中古年代 聊聊老歌、老人和老故事，留下一些個人歷史的痕跡。 (若有侵權或陳述不實敬請告知，將會刪除或予修正。)

210愛的鼓勵 220訂閱站台

1972，英國歌手Elton John赴澳洲巡演，聽到當地頂尖樂團Daddy Cool的一首暢銷曲《Eagle Rock》，讓他印象深刻，也是引發他寫出此首《Crocodile Rock》的靈感來源。

此曲於1972近年底分別在英、美發行，作為之後專輯《Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player》的先發單曲，結果在美國排行榜奪得第1名 ( UK #5 )，也是Elton John在美國的第一首冠軍單曲，唱片熱銷大賣並獲得金唱片的認證。而之後專輯的成績，當然也跟著水漲船高。

其實初聽這首歌，會有「似曾相識」的感覺。評論認為：有著和1962 Del Shannon的《Cry Myself to Sleep》及1957 The Diamonds的《Little Darling》相同濃烈的曲風；歌詞中「While the other kids were Rocking Round the Clock」，應取材自1955 Bill Haley & His Comets的《Rock Around the Clock》。前奏的riff像極了另首《Let's Dance》，而歌曲中的La LaLa La……，則有重組Pat Boone的《Speedy Gonzales》的合音之嫌。然後Don Mclean也跳出來說，歌詞中的 chevy ( 雪佛蘭汽車 )和 rock just「died」，和他《American Pie》歌詞中的用字相同。而《Speedy Gonzales》的作曲者可沒這麼客氣，直接告上加州法院，說抄襲他歌曲中的「假音」部份，後因雙方和解而撤告。

對於外界諸多的評論，Elton John長期的寫歌搭擋Bernie Taupin在後來接受雜誌訪談時說道：其實這是一首有趣的歌，我並不介意來創造它，有些東西未必曾經聽過，只是該時期一些簡單有趣的事物而已。Elton John對於評論的駁斥則是：我只是想讓它成為關於伴隨我成長一些事物的記錄，這當然算是某種的「剽竊( rip-off )」，而這些是早已「衍生 ( derivative )」在各種的意識中。

《Crocodile Rock》雖然成為了大熱門曲，而Elton John認為，此曲長久以來也確實對他造成了負面影響。( 台長意見：能將其他歌曲的特色加以改變、發揮，並組合在一起，也需要相當的功力吧！^^)

延伸閱讀：

http://mypaper.pchome.com.tw/tabidog01/post/1325969490

亂談(519)：《Little Darling》
http://mypaper.pchome.com.tw/tabidog01/post/1353751659

 

I remember when rock was young

Me and Suzie had so much fun
Holding hands and skimming stones
Had an old gold Chevy and a place of my own

But the biggest kick I ever got
Was doing a thing called "The Crocodile Rock"
While the other kids were rocking 'round the clock
We were hopping and bopping to the Crocodile Rock

Well Crocodile Rocking is something shocking
When your feet just can't keep still
I never knew me a better time and I guess I never will
Oh Lawdy Mama those Friday nights
When Suzie wore her dresses tight
And the Crocodile Rocking was out of sight

But the years went by and the rock just died
Suzie went and left us for some foreign guy
Long nights crying by the record machine
Dreaming of my Chevy and my old blue jeans

But they'll never kill the thrills we've got
Burning up to the Crocodile Rock
Learning fast as the weeks went past
We really thought the Crocodile Rock would last

Well Crocodile Rocking is something shocking
When your feet just can't keep still
I never knew me a better time and I guess I never will
Oh Lawdy Mama those Friday nights
When Suzie wore her dresses tight
And the Crocodile Rocking was out of sight

I remember when rock was young
Me and Suzie had so much fun
Holding hands and skimming stones
Had an old gold Chevy and a place of my own

But the biggest kick I ever got
Was doing a thing called "The Crocodile Rock"
While the other kids were rocking 'round the clock
We were hopping and bopping to the Crocodile Rock

Well Crocodile Rocking is something shocking
When your feet just can't keep still
I never knew me a better time and I guess I never will
Oh Lawdy Mama those Friday nights
When Suzie wore her dresses tight
And the Crocodile Rocking was out of sight