就拿「No Bravery」來說,這首Blunt首張專輯【Back to Bedlam】的結尾曲,是他1999年在英國軍隊擔任偵查官時在科索沃兵營寫的。白天巡邏普利斯提納時,他將吉他綁在坦克車外。夜裡,他將吉他帶進兵營,描寫一個二十二歲的年輕人在這十年來最血腥的內戰之一結束後執行停火協定的日子。當他在夜深人靜的午夜寫和唱歌時,同單位的其他軍官命令他安靜下來。但他並沒有。『「No Bravery」是我在科索沃寫的唯一一首完整的歌。我穿著軍靴坐在床上寫歌,你得穿著靴子睡覺。這首歌很宿命論,整張專輯都是。』他苦澀地說道。
但對這名作品注定擠進許多人的唱片收藏的新藝人來說,他的科索沃經驗只是其中一面。基本上,Blunt是一個新發現—一個不知為何不受憤世嫉俗所苦的老靈魂,聽起來像已寫歌多年的年輕詞曲創作者,已擁有傳奇人生經驗的天使般歌聲。和Blunt同一個經紀人的艾爾頓強認為,Blunt的「You're Beautiful」是艾爾頓強「Your Song」的傳承者。這是一個很聰明的比較,因為【Back to Bedlam】中的大部分歌曲,令人想起艾爾頓強早期的最佳作品。同時,專輯製作人Tom Rothrock認為,Blunt有潛力成為他製作的另兩名美國歌手Beck和Elliott Smith的英國嫡傳弟子。Rothrock在去年的South by Southwest音樂節無意中首度聽到Blunt演唱,這名製作人對Blunt的演出是如此地驚艷,以至於他當場同意參與【Back to Bedlam】的製作。
以他錄的“一些不可靠的試唱帶”為武器,他於2002年離開軍隊,成為全職的歌手。﹙『我爸很緊張,因為我放棄穩定的工作,去做高風險的工作。』﹚他口中的不可靠試唱帶足以展現他令人難忘的歌聲和非常個人的歌曲,並令聽者留下深刻的印象,於是數個月內,他獲得了經紀和專輯發行合約。『然後我遇到Linda Perry﹙Pink和Christina Aguilera等人的寫歌者兼製作人﹚,因為我的專輯出版商給她一些我的歌,接著我去參加South by Southwest音樂節,在那裡她給我她自己的唱片廠牌Custard唱片的一紙合約。』Blunt仍有些不敢置信地說道。
2003年九月,他到加州錄專輯。永垂不朽的首張專輯【Back to Bedlam】於是誕生。他此時最喜歡聽的是Cat Power,以及Lou Reed的【Transformer】專輯,而【Back to Bedlam】有著類似的神秘特質。他不打算解釋大部分歌曲的涵義,但他的確承認「So Long Jimmy」是受到傳奇歌手Jimmy Hendrix和Jim Morrison的啟發。至於其他的歌,他只說:『你可以在一首歌中殺了人然後逍遙法外。』James Blunt還有很多可挖掘的,這只是一個開始。
Half past twelve And I'm watching the late show in my flat all alone How I hate to spend the evening on my own Autumn winds blowing outside my window as I look around the room And it makes me so depressed to see the gloom
*There's not a soul out there No one to hear my prayer
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight Won't somebody help me chase the shadows away Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight Take me through the darkness to the break of the day
Movie stars find the end of the rainbow, with a fortune to win It's so different from the world I'm living in Tired of T.V. I open the window and I gaze into the night But there's nothing there to see, no one in sight (*)
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight... Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight... (*)
崛起於 70 年代的瑞典國寶 ABBA 阿巴合唱團,據說當年他們的唱片和 VOLVO 汽車並列為瑞典政府的兩大外匯來源。 " Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (a man after midnight) "發行於 1979 年,乃該團第二張精選輯收錄的新單曲,可見唱片業慣用的「新曲加精選」作法在當時早就有了。此曲原名為" Been and gone and done it ",推出後在比利時、芬蘭、法國、愛爾蘭及瑞士都是排行冠軍;台灣的搞怪鼻祖高凌風曾翻唱為" 惱人的秋風 ",在當年可說傳遍大街小巷,而且中文歌名顯然是啟發自原曲歌詞。 2005 年,天后瑪丹娜準備為法國電影名導籌劃的音樂劇寫歌,想取樣" Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! "的前奏,親筆寫了一封信函,請專人送到瑞典斯德哥爾摩給阿巴二位負責詞曲的男團員 Bjorn Ulvaeus 和 Benny Andersson 手上。阿巴的音樂首度授權給其他藝人取樣( sample ),是 1996 年美國嘻哈團體 Fugees 的暢銷曲" Rumble in the jungle ",取樣的是" The name of the game "中的貝斯和合成器的部份。後來雖有不少人要求取樣,都被二位男團員婉拒,但瑪丹娜這次,除了在信中陳述她多麼喜愛這首曲子,也簡單錄下了她的構想。Bjorn Ulvaeus 和 Benny Andersson 起初有些猶豫,但聽完試錄帶後,馬上欣然同意娜姊的授權。 盧貝松的音樂劇後來因故夭折,瑪丹娜於是把這首名為" Hung up "的歌放在自己的新專輯《Confessions On A Dance Floor》,並選為主打歌。歌曲問世之後,在全球共四十一個國家登上排行冠軍,單曲銷售共八百七十萬張,成為娜姐歷年賣得最好的一首單曲。
I will not make 我不會 The same mistakes that you did 重蹈你的覆轍 I will not let myself 我不會 Cause my heart so much misery 讓我自己心煩憂苦 I will not break 我不會潰退 The way you did, you fell so hard 像你一樣跌的那麼重 I've learned the hard way 我已學到教訓 To never let it get that far 不會讓情況惡化
Because of you 因為有你 I never stray too far from the sidewalk 我從不離人行道太遠 Because of you 因為有你 I learned to play on the safe side so I don’t get hurt 我學會要注意安全才不會受傷 Because of you 因為有你 I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me 我只相信自己很難相信別人 Because of you I am afraid 因為有你.我擔心害怕
I lose my way 我迷失了方向 And it’s not too long before you point it out 你很快的提醒我 I cannot cry 我不能哭 Because I know that’s weakness in your eyes 因為會成為你眼中的弱者 I’m forced to fake 我被逼著要擠出 A smile, a laugh, every day of my life 每一天裡的每個微笑,每個笑聲 My heart can’t possibly break 我的心不可以碎 When it wasn’t even whole to start with 反正一開始它就不完全
