~My Dusky Darling Drama~
Personnel:
Sung by: Ohashi Junko（大橋純子）
Lyrics by: Aku Yuu（阿久悠）(songs he wrote below)
Music by:Tsutsumi Kyouhei（筒美京平）(songs he composed below)
You know that feeling when you are consuming media that is relatively new to you, but it feels so nostalgic you shed a tear remembering the good old times? No? Is it just me? Well, this is exactly what happens every time I hear this song. I imagine my long lost lovers, the chill of loneliness, and the nights I danced alone to slow romantic musics. For the hopeless romantics drawn to tragedy, Kayou is where you need to be (or Enka as well for that matter). Adult, heart-torn, tragic, foolish lovers with no clear resolutions for their relationships. Man, the protagonists in these songs were “going through it” in the most beautiful and dramatic way. This song, to me, is a fine example of the “Adult Cosmopolitan Woman Love Affair Song” (as mainly written through the lenses of men of course, lol).
Ohashi Junko has this creamy sorrowful voice in this song. She cleanly and strongly hits those notes and after dozens of cover videos on youtube, I have only heard one person who, in my opinion, rivals her vocal performance (Original Love’s Tajima Takao). I miss this level of vocalist in most of the contemporary music I listen to. Plus, she just looks like the kind of choosey woman who never falls because she knows people are no good, but when she does, she falls hard. From the first time I heard this song, I was in love…. And so I write… Let us begin.
Song Structure:
24 bar build up, 24 bar chorus, 8 bar bridge
Intro – 8
Verse 1 – 8
Pre-Chorus 1 – 8
Chorus 1 – 24
Bridge 1 – 8
Verse 2 – 8
Pre-chorus 2 – 8
Chorus 2 – 24
Bridge 2 – 8
Outro – 8
Lyrical Analysis:
For this song, I had a vague idea what it was about, but I had no idea it would be this splendid. Aku Yuu painted a wonderfully vague impressionist painting and left so much for us to interpret ourselves. But if you heard any of his songs before, you are used to this level of finesse. I, of course (being an idol lover), ran into him with artists like Ishikawa Sayuri, Iwasaki Hiromi, and of course Pink Lady. The song has a protagonist that is hopelessly in love with her partner, but they break up. After the break up, her passion for her partner has not diminished, but the loneliness of her life has frozen her outer crust. But her inner core is a molten ball of liquid magma, that is further ignited after reading her partner’s probable make up letter… The roller coaster of love. Universal human experiences… this is good stuff.
Lyrics Translation
Verse 1
Right now it is Summer, and your scent lingers next to me.
In the middle of reliving a happy dream,
a shower’s lighting bolt strikes…
Illuminating a sorrowful twilight sky.
Chorus
The coffee cup slipped from my numb fingers.
It is smashing into pieces on the ground.
All the words I could have said have already left me,
and now I am left just looking into your eyes.
That little prank that you called a decision seems like its breaking up our relationship…
Seems to be breaking up this love.
Verse 2
Right now it is Winter, and you are no longer next to me.
The powder snow gracefully dances down onto the cobblestone road.
We are broken up, our love is shattered,
And yet, the flame in my heart still remains
Chorus 2
As I opened that letter with my frostbitten hands,
every word on the page burned red hot.
I am already dreaming,
about hanging off of your frame again.
That little prank that you called a decision seems like its breaking up our relationship…
Seems to be breaking up this Love.
Japanese
Verse 1
今は夏 そばにあなたの匂い
しあわせな夢に おぼれていたけれど
夕立ちが 白い稲妻つれて
悲しみ色の 日ぐれにしていった
Chorus
しびれた指 すべり落ちた
珈琲カップ 砕け散って
私はただ あなたの目を
言葉もなく 見つめるだけ
さだめという いたずらに
ひきさかれそうな この愛
Verse 2
今は冬 そばにあなたはいない
石畳白く 粉雪が舞い踊る
ひきさかれ 愛はかけらになって
それでも胸で 熱さをなくさない
Chorus 2
凍える手で ひろげて読む
手紙の文字が 赤く燃えて
私はもう あなたの背に
もたれかかる 夢を見てる
さだめという いたずらに
ひきさかれそうな この愛
Music is one of the closest things we have to a universal language. This song spoke to me from the ether to pull at my heart strings. No matter who you are, or where you are from, you can feel this protagonist’s pain by the aural landscape painted by Tsutsumi Kyouhei. The first time I heard a Tsutsumi composition was Ishida Ayumi’s Blue Light Yokohama (which was one of the first Kayou songs I ever heard, btw), and I also had some other contact with him through the 80’s work he did with Idols. In this song he gives me a salad of sonic qualities that is a delight to consume. The salad is based around that minor key and drizzles on a sexy melodic bass, lightly grates some guitar here and there… puts Disney strings on the bread, and I get bites of smooth jazz sax to finish off the course. Master Chef territory. I am a self-confessed circle of fifth’s slut (fifths slut). This song was developed with me in mind. 2-5-1 in the verses and 4 bars of the circle in the chorus? Please, may I have another one, Sir???
Key: G minor G A B- C D E- F (i – ii – III – iv – v – VI – VII)
Bass
Intro – i – iv – i – V – i – iv – ii – iii (G C G D G C A B)
Verse – ii – V – i – i – ii – V – i – i (A D G G A D G G)
Pre-chorus – iv – VII – III – i – iv – ii – V – i (C F B- G C A D G)
Chorus – iv – VII – III – VI – iv – V – i – i (C F B- E- C D G G)
iv – VII – III – VI – ii – ii – V – V (C F B- E- A A D D)
iv – VII – III – VI – ii – V – i – i ( C F B- E- A D G G)
Bridge 1 – iv – VII – III – VI – V – iv – i – i (C F B- E- D C G G)
Bridge 2 – iv – VII – III – VI – ii – V – i – i (C F B- E- A D G G)
So the best thing about being a fanboy is the amount of times I derive joy from saying exactly the same thing over and over again with only minor changes, lol. This song is amazing, has a superstar line up + a sexy sax… Whenever you need just a smidge more lover’s angst in your life, give it a listen. Come, let’s savor that flavor of sadness together.