對和我同輩的人來說，提到Cat Stevens，首先想到的應該是 Morning Has Broken 這首歌。印象尤其深刻的，是小時候放暑假，晚上在家和哥哥打乒乓球，一邊聽FM收音機。到了深夜12點，Morning
Has Broken 就出現在耳際。
但
Cat Stevens的歌之中，歌詞讓我感觸最多的，卻是 Oh
Very Young。第一次聽到這首歌的時間點可能更早，但到了我讀高中時，自己的英文程度才足以理解歌詞大概的意思。那時用第一代的 Sony Walkman播放 Cat Stevens的
Greatest Hits 卡帶，一邊作功課。當從耳機聽到這句
And
though you want them to last forever
You know they never will
You know they never will
然後女和聲重複
(you know they never will)
(you know they never will)
感覺像是被雷劈了，整個人楞住。當下意識到，這是多麼傳神地描繪出了人生最根本的悲哀。每個人，不論貧富貴賤，不管做了多少的努力，想在這世界永遠的待著，卻都如另一句歌詞所說：
You're
only dancin' on this earth for a short while
終究得屈服於沒人可 last forever 的現實。
數十年後的現在，我年過半百，對許多事物的感受比年輕時麻痺得多。然而我再看這歌詞，還是感觸頗深。Cat Stevens 沒用什麼高深的字，也沒有高雅的隱喻。但他用童謠般的簡單詞曲，卻能觸碰到令人省思的哲理。讓人聽到歌，會停下來手邊的事，思索一下我們存在的意義。
Cat Stevens – Oh Very Young Lyrics
Oh very young, what will you leave us this
time
You're only dancin' on this earth for a short while
And though your dreams may toss and turn you now
They will vanish away like your dads best jeans
Denim blue, faded up to the sky
And though you want them to last forever
You know they never will
(you know they never will)
And the patches make the goodbye harder still.
Oh very young what will you leave us this time
There'll never be a better chance to change your mind
And if you want this world to see a better day
Will you carry the words of love with you
Will you ride the great white bird into heaven
And though you want to last forever
You know you never will
(you know you never will)
And the goodbye makes the journey harder still.
Will you carry the words of love with you
Will you ride, oh, oooh
Oh very young, what will you leave us this time
You're only dancin' on this earth for a short while
Oh very young, what will you leave us this time
You're only dancin' on this earth for a short while
And though your dreams may toss and turn you now
They will vanish away like your dads best jeans
Denim blue, faded up to the sky
And though you want them to last forever
You know they never will
(you know they never will)
And the patches make the goodbye harder still.
Oh very young what will you leave us this time
There'll never be a better chance to change your mind
And if you want this world to see a better day
Will you carry the words of love with you
Will you ride the great white bird into heaven
And though you want to last forever
You know you never will
(you know you never will)
And the goodbye makes the journey harder still.
Will you carry the words of love with you
Will you ride, oh, oooh
Oh very young, what will you leave us this time
You're only dancin' on this earth for a short while
Oh very young, what will you leave us this time
Songwriters: YUSUF
ISLAM, CAT STEVENS
Oh Very Young lyrics ©
BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
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