Rocket Man

近來翻出許多舊時的歌曲，再來一首。

Elton John，這位出道快50年的歌手，除了華麗浮誇的羽毛、眼鏡、高跟鞋之外，其實是一位作品相當有深度的音樂人，他的鋼琴造詣沒話說，歌曲中讓人耳目一新的鋼琴演出，是他的招牌。

Elton John的名曲一卡車，年輕朋友最有印象的，大概就是以「黛安娜好友」身份演出的Candle in the Wind；年紀稍長的，還記得Nikita、Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me。我最愛的是這首Rocket Man：



Lyrics

She packed my bags last night pre-flight
Zero hour nine a.m.
And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the earth so much I miss my wife
It’s lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight

And I think it’s gonna be a long long time
Till touch down brings me round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I’m a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone

Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids
In fact it’s cold as hell
And there’s no one there to raise them if you did
And all this science I don’t understand
It’s just my job five days a week
A rocket man, a rocket man

And I think it’s gonna be a long long time...

在孤冷黑暗的外太空注視水藍色發光的地球，是只有極少數人才有的機會，但歌曲裡的火箭人卻像是個平凡、朝九晚五的戀家男人，在幾十萬哩遠的距離之外，想念自己的家小。如此凜冽卻又溫暖的情境，非常真切的表現在音樂裡。

這首歌歌詞靈感來自於同名小說，內容敘述前往火星殖民地執行任務的太空人，在離家前的複雜心情；而整首歌曲創作的動機，則是向David Bowie於1969年發表的Space Oddity 看齊(或致敬？較量？)



Lyrics

Ground control to major Tom
Ground control to major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
(Ten) Ground control (Nine) to major Tom (Eight)
(Seven, six) Commencing countdown (Five), engines on (Four)
(Three, two) Check ignition (One) and may gods (Blastoff) love be with you

This is ground control to major Tom, you've really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare

This is major Tom to ground control, I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today
Here am I floatin' 'round my tin can far above the world
Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do

Though I'm past one hundred thousand miles, I'm feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much, she knows
Ground control to major Tom, your circuits dead, there's something wrong
Can you hear me, major Tom?
Can you hear me, major Tom?
Can you hear me, major Tom?
Can you...
Here am I sitting in my tin can far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do