老歌亂談(216)Queen Of The Silver Dollar
這首歌和之前介紹過的《Sylvia's Mother》( 亂談158),都是鬼才寫歌者Shel Silverstein的作品,也同樣是由Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show ( 虎克醫生和草藥秀合唱團 ) 在1972首錄推出。之後1973有Doyle Holly,1974有Barbi Benton,1975則是Emmylou Harris,以及1976的Dave & Sugar等人的翻唱。
這首歌中的Queen,可不是什麼真正的女王,而說的是一位在酒館工作的女子,每晚都被一群「豬哥男」圍繞,大家相互競爭拼命地想討好她,為的是想在當晚能帶她回家。一個原本純樸的鄉下姑娘,處在這種虛妄被吹捧的環境,很容易就迷失了,她可能還真的以為自己是女王。
在各個演唱者中,我覺得還是Dave & Sugar這個三人組合唱的版本最好聽,雖然這個版本在美國鄉村歌曲的排行榜只得到了第25名。
She's the queen of the Silver Dollar, she rules a smoky kingdom
A scepter is a wine glass and a bar-stool is her throne
Now the jesters flock around her, tryin’ to win her favors
To see which one will take the queen of the Silver Dollar home
She arrives in all her splendor each night at nine o'clock
Her chariot is a cross-town bus that stops right down the block
Now the ol' piano minstrel plays a tune as she walks in
And the queen of the Silver Dollar’s home again
She's the queen of the Silver Dollar, she rules a smoky kingdom
A scepter is a wine glass and a bar-stool is her throne
Now the jesters flock around her, tryin’ to win her favors
To see which one will take the queen of the Silver Dollar home
Now the royal dress is satin, it’s shabby and it’s torn
The royal jewels are rhinestones, her shoes are scuffed and worn
On the many roads she's been down and the places that she's seen
Well they all look at her and say God save the queen
Now the queen of the Silver Dollar’s not as haughty as she seems
She was once an ordinary girl with ordinary dreams
But there’s a man who found her and brought her to this world
I’m the one who made a queen of a simple country girl
She's the queen of the Silver Dollar, she rules a smoky kingdom
A scepter is a wine glass and a bar-stool is her throne
Now the jesters flock around her, tryin’ to win her favors
To see which one will take the queen of the Silver Dollar home
Lada da da da da da da da la da da da da da da……..