Goodbye England's Rose
May you ever grow in our hearts.
You were the grace that placed itself
Where lives were torn apart.
You called out to our country,
And you whispered to those in pain.
Now you belong to heaven,
And the stars spell out your name.
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind:
Never fading with the sunset
When the rain set in.
And your footsteps will always fall here,
Along England's greenest hills;
Your candle's burned out long before
Your legend ever will.
Loveliness we've lost;
These empty days without your smile.
This torch we'll always carry
For our nation's golden child.
And even though we try,
The truth brings us to tears;
All our words cannot express
The joy you brought us through the years.
Goodbye England's Rose,
From a country lost without your soul,
Who'll miss the wings of your compassion
More than you'll ever know.
這首歌是艾爾頓•強)為紀念黛安娜王妃的去世,以原來為瑪麗蓮•夢露所作的Candle In the Wind改寫歌詞而成。這首歌在一九九七年九月發行時,一週內就賣出約三百五十萬張,打破歷年單曲單周銷售的記錄(當時記錄保持者是惠妮•休斯頓在一九九二年的<我會永遠愛妳>"I'll Always Love You",在一週內賣了六十三萬二千張),這也已經是所有單曲銷售的第三名(惠妮•休斯頓的名曲的總銷售是四百六十萬張)。光從這張紀念單曲的發行,不難想見當時黛妃在媒體中的影像力,以及當時因狗崽隊追逐在法國巴黎隧道中車禍喪生時,全球震驚的現象。
在當時黛妃因狗仔隊追逐她友人座車而於隧道中發生車禍身亡之時,英國全國人民真是舉國震驚,悲傷甚於如喪考妣,甚至遠在土耳其的一位年輕人為她跳樓。連我台灣的老母與她素未平生都為她嘆息說:奈哈妖壽啦。但是時至今日不過數年,黛妃當時在媒體中最受矚目的麻雀變鳳凰的盛大婚禮、從不重複的時尚服裝、黛安娜髮型,以至後來的婚變等等,一如諸多流行不出數月的風潮、時尚或手機,終究除了在少數黛妃迷之外的大眾心中,只留下Elton John 所作的這首歌。真正留下來的,卻是她後來極力從事的慈善工作,以她的影響力結合如艾爾頓•強等歌星名人,勸募捐款。自己也經常親赴各地探視因病或是地雷而受創的孩童。那些身影才是永留多數人心中的黛妃。