Journal • 特刊 • December 15，2025 ｜ Past Issues 前期

Opening Remark 

Thirty years after Sarah Chen quietly exited the music industry in December 1995, we honor her illustrious career spanning three decades (ages 9 to 39) and the "afterlife" of her music since. 30-after-30, our channel's virtual celebration, arrives three decades late but stands as a testament to the excellence and enduring influence of Sarah Chen's music.

开场致意

三十年前，陈淑桦于1995年12月以《生生世世》悄然离别歌坛。如今，我们庆祝她长达三十年的歌唱生涯（9至39岁），以及她离坛后三十年来作品的后继生命。我们编辑的“三十又三十” 庆典虽迟来三十年，但它的举办是陈淑桦音乐卓越与持久影响的见证。

Officially Sarah Chen's penultimate album, Forever, Sarah (December 1995) may have been her final recordings. It arrived just six months after her landmark R&B album Forever (June 1995). With nine re-recorded songs expressing love for her mother, gratitude to collaborators, and blessings for fans, the album is unmistakably a farewell, her good-bye concert without a live audience. Chen did not promote it; soon after, she sold her music memorabilia at a fan event and donated the proceeds. "Sarah should have no regrets now," her mother said in 1995. 

I cannot say enough how much I love and appreciate this album. It is her swan song as she bid good-bye to her beloved music and to a part of herself. She was at her best: the magic of instilling love was at its strongest, yet Chen chose to let go. Even so, she hid her intentions; even the producer didn't realize that she was ending her career. And she couldn't bring herself to say goodbye, not then, not in 2003, and not in the 30 years since. 

Yes, Sarah Chen had an impeccable voice and a beautiful image. But what made her great was her ability to express the most touching human feelings. The feelings words cannot hold are poured to the brim in Forever, Sarah.  

虽然官方这是陈淑桦的倒数第二张专辑，《生生世世》（1995年12月）也许是她的最后录音（《失乐园》仅做收尾）。该专辑在《淑桦盛开》（1995年6月）发行仅半年后推出。但和前一张截然不同，陈淑桦没有投入宣传工作。虽然当年的文案没有提到这一点，但她旧歌重录，充满了对母亲的感恩、对同人的致谢、对歌迷的告别——毫无疑问，这是她的告别专辑，一场没有观众的演唱会。此后不久，陈淑桦和歌友见面，卖掉自己珍藏的音乐物件，捐给慈济。“淑桦应该没有遗憾啦“，当年她母亲说。

我非常珍惜和喜爱这张专辑。这是陈淑桦的绝唱，是她对音乐和自己的告别。她的技艺仍在巅峰，传达深情的魔力最为醇厚，却选择了离开。她似乎没有跟别人讲她的意图；制作人小虫几年后懊悔说他没有想到陈淑桦在这张专辑后就走了。陈淑桦却始终无法断言和音乐的分手，无论是在当时、在2003年，还是在此后的三十年里。

没错，陈淑桦歌声美，人也漂亮。但她的特长是精确地表达人对人最真切的情感。很多情感是语言没法描述的。陈淑桦的歌声中装满了我们看不见，摸不到，说不出，却能体会到的情感，在《生生世世》里尤为浓稠。

Tomorrow, Will You Still Love Me has a deceptively plain title. It was the title track of Sarah Chen's 1988 album, with songs loosely based on her own experiences (though Sarah was far from cooperative), centered on a breakup with an uncommitted lover. The song opens with the man leaving early in the morning, asking if she will still love him tomorrow. His words strike her as she recognizes both his vulnerability and the predicament his lack of commitment places her in. The chorus ends with: "I can no longer bear to tearfully watch you leave. I dread the helpless nights when you come, slightly drunk, disturbing my sleepless nights." 

The sophistication of the song arrived amid Taiwan societal and Mandopop cultural shifts, as women increasingly moved to urban areas for jobs. They began asserting themselves and refusing a supporting role. Sarah Chen recorded many songs about women's independence: some were plain declarations (e.g., (Not a) Weak Woman), some were words of wisdom (e.g., Dream to Awakening), and some carried complex feelings (e.g., Tomorrow, Will You Still Love Me). By revealing the man's vulnerability and the woman's complexity, the song challenges traditional gender roles.

But how do you sing a song layered with conflicting feelings? Even Sarah wasn't sure. The three recordings she left, two from 1988 and one from 1995, are entirely different, not just in arrangement but in vocal quality. She is vulnerable and heartbroken in the 1988 cassette version, composed and reflective in the 1988 CD version, and accepting and resigned in the 1995 version. While all three carry her special magic, they also show the range at the core of Sarah Chen. If she chose to, she could sound like three different singers.

