Kyu Sakamoto -- Ue wo Muite Arukou (上を向いて歩こう）Part 2

                                 

Continuing on from Part 1...

"Ue wo Muite Arukou", despite all of its cheerful music and Kyu Sakamoto's grinning demeanor, is a deceptively depressing song. The lyrics hints at the singer having gone through some major crisis and trying to keep spirits up. The title translates as "Let's Walk Looking Up".

Here is my translation of the lyrics:

Let's walk looking up

So that the tears don't spill over

Remembering that Spring Day

A lonely night

Let's walk looking up

Counting the blurry stars

Remembering that Summer Day

A lonely night

Happiness is above the clouds

Happiness is above the sky

Let's walk looking up

So that the tears don't spill over

Walking while crying

A lonely night

Remembering that Fall Day

A lonely night

Sadness is in the shadows of the stars

Sadness is in the shadow of the moon

Let's walk looking up

So that the tears don't spill over

Walking while crying

A lonely night

A lonely night

Just wanna curl up into a fetal position, doesn't it?

But as I said, the song has become a uber-standard on both sides of the Pacific. One of the more successful covers of "Sukiyaki" was in 1981 by an R & B group called A Taste of Honey, with vastly different lyrics, of course. And that's their video above.

Still, I'm a bit uncertain how it became the legend it is now. I mean, I like the tune myself and I've been listening to it since I was virtually a baby. But how did it take hold of an American public, the vast majority of which cannot speak Japanese? It just goes to show that music can be a language that can go across and beyond linguistic borders, although nearly 50 years later, there has yet to be a Japanese pop song that can vie with Beyonce or Maroon 5. But acts like AKB 48 and YMO have made their own niche inroads into the States and beyond over the years. And Saori Yuki, veteran pop singer, struck some pay dirt late last year with an orchestra called Pink Martini on an album called "1969".  There is always hope.

And finally, it's been interesting to note that via YouTube and other sites I've investigated that comments have been almost fawning of this tune. One fellow tried to make a modern remix of it which got a few tongue lashes.

Ah...and here is a photo of the actual sukiyaki. I love this one, too, although I'm a bit iffy on the raw egg.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jooon/4667069268
by Jon Åslund