Over the course of his illustrious career， George Michael gave the world many gifts. One that keeps on giving is “Last Christmas，” the 1984 holiday classic by Wham！， Michael’s pop duo with Andrew Ridgeley. “Last Christmas” is such a uniquely beloved song that it inspired a 2019 film of the same name， and an internet game that people play each holiday season—but that’s just a small part of the “Last Christmas” story. Read on for 10 fascinating facts about this seasonal synth-pop favorite.
乔治·迈克尔在其辉煌的职业生涯中，为世界带来了诸多佳作。而其中一首至今仍广为流传的，便是1984年威猛乐队——迈克尔与安德鲁·里奇利组成的流行组合——演唱的圣诞经典曲目《去年圣诞》。这首歌独具魅力、深受喜爱，不仅启发了2019年同名电影的诞生，还衍生出一款人们在圣诞季常玩的网络游戏——但这些不过是《去年圣诞》相关故事的冰山一角。下文将为你揭晓关于这首圣诞节合成器流行乐佳作的10个趣闻。
1. George Michael wrote “Last Christmas” in his childhood bedroom.
1. 乔治·迈克尔在他儿时的卧室中创作了《去年圣诞》。
“Last Christmas” was born one day in 1984 when George Michael and his Wham！ bandmate Andrew Ridgeley were visiting Michael’s parents. While they were watching TV， Michael suddenly dashed upstairs to his childhood bedroom and composed the modern holiday classic in about an hour. “George had performed musical alchemy， distilling the essence of Christmas into music，” Ridgeley said. “Adding a lyric which told the tale of betrayed love was a masterstroke and， as he did so often， he touched hearts.”
1984 年的一天，乔治·迈克尔和搭档安德鲁·里奇利去拜访迈克尔的父母。几人正看着电视，迈克尔突然飞奔上楼，冲进自己童年时的卧室，仅用约一小时就完成了这首现代假日经典曲目的创作。里奇利回忆道：“乔治仿佛施了一场音乐魔法，把圣诞的精髓完完全全融入到旋律里。再加上那段讲述背叛爱情的歌词，简直是神来之笔，他总能触动人们的心弦。”
2. It isn’t really a Christmas song.
2.《去年圣诞》其实不算是一首传统意义上的圣诞歌曲。
There’s nothing in “Last Christmas” about Santa， reindeer， trees， snow， or anything we typically associate with the holiday. Rather， the song is about a failed romance that just happens to have begun on December 25， when Michael gave someone his heart， and ended on December 26， when this ungrateful person “gave it away.”
《去年圣诞》的歌词里，没有圣诞老人、驯鹿、圣诞树、雪花，也没有任何我们通常会和圣诞节联系起来的元素。这首歌讲的是一段无疾而终的恋情：这段感情正好始于12月25日（那天迈克尔把真心托付于对方），又在12月26日戛然而止（这个不知珍惜的人隔天就辜负了他的心）。
3. Michael wrote and produced the song—but that’s not all.
3. 迈克尔不仅包揽了词曲的创作和制作，他还亲自上场演奏。
By the time Wham！ recorded “Last Christmas” in August （yes， August） of 1984， Michael had taken full control of the group. In addition to writing and producing the song， Michael insisted on playing the Roland Juno-60 synth in the studio. “George wasn’t a musician，” engineer Chris Porter said. “It was a laborious process， because he was literally playing the keyboards with two or three fingers.” Michael even jangled those sweet sleigh bells himself.
1984年8月（没错，就是8月）威猛乐队录制《去年圣诞》时，迈克尔已经完全掌控了乐队。
