2016年2月19日《明報》副刊
文：潘麗瓊
香港颳起一陣麥當娜旋風，我沒看她的演唱會，卻偶然看到2009年她在MTV頒獎典禮上，懷念米高積遜的話，心裏有陣陣的哀痛。
麥當娜獨自站在台上，沒有歌舞，只有一盞孤燈，她的話鏗鏘若詩，澎湃的感情足以搖撼世界。
她和米高的命運如兩條平衡線。她說：「米高生於1958年8月，我也是。米高在中西部長大，我也是。米高有八兄弟姐妹，我也是。米高6歲成為巨星，或許是全世界最受寵愛的小孩。我6歲媽媽死了，但他比我更不幸。我失去母愛，他失去童年。當你失去什麼時，你永遠被它纏繞住。我整個童年都在找尋母親的替代品，有時成功，但當你活在全世界放大鏡之下，如何重建童年呢？」
「米高的音樂有種難以解釋的魔術，令你起舞、想飛、敢於夢想。因為那是英雄所為，米高就是英雄。」1991年，麥當娜邀約米高晚膳，她駕車。燈光陰暗，但米高依然戴着墨鏡。麥當娜笑說：「我好像對着一架黑色長轎車講話。你可否脫去墨鏡？」他把墨鏡拋出窗外，眨眼微笑說：「你看見我嗎？」麥當娜發現他的脆弱和魅力。那夜，他們食薯條、飲酒、吃甜品和說粗話，做一些米高從不敢做的事。在梳化上一起看電影，他拖着她的手……
後來，這兩條平衡因某些緣故，愈走愈遠。醜聞接連找上米高。麥當娜較幸運，因為「我有童年，容許自己犯錯，在沒有鎂光照射下找尋自己」，當米高死時，麥當娜在倫敦，米高本應緊接在她表演後一周表演的。她慨嘆：天才在狹縫中直墜到底。我們放棄了他。
麥當娜主動堅毅，而米高脆弱被動。結果，她活下來，為香港人唱歌，他卻過早地成為天使。
MaDonna向Michael Jackson致敬的一段話
來源：http://smngmj.blogspot.hk/2009/09/madonnamichael-jackson.html
所有向MJ致敬的節目，商業元素比真心致敬的多，心裡真的不甚苟同。但因為Janet Jackson會向哥哥作致敬演出，所以看了這個節目作敬挽支持！但想不到的是MaDonna向Michael Jackson致敬的一段話會是那麼……一矢中的，是多令人感動。
昨天看過MaDonna這段說話，已急不及待要放上自己的部落格及MJFaith，跟大家分享。因為MaDonna說出了許多人不敢說的話。MaDonna當年跟MJ同是樂壇寵兒，也是勁歌熱舞的表演者，某程度上可說他倆是互相競爭的對手也不為過。但是經歷却是南轅北轍。MaDonna貫徹了她敢作敢為的性格，說出了一段沒有想到會是從她口裡而出的肺腑之言請(參考她的致敬全文內容)。
我最感動的是MaDonna直接了當告訴你MJ如何自律，MJ心裡怎樣孤獨；同是天王巨星，即使MaDonna犯錯，世人並不會把事件無限放大。她更指出了世界如何殘酷的對待MJ，在MJ有困難的時候，MaDonna遺棄了他，世界的人都遺棄了他。當MJ建立他自己的家庭及事業時，世人報以的只有尖酸的批評。雖然如MaDonna所說，她與MJ不能算得上是要好的朋友，但却是從她口中為MJ的不幸遭遇……特別是叫人心傷……
以下是MaDonna於2009年的Video Music Awards (VMA) 上向Michael Jackson致敬的一段話，請大家細聽，是多令人感動。
MaDonna致敬全文內容：
"Michael Jackson was born in August, 1958. so was I. Michael Jackson grew up in the suburbs of the Midwest. So did I. Michael Jackson had eight brothers and sisters. So do I. When Michael Jackson was 6 he became a superstar and was perhaps the world's most beloved child. When I was 6 my mother died. I think he got the shorter end of the stick.
