giant, from a human, from an elf
He runs from Uncle Sam
And he runs from Vietnam
But most of all, he’s running from himself