英國搖滾團體〔麥克與機械匠〕──追憶亡父的冠軍抒情經典──感人的〔有生之年／The Living Years〕

The Living Years
I Know That Im A Prisoner
To All My Father Held So Dear
I Know That Im A Hostage
To All His Hopes And Fears
I Just Wish I Could Have Told Him In The Living Years

Crumpled Bits Of Paper
Filled With Imperfect Thought
Stilted Conversations
Im Afraid Thats All Weve Got

You Say You Just Dont See It
He Says Its Perfect Sense
You Just Cant Get Agreement
In This Present Tense
We All Talk A Different Language
Talking In Defence

Say It Loud, Say It Clear
You Can Listen As Well As You Hear
Its Too Late When We Die
To Admit We Dont See Eye To Eye

So We Open Up A Quarrel
Between The Present And The Past
We Only Sacrifice The Future
Its The Bitterness That Lasts

So Dont Yield To The Fortunes
You Sometimes See As Fate
It May Have A New Perspective
On A Different Day
And If You Dont Give Up, And Dont Give In
You May Just Be O.k.

Say It Loud, Say It Clear
You Can Listen As Well As You Hear
Its Too Late When We Die
To Admit We Dont See Eye To Eye

I Wasnt There That Morning
When My Father Passed Away
I Didnt Get To Tell Him
All The Things I Had To Say

I Think I Caught His Spirit
Later That Same Year
Im Sure I Heard His Echo
In My Babys New Born Tears
I Just Wish I Could Have Told Him In The Living Years

Say It Loud, Say It Clear
You Can Listen As Well As You Hear
Its Too Late When We Die
To Admit We Dont See Eye To Eye

他也是１９６７年組團後就未曾離開的創始成員
跟主唱菲爾柯林斯（Phil Collins）一樣
在創世紀沒有活動時 他也發展個人事業

８０年代初出了兩張個人專輯
１９８５年　麥克組成了麥克與機械匠（Mike & The Mechanics）

走的是流行／搖滾路線
首張同名專輯在歐美銷售不錯　還出了兩首美國流行榜Top１０暢銷曲

１９８８年夏末　麥克與機械匠推出第二張專輯〔The Living Years／有生之年〕

首支主打〔Nobody’s Perfect〕表現不佳
１９８８年末推出第二首主打 也是麥克參與譜寫的專輯同名歌曲
此曲由Paul Carrack主唱
〔The Living Years〕是首編曲華麗的成人抒情搖滾
末尾唱詩班的福音合聲將歌曲襯托得磅礡有氣勢
歌曲是麥克描述年輕時未能與父親好好溝通
等其過世後才恍悟已經太遲
從歌詞就可看出這是他的切身之痛：

Say It Loud, Say It Clear
You Can Listen As Well As You Hear
Its Too Late When We Die
To Admit We Dont See Eye To Eye

I wasnt there that morning
When my father passed away


頗有‘樹欲靜而風不止 子欲養兒親不在’的感慨
此曲拿到英國榜三週亞軍　連帶大碟也升到＃２　成為麥克與機械匠在家鄉最成功的單曲／專輯

國際市場表現成功　拿到加拿大冠軍　澳洲冠軍　德國＃１３

１９８９年３月則打下黛比吉布森（Debbie Gibson）的三週冠軍〔Lost In Your Eyes／顧盼痴迷〕
登上美國流行榜王座(隔週被Bangles〔Eternal Flame〕擠下)
成人抒情榜四週冠軍（年終＃８）　主流搖滾榜＃５　銷售達到金唱片
隔年得到葛萊美年度唱片　年度歌曲　流行團體三項提名

另外也拿到英國詞曲創作最高榮譽‘Ivor Novello Awards’

堪稱麥克與機械匠２０年音樂事業最紅的單曲

〔The Living Years／有生之年〕是首描述親情的感人抒情經典

MV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hr64MxYpgk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i8i2B0iRK0

Audio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkZeTUdTvS0

Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1eG6tGXRxQ

2019 Version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp6YyrFaDgQ