《小狗金曲站》

Don't Cry Joni

《Don't Cry Joni》是我中學時期聽到的歌曲，我想應該是區瑞強的電台節目介紹的。記憶中，區瑞強主持香港電台的民歌節目共有三個，計有〈土佬歌集〉、〈Folk 聲高唱〉和〈Alber Au 區瑞強〉，當中所學到的歌曲實在不計其數。《Don't Cry Joni》是男女對唱的歌曲，調子十分抒情優美。記得當年與一位女同學以此曲參加學校的社際歌唱比賽，唱至最後一段竟然腦海一片空白，停頓了數秒才能繼續下去，所以這首歌對我來說是十分深刻。

《Don't Cry Joni》是一首敘事式的歌曲，這種體裁在中文歌曲裡比較少見，但在英文歌曲就很常見。歌詞內一共出現三個 J 字頭的名子，Jimmy、Joni 和 John，當中 Joni 與 Jimmy 是一對相識多年的鄰居。 某日Joni 寫了一張便條向 Jimmy 表白愛意，可是 Jimmy 因為 Joni 年紀太少而婉拒了，其後他更離開了居住的城鎮往外謀生。在外面的日子 Jimmy 卻又不斷想起 Joni ，於是他決定重返家鄉去找 Joni，而最後的結局我覺得頗為出人意表。



以下是原唱者 Conway Twitty 與 Joni Lee 的合唱：

Don't Cry Joni





Music & Lyrics： Conway Twitty 



4/4



         D                       A7                             D 

Joni    Jimmy please say you'll wait for me. I'll grow up some day you'll see

                       D7     G          A7                           D

        Saving all my kisses just for you, signed with love forever true



         D                   A7                                          D 

Conway  Joni was a girl who lived next door. I've known her I guess ten years or more

                   D7    G          A7                            D

        Joni wrote me a note one day and this is what she had to say



         D                       A7                             D 

Joni    Jimmy please say you'll wait for me. I'll grow up some day you'll see

                       D7     G          A7                           D

        Saving all my kisses just for you, signed with love forever true



          D                A7                                      D

Conway  Slowly I read her note once more. Then I went over to the house next door

                       D7        G           A7                                D

        Her teardrops fell like rain that day, when I told Joni what I had to say



         D          A7                                D

Conway  Joni Joni please don't cry. You'll forget me by and by

                        D7     G                 A7                         D

        You're just fifteen I am twenty-two and Joni I just can't wait for you



         D               A7                                          D

Conway  Soon I left our little home town. Got me a job and tried to settle down

                              D7          G          A7                       D

        But these words kept haunting my memory. The words that Joni said to me



         D                       A7                             D 

Joni    Jimmy please say you'll wait for me. I'll grow up some day you'll see

                       D7     G           A7                          D

        Saving all my kisses just for you, signed with love forever true



           D                       A7                                  D

Conway  I packed my clothes and I caught a plane. I had to see Joni I had to explain

                          D7              G    A7                                   D

        How my heart was filled with her memory and that's my Joni if she'll marry me



           D                      A7                                            D

Conway  I ran all the way to the house next door. But things weren't like they were before

                      D7        G                A7                         D

        My teardrops fell like rain that day when I heard what Joni had to say



         D            A7                                D

Joni    Jimmy Jimmy please don't cry. You'll forget me by and by

                        D7          G                A7                               D     D

        It's been five years since you've been gone Jimmy I married your best friend John

這首歌的結構十分簡單，每一段的旋律大致上是一樣的，而整首歌就是反復唱著這個旋律，不過聽起來卻絕不會沉悶，反而感覺上副歌好像是唱著另一個旋律似的。這首歌的主唱及作者是著名的美國鄉謠歌手 Conway Twitty（1933-1993），不過 Conway Twitty 在50年代出道時受貓王 Elvis Presley 所影響，所以那時他是以唱搖滾樂為主。Youtube 上有他的《It's Only Make Believe》，風格上與 Elvis 十分相似，還有《Proud Mary》，可以看到他早期作為搖滾歌手的一面。在60年代後期，Conway Twitty 開始轉往鄉謠音樂方面發展，也曾與鄉謠女歌手Loretta Lynn 作二人組合。Conway Twitty 曾寫下不少作品及出版了無數大碟，《Don't Cry Joni》是收錄於1975年出版的大碟〈The High Priest of Country Music 〉。Conway Twitty 共有四個兒女Michael, Kathy, Joni 及 Jimmy，當中 Joni 就是當年與父親合唱這首《Don't Cry Joni》的 Joni Lee。

下面是Conway與Joni現場演唱《Don't Cry Joni》的版本：


以往沒有聽過其他歌手唱《Don't Cry Joni》的版本，不過在 2006年愛爾蘭女歌手Margo O'Donnell 在她推出的大碟〈Parcel Of Dreams 〉就收錄了這首歌，與她合唱的是她弟弟Daniel O'Donnell。

Margo 與 Daniel O'Donnell 的30秒試聽版：