MJ出生於1958年8月，我也是。 MJ出生於1958年8月，我也是。 MJ在美國中西部的郊區長大，我也是。 MJ有八個兄弟姐妹，很巧地我也有。MJ六歲時成為了超越巨星，也或許在當時是這世上最多人疼愛的孩子。我六歲時失去了我的母親，但我想比起來，他比較吃虧。
"I never had a mother, but he never had a childhood. And when you never get to have something, you become obsessed by it. I spent my childhood searching for my mother figures; sometimes I was successful. But how do you recreate your childhood when you are under the magnifying glass of the world for your entire life?
我從沒有母親，他從沒有童年。當你無法得到某東西時，你自然會被迷住。我花掉了我的童年去追尋母親輪廓，有時是成功的。但你怎可以在全世界的放大鏡下為自己重新創造一個童年。
"There is no question that Michael Jackson was one of the greatest talents the world has ever known. ... That when he sang a song at the ripe old age of 8, he could make you feel like an experienced adult was squeezing your heart with his words. ... That the way he moved had the elegance of Fred Astaire and packed the punch of Muhammad Ali. ... That his music had an extra layer of inexplicable magic that didn't just make you want to dance but actually made you believe that you could fly, dare to dream, be anything that you wanted to be. Because that is what heroes do. And Michael Jackson was a hero.
毫無疑問地，MJ是這世界上最偉大的天才之一… 當他唱出如同成人般經歷滄桑的故事時，他僅僅8歲而已，而那些歌聲及詞藻，卻又卻又是那麼地扣人心弦…他在舞台的動作，如同Fred Astaire般地優雅，又如同拳王阿里一般地震撼… 這一切的一切，造就他的音樂是如此地充滿魔力並與眾不同，讓你不只想要跟著起舞，而更讓你相信你可以飛翔、可以夢想、可以做任何事。因為，這是英雄能做到的，所以MJ，正是一位英雄！是那麼地扣人心弦…
"He performed in soccer stadiums around the world, he sold hundreds of millions of records, he dined with prime ministers and presidents. Girls fell in love with him, boys fell in love with him, everyone wanted to dance like him, he seemed otherworldly, but he was also a human being. Like most performers, he was shy and plagued with insecurities.
他在世界各地的足球場演出，他擁有上億張銷售量的唱片，他受過世界各國總理及總統的宴請招待。女孩們愛上了他，男孩們迷上了他，大家都想要像他一樣地起舞，他是如此地超凡，如此地像是另一個世界來的神。但，他也只是個人類，和其他的藝人一樣，害羞靦腆，卻又被不安全感困擾。
"I can't say we were great friends, but in 1991 I decided I wanted to get to know him better. I asked him out to dinner: I said, 'My treat, I'll drive, just you and me.' He agreed and showed up to my house without any bodyguards. We drove to the restaurant in my car. It was dark out, but he was still wearing sunglasses. I said, 'Michael, I feel like I'm talking to a limousine, do you think you could take off those glasses so I could see your eyes?' He paused for a moment, then he tossed the glasses out the window, looked at me with a wink and a smile and said, 'Can you see me now, is that better?'
我不敢說我們是很好的朋友，但在1991年時我決定去更接觸了解他這個人。我邀請他共進晚餐，我說：「我請客，我負責開車，就我們兩個。」他答應了，未帶保鑣地獨自一人出現在我的住處。我們開車前往餐廳的路上，天色已黑，但他還是戴著墨鏡。我說：「Michael，我覺得我好像是在跟車子講話，你可以拿下墨鏡好讓我看到你的雙眼嗎？」 他考慮了一會兒後，他摘下墨鏡並直接丟出窗外，微笑，俏皮地眨眨眼看著我說「你現在看得到我了嗎，這樣有沒有好一點？」
"In that moment, I could see both his vulnerability and his charm. The rest of the dinner, I was hell-bent on getting him to eat French fries, drink wine, have dessert and say bad words, things he never seemed to allow himself to do. Later, we went back to my house to watch a movie and we sat on the couch like two kids, and somewhere in the middle of the film, his hand snuck over and held mine. It felt like he was looking for a friend more than a romance and I was happy to oblige him. And in that moment he didn't feel like a superstar, he felt like a human being. We went out a few more times together and then for one reason or another we fell out of touch. Then, the witch hunt began and it seemed like one negative story after the other was coming out about Michael. I felt his pain. I know what it's like to walk down the street and feel like the whole world has turned against you. I know what it's like to feel helpless and unable to defend yourself because the roar of the lynch mob is so loud that you are convinced your voice can never be heard.