The 1995 re-recording offers one interpretation: a forbidden love. It shows Sarah Chen's rebellious nature one final time as she steps away from a platform that simultaneously shielded and battered her. Unfortunately, the track was mastered with the vocal unusually low, and the booming instrumental pushes her voice to the background. She passed the microphone, her baton, and left the stage.

《明天，还爱我吗》歌名看似平常，但这首歌一点也不俗气。这是陈淑桦1988年同名专辑的主打歌，作品大致取材于她的经历（但要她打开心扉没那么容易），主题围绕与一位不够投入的恋人分手。歌曲开场是清晨，男人掩门离去，问她明天是否还会爱他。这个问题让她意识到男人也有脆弱，同时他不确定的态度将她置于困境。副歌结尾唱到：“我无法一再忍受你从我的泪眼中离去。我害怕这样的日子，在同样寂寞的夜里，你带着朦胧的醉意，扰乱我失眠的夜。”

这首情感复杂的歌出自台湾社会变迁、华语流行乐坛的转折期：更多女性进入都市开始独立生活，不再接受家庭妇女的地位。那些年陈淑桦录制了许多关于女性独立的歌。有些是直抒胸臆（如《柔弱女子》），有些是给人劝告（如《梦醒时分》），还有些是表达女性复杂的心思（如《明天还爱我吗》）：男人的脆弱和女人的成熟，从某种意义上认可了两性有相同的情感需求。

但这么复杂的歌怎么诠释？连陈淑桦也不确定。她留下三个完全不同的版本，不仅是音乐编曲，连歌声也截然不同。1998年卡带版脆弱而揪心，1998年CD版更沉静而内省，1995年重录版则更显接受和无奈。三个版本都能有她独特的曲风，但也看出陈淑桦的多样性。若她愿意，她可以变成三个不同的歌手。

1995年重录版的MV给这首歌一个解释：一段禁忌之恋。在陈淑桦即将离开这个既庇护又伤害她的音乐世界前，这首歌再一次显现出她不从流俗的性情。不幸的是，这段录音的混音将她的音量调得很低，强劲的伴奏压住了歌声。陈淑桦就这样交了她的接力棒——她的麦克风——悄然离开了舞台。

I was not a witness to Sarah Chen's 30-year career. Nor did I engage with her music in the 30 years after. The sixty years since Chen started had been a blank for me, until recently.  

But fate had it that when Chen dropped her baton 30 years ago, it stayed there. A Time Machine appeared to have transported me to a futuristic world of new technologies, advanced medicine, and alternative realities. When Love Is the Only Reason brought a flood of memories, I looked down and saw the baton, now shaped like a pen, lying at my feet. 

I would not have picked it up if Chen had stayed in the industry, safeguarding her work and receiving recognition proportional to her contributions. I would not have picked it up if I hadn't discovered her English songs or read about her bond with her mother. 

My conversion from skeptic to believer, across decades and thousands of miles, may be a whimsical act of fate. But for her music to move someone like me, not thirty but sixty years after it began, is the strongest testament for its enduring, timeless nature.

What draws me into Sarah Chen's music is not her impeccable vocals or the songs themselves: it is her ability to convey the deepest, most tender feelings one person can hold for another. That ability, rooted in Chen's passion for music and love for her mother, makes her work timeless and priceless. 

Listen beyond the songs, and you will sense the boundless love she poured into them. Chen may have dropped the baton, but as long as I can find words for the feelings she expressed so well, the journey continues.

我不是陈淑桦三十年生涯的见证人，此后三十年也没有接触她的音乐；她开启歌唱的这六十年，对我来说几乎是一片空白。

但也许是命中注定，陈淑桦放下麦克风时，接力棒就停在了原地。仿佛一台时光机，将我搬到三十年后全新的世界里：科幻版的科技、先进的医术、虚实交织的现实。当《爱是唯一的理由》唤醒我的记忆时，我低头一看，发现接力棒是一支笔，躺在我脚边。

如果陈淑桦还留在歌坛，守着她的作品，并得到与贡献相称的荣耀，我绝不会将接力棒捡起。如果我没有发现她的英文歌、没有读到她和母亲的亲情，我也不会插手对她的写作。

也许是上天开了个玩笑，让我从反粉变成歌迷。但她的音乐在几十年后仍能打动一个身处千里之外的我，这本身就是她音乐永恒的见证。

我如此推崇陈淑桦的音乐，并不是因为她完美的歌声，或那几首热门歌。我珍惜的是她独特的传达情感的魔力——她的歌里充满了人情，表达了人们所能感触到的最深成的情意。她的魔力来自她对音乐的真爱和对她母亲的亲情。那份情意将陈淑桦的作品变为无价之宝。

如果你不只听歌，而是听她的演唱，你会感受到她在歌中注入的无尽的爱。陈淑桦也许放下了接力棒，但只要我还能找到表述情感的词，这段旅程就会继续下去。