“The end of the world” 是相當受歡迎的一首歌，曾是錢櫃雜誌 (Cashbox現已停刊 )1963年度的年終排行冠軍曲，也是鄉村女歌手Skeeter Davis唯一的傳世之作。從內容看來，這又是一首失戀的情歌，但原作曲者乃是因為父親逝世，覺得猶如世界末日一般而寫出這首歌。Skeeter Davis的演唱平實而動人，而且自己擔任和聲，成就了一首流行經典。
“The End of the World” is a pop music hit song by Skeeter Davis that enjoyed international success in the 1960s. The record was released by RCA Records in December 1962 and reached its greatest success in March 1963, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, number two on the Billboard country singles chart (Davis was a country music vocalist and the record was a crossover music success), and number one on Billboard’s easy listening chart.
The record also was a number four hit on Billboard’s rhythm and blues chart, making Davis one of the very few white female vocalists to enjoy a top ten record on that chart. Davis’ four-chart top-ten accomplishment has never been duplicated by any other artist in the history of the Billboard charts. Although Ruby & the Romantics’ hit “Our Day Will Come” kept “The End of the World” from hitting number one on the pop chart, the song’s popularity and chart history earned it the number three place on Billboard’s list of the year’s 20 biggest hits.
The music was written by Arthur Kent with lyrics by Sylvia Dee. Davis’ recording was produced by Chet Atkins and has long been considered one of the foremost examples of the Nashville Sound of the 1960s – smooth vocals and a slick, sophisticated production appealing to audiences far beyond the traditional country music audience.
The song was played at Atkins’ funeral in 2001 in an instrumental performance by Marty Stuart and later, Davis’ recording was broadcast over the speakers of her 2004 funeral at the Ryman Auditorium. Davis went on to score many other country music hits as well as a few major pop crossovers, but she was forever identified with “The End of the World” and sang it at virtually every concert appearance she would make after its success. Davis’ version has been featured on the soundtracks of a number of films (including Girl, Interrupted, Riding In Cars With Boys, Daltry Calhoun, An American Affair and The Boat That Rocked) plus in the JFK assassination episode of the 2009 television series Mad Men.
By Skeeter Davis
Lyrics
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Why does the sun go on shining? Why does the sea rush to shore? Don’t they know it’s the end of the world? ‘Cause you don’t love me anymore
Why do the birds go on singing? Why do the stars glow above? Don’t they know it’s the end of the world? It ended when I lost your love I wake up in the morning And I wonder why everything’s the same as it was I can’t understand, no I can’t understand How life goes on the way it does Why does my heart go on beating? Why do these eyes of mine cry? Don’t they know it’s the end of the world? It ended when you said goodbye |
太陽為何依然照耀 海浪為何拍打著岩岸 難道它們不知道這是世界末日 因為你不再愛我了
鳥兒為何依然歌唱 星星為何在天上閃耀 難道它們不知道這是世界末日 當我失去了你的愛 當我清晨醒來 納悶著為何一切如常 我無法了解，我真的無法了解 生命怎會像往常一樣運行 我的心為何仍在跳動 我的雙眼為何在流淚 難道它們不知道這是世界末日 當你說再見的時候 |