Because of you 因為有你 I never stray too far from the sidewalk 我從不離人行道太遠 Because of you 因為有你 I learned to play on the safe side so I don’t get hurt 我學會要注意安全才不會受傷 Because of you 因為有你 I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me 我只相信自己很難相信別人 Because of you I am afraid 因為有你.我擔心害怕
I watched you die 我看著你的生命褪去 I heard you cry every night in your sleep 我聽到你每晚在夢中哭喊 I was so young 當時我那麼年輕 You should have known better than to lean on me 你應該知道不應該太依賴我 You never thought of anyone else 你從不幫別人想 You just saw your pain 只在意自己的痛 And now I cry in the middle of the night 現在我也在半夜哭喊 For the same damn thing 為了同樣的原因
Because of you 因為有你 I never stray too far from the sidewalk 我從不離人行道太遠 Because of you 因為有你 I learned to play on the safe side so I don’t get hurt 我學會要注意安全才不會受傷
Because of you 因為有你 I try my hardest just to forget everything 我竭盡心力要忘記一切 Because of you 因為有你 I don’t know how to let anyone else in 我不知要如何接納其他人 Because of you 因為有你 I’m ashamed of my life because it’s empty 我的生命空虛讓我感到羞愧 Because of you I am afraid 因為有你.我擔心害怕 Because of you 因為有你
What I Have Done In this farewell, There's no blood, There's no alibi, 'Cause I've drawn regret From the truth of a thousand lies. So let mercy call And wash away what I've done.
CHORUS: I face myself To cross out what I've become. Erase myself And let go of what I've done
What you've asked, What you've thought of me. Well, I clean the slate With the hands of uncertainty. So let mercy call And wash away what I've done.
CHORUS
For what I've done. I start again And whatever pain may come Today this ends. I'm forgiving what I've done.
Back door cracked, we don't need a key
We get in for free, no VIP sleaze,
Drink their Kool-Aid follow my lead,
Now you're one of us, you're coming with me
It's time to kill the lights and shut the DJ down
This place's about to
Tonight we're taking over, no one's getting out!
[x3]
This place's about to blow - oh-oh-oh!
Blow-oh-oh-oh
This place's about to blow
Now, what? We're taking control
We get what we want
We do what you don't
Dirt and glitter cover the floor
We're pretty and sick
We're young and we're bored
It's time to lose your mind and let the crazy out
This place's about to
Tonight we're taking names 'cause we don't mess around
[x3]
This place's about to blow - oh-oh-oh!
Blow-oh-oh-oh
This place's about to blow
Go, go, go, go insane, go insane
Throw some glitter, make it rain on 'em
Let me see them hands, let me, let me see them hands
Go insane, go insane
Throw some glitter, make it rain on 'em
Let me see them hands, let me, let me see them hands
[x3]
This place's about to blow - oh-oh-oh!
Blow-oh-oh-oh
This place's about to blow
I feel so unsure
As I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor
As the music dies, something in your eyes
Calls to mind the silver screen and all its sad good-byes
*I'm never gonna dance again
Guilty feet have got no rhythm
Though it's easy to pretend
I know you're not a fool
Should've known better than to cheat a friend
And waste the chance that I've been given
So I'll never gonna dance again
The way I danced with you
(Never without your love)
Time can never mend the careless whispers of a good friend
To the heart and mind, ignorance is kind
There's no comfort in the truth
Pain is all you'll find (*)
Tonight the music seems so loud
I wish that we could lose this crowd
Maybe it's better this way
We'd hurt each other with the things we'd want to say
We could have been so good together
We could have lived this dance forever
But now who's gonna dance with me
Please stay (*)
(Now that you're gone) Now that you're gone
(Now that you're gone) was what I did so wrong
That you had to leave me alone