Kye Eunsook -- Suzume no Namida（すずめの涙）

 

It's been a few years since I've featured a Kye Eunsook（桂銀淑）song on the blog, and my impressions of her music involve the high-class side of New Adult Music, that Japanese music area ranging between straight enka and (sophisticated) pop music. Just taking a look into her J-Wiki article, I found out that in her native South Korea, she's known for her country's genre of trot（トロット）which is similar to enka.

Her second single as an artist in Japan was "Suzume no Namida" (A Sparrow's Tears) from April 1987. Written by Toyohisa Araki（荒木とよひさ）, composed by Keisuke Hama（浜圭介）and arranged by Kei Wakakusa（若草恵）, it starts off slow and elegant before going into a jaunty rhythm reminiscent of Mary Hopkin's "Those Were The Days". Araki's lyrics talk of a strong-willed woman who's reluctantly letting go of the man she loves but covering her true feelings with shallow words that would come across as "Hey, later, eh?" in English. The title refers to the fact that she's not shedding too much lachrymal fluid for the guy...at least not in public. Hama's and Wakakusa's melodic creation certainly doesn't paint a picture of the breakup happening at a McDonalds...probably an expensive restaurant many floors above a McDonalds.😁

Along with a few awards, "Suzume no Namida" reached No. 32 on Oricon. Kye Eunsook also received her first invitation to the Kohaku Utagassen at the end of 1988 to sing the song.