那一刻，我看到他的弱點和魅力。晚餐時，我執意要他吃炸土豆片、飲點酒、吃甜品及說骯話，做一些他不允許自己做的事。然後，我們回到我家裡，就像小孩一樣坐在沙發上看電影，在看到影片中段某處時，他把手靜靜伸過來握着我的手。我感受到他在尋找一個朋友多於追求一段浪漫，而我很高興可以幫助他。那一刻他完全不像一個超級巨星，感覺他是一個人類。之後，我們曾一起外出數次，因為一些原因令我們沒有再聯絡。然後，開始了不盡不實的迫害，傳出一個又一個關於MJ的負面故事。我感受到他的痛。我明白當你走到街上全世界都與你為敵那感覺，我明白當你感到無助，無法為自己辯護。那群誹謗吼叫聲巨大得令你深信不已你的聲音不被聽見。
"But I had a childhood, and I was allowed to make mistakes and find my own way in the world without the glare of the spotlight. When I first heard that Michael had died I was in London, days away from the opening of my tour. Michael was going to perform in the same venue as me a week later. All I could think about in that moment was that I had abandoned him. That we had abandoned him. That we had allowed this magnificent creature that once set the world on fire to somehow slip through the cracks. While he was trying to build a family and rebuild his career, we were all busy passing judgment. Most of us had turned our backs on him.
我享受過童年，我曾經可以犯了錯但不用被聚光燈放大，而是讓我在這世上可以找到我自己要走的路。當我第一次聽到MJ去世的消息時，我正在倫敦做巡迴演唱會。而我當時的感覺便是我遺棄了他，我們都遺棄了他！……當他試圖建立自己的家庭和重拾他的事業時，我們都忙於對他做出評定。我們中的大部分人都拒絕了他。
"In a desperate attempt to hold onto his memory, I went on the Internet to watch old clips of him dancing and singing on TV and onstage and I thought, 'My God, he was so unique, so original, so rare. And there will never be anyone like him again.' He was a king. But he was also a human being and alas, we are all human beings and sometimes we have to lose things before we can truly appreciate them. I want to end this on a positive note and say that my sons, age 9 and 4, are obsessed with Michael Jackson. There's a whole lot of crotch-grabbing and moonwalking going on in my house, and it seems like a whole new generation of kids has discovered his genius and are bringing him to life again. I hope that wherever Michael is now, he is smiling about this.
在我傷心欲絕的時候，我不斷上網重溫他以前在電視或演唱會上的表演片段，以憑吊我對他的思念。而每每這個時刻，我便會覺得：“老天！他真的是獨一無二，極其大膽又極具獨創性。毫無疑問永遠都不會有另一個人能像他那樣。”他就是一個王者。但同時他又是個凡人。唉，我們都是凡人，以至於有時總要失去之後才懂得珍惜。最後，我想以一個積極樂觀的方式結束我的發言。我的兩個兒子，9歲和4歲，都非常癡迷於MJ，成天都在家裡跳月球漫步，就好像全世界新一代的小孩兒們發現了傑克遜的天賦，並將他重新復活一樣。我希望無論MJ現在身在何處，看到這一刻時都是面帶微笑的。
"Yes, yes Michael Jackson was a human being, but dammit, he was a king. Long live the king."
是的，Michael Jackson是一個人類，但該死的，他就是一個王者！一個永世長存的王！
